Application Tips & Samples

Sample 1 – Graduate School Psychology Application
Sample 2 – Dental School Application
Sample 3 – MBA Application

The following three samples represent a synthesis of some of the elements of successful applications made by our clients in the past. Of course, client confidentiality is a hallmark of our service, and therefore particular information that may identify individual clients have been removed and/or altered in the applications below.

Each sample is followed by a brief analysis allowing you to understand the editorial choices made by our professional writers in designing each sample application, and which may serve as tips in crafting your own application . As the following samples illustrate, the selective and careful presentation of an applicant's life history and experiences is a strong element in many successful applications. This is a feature that our custom application writing service offers to our clients.

Sample 1 – Application for Graduate School (Psychology)

In applying for admittance to the Master of Arts in Counseling at the Adler School of Professional Psychology I am completing a professional career trajectory that began almost two decades ago in Lebanon. I believe that my demonstrated commitment to humanitarian causes and therapeutic care, leadership skills, and personal qualities of patience and empathy make me an excellent candidate for this program.

I acknowledge that my shift of professional focus from the medical to the psychological fields may appear unusual. However, one must understand the context in which my career path was shaped. Lebanon, and the Middle East in general, have tragically experienced more than their share of civil disturbance, war, and human suffering over their recent history. As long as I can remember, I have desired to help the sick and injured, and alleviate their suffering. In the context of Lebanon, the only professional opportunity to express this personal orientation was in the field of medicine. For this reason, I successfully pursued my medical degree leading to years of experience in hospital and clinical environments.

However, in the course of my career as a medical clinician I began to develop an awareness of how much of the human suffering I saw around me was psychological rather than physiological in origin. In a society torn apart by generations of war and civil strife, the wounds and scars that one cannot see are just as important, and often more important, than those that one can see.

This awareness crystallized upon my arrival in the West, and in my work as a volunteer with social service organizations caring for mentally and physically abused women and children. Although life in the United States may seem far removed from that in the Middle East, I have discovered - to my surprise - how many members of the American population live with psychological scars and mental illness as integral components of their lives. Given how my professional career has been shaped by my personal commitment to alleviating the suffering of other human beings, my shift in interests from medicine to psychology can therefore be seen as the logical fulfillment of a long career trajectory.

It is for this reason that I am applying to the Masters Program at the Adler School of Professional Psychology. I believe that both my professional and life experiences render me a very suitable "fit" with your School. Furthermore I intend, upon completion of the M.A. Program, to go on to pursue the Doctor of Psychology (Psy.D) degree at the Adler School. The knowledge and experience that I would acquire in the course of my studies at the Adler School will give me the tools and opportunities to fulfill my career goals of working on alleviating adult mental health problems through counseling. In the process, I will be able to give back to communities in the United States something of what this generous and diverse land has given to my family and me. Finally, as the fulfillment of a personal "dream," becoming a certified professional in psychological counseling will allow me to address the inner sufferings of my fellow human beings as I once alleviated physical sufferings.

Thank you for your time and consideration.

ANALYSIS

• The above sample illustrates the importance of the integration of personal history into a successful application. As applications will be accompanied by some form of grades transcript or CV, admissions officers will already be aware of an applicant's academic performance, awards etc. which are fixed and cannot be significantly improved at this stage. Thus, the attached admissions/application essay becomes an element of prime importance to an application, and often can make the difference between rejection and acceptance.
  
  
• Note how the above essay differs from traditional academic essays or term papers in its paragraph structure. Admissions officers must review countless applications, and thus traditional long paragraphs frequently result in the “EGO” (eyes-glaze-over) effect, and quick rejection. At the same time, the use of “bullet points” and “negative space” as in business report writing would be seen as inappropriate in such a context. Thus, brief paragraphs – each dealing with a particular aspect of the applicant's history and reason for applying – are preferred.
  
  
• In the above sample, note how weaknesses or problems in the application have been addressed. As admissions officers will usually have already read the applicant's transcripts/academic documentation, the successful applicant must make use of this opportunity to address any weaknesses that the reader will already have noted. In the above sample, the applicant's decision to move from an apparently successful career as a medical clinician to return to school to study psychology would have been “flagged” by the reader. In the above sample, this problem is addressed immediately after the introductory paragraph, and the explanation plays an important role in the presentation of personal history in the following paragraphs

Sample Graduate 1 – School Psychology Application
Sample 2 – Dental School Application
Sample 3 – MBA Application

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