DOs and DON’Ts for Your “Why Us?” Statement

I wrote in a special submit that the easiest way to sound excited in your “Why us” assertion is to really get excited concerning the college you’re writing for. How? By doing analysis.

However is there a solution to inform the distinction between a pupil who actually desires to go to a selected college and one who’s properly, BS-ing the essay? (Ha, that sounds humorous.)

There’s a manner.

And right here’s a touch: your BS detector is definitely fairly good. You simply want to show it on. Achieve this now…

Flip in your BS-detector and inform me if this sounds just like the particular person really desires to go to this college or not a lot:

Provided that I’m a person that genuinely enjoys being launched to new ideas, concepts, and new info, Kalamazoo would positively be an amazing match for me. Being round refined and mental college students, with related ambitions as mine, would encourage me to problem myself every day. By doing so, I might regularly develop not solely as a pupil, however as a human.

What will we find out about what makes Ok-Zoo particular on this pupil’s eyes?

Completely nothing. Let’s attempt once more:

SMU has a program referred to as the NCA, which stands for the Nationwide Communication Affiliation, and it helps assist college students to have the ability to clear up issues by speaking. SMU additionally has over 90 pupil group for college students to get entangled with that may complement their tutorial pursuits, which can permit me to hitch organizations I actually get pleasure from.

SMU KNOWS WHAT PROGRAMS IT HAS; WHICH PROGRAMS ARE YOU INTERESTED IN AND WHY?

Sorry, caps lock obtained caught. Let’s attempt as soon as extra:

I like the truth that the professors are devoted to serving to college students succeed of their research and are keen to assist…

Oh, versus that different college the place the professors aren’t devoted to serving to college students succeed.

So how do you write sentences that sound such as you really need to go to the college? Like this:

I consider USC is ideal for me as a result of, although different colleges supply a Judaic Research main, I’ve but to discover a program as complete as USC’s. Take, for instance, programs like “Biblical Hebrew” (versus simply Trendy Hebrew) and “Why Be Jewish?”

Like a boss. Look how particular. Lovely.

And one other, from the identical pupil:

Although the CogSci program at USC is in its inaugural yr and little info was obtainable throughout my open home go to, I used to be capable of contact Affiliate Professor of Psychology and Linguistics Toby Mintz by way of e-mail and was completely satisfied to find that USC’s program is extraordinarily interdisciplinary in nature, cross reducing conventional disciplines akin to psychology, philosophy, linguistics, pc science, and anthropology. I’ve at all times been all in favour of languages (I converse three), take into account pc science a power and am drawn to the “Philosophy of Language” programs, as I not too long ago wrote a analysis paper addressing the potential implications of making use of J.L. Austin’s work with “performative utterances” to smart-phone know-how.

Now that’s legit.

Has he demonstrated curiosity within the college? Sure.

Has he carried out his analysis? Oui.

Is he clearly exhibiting why he’s particularly all in favour of USC whereas revealing extra about himself? نعم.

Get it? Obtained it? Good.

I wrote in a special submit that the easiest way to sound excited in your “Why us” assertion is to really get excited concerning the college you’re writing for. How? By doing analysis. However is there a solution to inform the distinction between a pupil who actually desires to go to a selected college and…