Themes in Admissions: Good or Bad?
Are themes good or bad?
That depends on whether you are talking about a theme for your application or for your essay. For the former, bad. For the latter, good.
If you are applying to a top program, you don't want your application to have a nice, neat theme that simply labels or tags you: The Geek, The Actor, The Compassionate Soul. The Soldier Hero. No matter how nice the theme, if your application presents you as a uni-dimensional human being, you are making it easier for a school to reject you and harder for them to recognize your uniqueness and sheer humanity. Human beings aren't neatly tagged or easily labeled. They are complex and multi-dimensional. If your application presents you well, it too will be varied and textured.
Themes in essays, however, are not only good; they are necessary. Your application essays and personal statements, like all other pieces of communication, must have a point: the message that you want to convey. Your core message -- that central kernel -- is your theme. An essay without a theme may say nothing or be hard to follow or try to cover too much ground or all the above. A good theme can structure you in writing your essay and guide your reader when reading your essay.
If your application has more than one essay, each essay should have a theme that complements -- not duplicates -- the themes of the other essays. Together those essays work to present you as an individual with diverse interests and multiple talents.
Linda Abraham
in Law School Admissions, MBA Admissions, Medical School Admissions, Grad School Admissions, Admissions Consulting
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