support@accepted.com
Get Your Free Consultation!

Which program are you applying to?

  • - Select a program -
  • MBA/EMBA
  • Law School
  • Grad School, PhD
  • MD/DO, Residency
  • Other Healthcare Programs
  • College
  • About Accepted
    • About us
      • The Accepted Advantage
      • Clients Accepted At
      • In The News
    • Client Feedback
    • Contact Us
  • Meet the Team
    • MBA Admissions Consultants
    • Med School Admissions Consultants
    • Grad School Admissions Consultants
    • Law School Admissions Consultants
    • College Admissions Consultants
  • Free Resources
    • MBA
      • Free Guides
      • Selectivity Index
      • Sample Essays
      • Essay Tips
      • MBA Podcast Episodes
      • MBA Deadlines
    • Med School
      • Free Guides
      • Selectivity Index
      • Sample Essays
      • Essay Tips
      • Med School Podcast Episodes
    • Healthcare Programs
      • Free Guides
      • Admissions Straight Talk Podcast for Healthcare Applicants
    • Grad School
      • Free Guides
      • Sample Essays
      • Grad School Podcast Episodes
    • Law School
      • Free Guides
      • Selectivity Index
      • Sample Essays
      • Law School Podcast Episodes
    • College
      • Free Guides
      • Sample Essays
      • Admissions Straight Talk Podcast for College Applicants
  • Services
    • MBA
      • Complete Packages
      • Essay Editing
      • Resume Services
      • Interview Prep
      • MORE
    • Med School
      • Premed Packages
      • Primary App Packages
      • Secondary App Packages
      • Essay Editing
      • Interview Prep
      • MORE
    • Healthcare
      • Postbac Packages
      • MPH Packages
      • NursingCAS Packages
      • PharmD Packages
      • Essay Editing
      • MORE
    • Grad School
      • Complete Packages
      • PhD Packages
      • Essay Editing
      • CV/Resume Assistance
      • MORE
    • Law School
      • Complete Packages
      • Essay Editing
      • Interview Prep
      • MORE
    • College
      • Complete Packages
      • Common App Package
      • Essay Editing
      • MORE
  • Blog
    • MBA Blog Posts
    • Medical School Blog Posts
    • Other Healthcare Blog Posts
    • Grad School Blog Posts
    • Law School Blog Posts
    • College Blog Posts
    • Admissions Straight Talk Podcast
Accepted

Accepted Admissions Blog

Everything you need to know to get Accepted

July 29, 2018

Reading Time: 2 minutes

Where’s the Poetry? The Secret Ingredient in Your Graduate Application Essays

Download our free guide and start writing your best essay yet!

Strategy will necessarily guide your selection of essay topics, anecdotes/examples, and structure. Yet an essay built on calculation alone, even if the strategy is spot on, will often disappoint. Logically it all makes sense. But it doesn’t take flight.

Poetry can be the secret ingredient to make your application essay sing – right into the heart of its readers. By poetry I mean a phrase, a sentence, or a short paragraph that captures some essence of you that the expository process can’t reach. Poetry reveals, and the reader “sees” the writer anew.

Poetry is NOT (unless you want it to be) flowery, ponderous, esoteric. It can be funny; it might even be something that at first seems out of place in such an essay.

To inject poetry in your essay, engage in “play;” experimentation, free expression. These processes take time – to maximize the potential impact of the poetic element in your essays, start them early and put them down, go back to them. You need time to play with ideas, explore experiences and thoughts, and then revisit the drafts more objectively.

Several years ago, I worked with an MBA applicant who was a highly accomplished female Korean-American engineer in a defense contractor firm. One essay question for a top 5 MBA program said to describe a setback or failure and how the applicant handled it. My client portrayed a simmering conflict with a supervisor that finally erupted. How did she deal with it? “Walked out at five, got home, poured a Campari, put on my eye mask, cranked up Cyndi Lauper.” I laughed out loud with pleasure on reading this; it was so her, so human, so real. Who could forget it? She then continued with something like, “When I was ready to deal with reality, I made the following plan to rectify the situation.”

Other readers of the essay urged her to remove this short section, saying it was risky, inappropriate. I saw it as real, genuine, conveying humanity and personality – poetry in an application essay – and made my case for keeping it (my case included its deflating of the Asian-nerd image). She did, and she also got admitted to the program, her top choice.

That raises one more point: keeping the poetry in can sometimes be risky. Yet most top MBA, law, medical, and other graduate programs value qualified candidates who are gutsy, confident, and have a point of view. But mostly they just want to meet a real human being. When they do, it’s magic. It’s poetry.

From Example to Exemplary - Download your guide today!

Cindy TokumitsuCindy Tokumitsu, has advised hundreds of successful applicants, helping them gain acceptance to top MBA and EMBA, master, law, PhD and medical programs, with special emphasis on MBA and EMBA and other business programs in her 15+ years with Accepted. She would love to help you too. Want Cindy to help you get Accepted? Click here to get in touch!

Related Resources:

• Tone Up Your Writing: Confidence vs Arrogance
• Dangerous Cliches to Avoid [A Poem]
• Writing Techniques From a Pro

Article by Cindy Tokumitsu / Admissions Consulting, Grad School Admissions, Law School Admissions, MBA Admissions, Medical School Admissions / essay editing, grad application essays, law application essays, mba application essays, med application essays

Get Accepted!

Sign up for a free consultation today!

Which program are you applying to?

Blog Categories

  • Admissions Consulting
  • Admissions Straight Talk Podcast
  • College Admissions
  • Grad School Admissions
  • Law School Admissions
  • MBA Admissions
  • Medical School Admissions
  • Other Healthcare Admissions
  • Uncategorized

Most Popular Blog Posts

1. 7 Simple Steps to Writing an Excellent Diversity Essay

2. 4 Ways to Show How You’ll Contribute in the Future

3. How to Write About Your Research Interests

4. Tips for Answering the Yale University Supplemental Essays and Short Answer Questions [2022-2023]

5. When Will Medical Schools Give You an Answer?

6. Sample Essays from Admitted HBS Students

7. Tips for Answering the University of Pennsylvania Supplemental Essay Prompts [2022-2023]

8. Top STEM MBA Programs: A Comprehensive List and Overview of STEM-OPT Eligible B-Schools

Sample Essays

MBA Personal Statement Examples

Medical School Personal Statement Examples

Graduate School Personal Statement Examples

Law School Personal Statement Examples

College Application Essay Examples

 

Home Page Services and Prices MBA Med School Law School Grad School College

About Us Press Room Contact Us Podcast Accepted Blog
Privacy Policy Website Terms of Use Disclaimer Client Terms of Service

Accepted 1171 S. Robertson Blvd. #140 Los Angeles CA 90035 +1 (310) 815-9553
© 2022 Accepted

BBB A+ RatingStamp of AIGAC Excellence

Copyright © 2023 · Education Pro Theme on Genesis Framework · WordPress · Log in