Present the best possible you

Could it be that my entreaty to applicants to submit their applications by January 3 yielded a favorable result?  Well, I won’t overstate my own value in the admissions process, but there are certainly a lot of applications around.  Mail has been flowing into the office.  The application forms pour off the printer and go into a file folder.  Some stop there for a while, but if the application matches the mail, a complete file may emerge.  Some of those complete files have even been heading out to be reviewed by student Admissions Committee members.

On the other hand, there are hundreds of applications still in-progress on applicants’ computers, and I’m not looking to raise anyone’s anxiety.  As much as we want to push the process along, you shouldn’t feel pressured to submit until you’re good and ready.

But what can you reasonably do on January 4 to improve your application?  Can you make yourself smarter or more professionally accomplished?  Probably not.  Instead, you should focus on presenting yourself in the best possible way.  Accurately complete all parts of the application.  Be sure what you have written actually answered the question.  Edit your essays.  Proofread.  Proofread again.  Check in with your recommenders to be sure they have their instructions straight (and maybe you’ll find out they have already submitted their letters).  Check over your résumé to be sure you’ve spelled out acronyms that won’t be familiar to those of us outside your industry or sector.  Proofread.

In short, while we might all agree that applications are restrictive, you should still look at the form and additional documents as your opportunity to tell us who you are.  Make good use of each part of the application.  If you do, since we look carefully at every page in the file, we’ll soon develop a multi-faceted picture of you.

One last thing.  Somewhere deep in the application instructions, we ask you to tell us about the grading system at your university if it doesn’t use a standard ABCDF four-point scale.  Please don’t ignore this request.  A short explanation will go a long way toward helping us interpret your academic record.  If you have already submitted an application but you haven’t included the explanation, you are welcome to email it to us.