Types of Admission Essays - UG, MBA, Scholarship & Gap-year Essays
Once you start your application process, you will come across several documents that you will need to submit along with your transcripts, financial documents, visa papers and application form. One of them is the Admission Essay. These essays are fairly easy to draft as the university has already provided you with certain requirements, and guidelines you just need to write accordingly. Check out the article and understand everything about the types of admission essays.
The Admission Essay is one of the most important documents of the application that the applicant needs to submit for various undergraduate (UG) and graduate programs. The universities have specific prompts, with guidelines and word limits, for the admission essays. The university will either ask for a statement of purpose (SOP) or admission essays. There are different types of admission essays aimed at gauging the different personality traits and strengths of the candidate.
Essays Specific to Program/Course
The program/course that you apply to will decide the type of admission essay you need to answer. Based on the type of course/program, the admission essays can be divided into two types: UG essay prompts and MBA admission essays. Each of them has different requirements and follows a specific guideline. Check out - Shiksha Guidelines for Admission Essays
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Undergraduate Essay Prompts
- Your academic interest
- Why this course/college/university
- Tell us about yourself
- Important current issue/s and how you would solve it/or views on them
- Activity essay
- Your post-program goals
- Amaze us with your cleverness and creativity
- Important risk or event in your life
MBA Admission Essay:
Another type of admission essay is the MBA essay, which focus on the leadership abilities, professional experience, career progression, learning, and future goals of the applicant. Some MBA essay prompts are:
- Cultural Shock Essay
- Achievements Essay
- Travel Experience Essay
- Failure Essay
- Diversity Essay
- Why this Business School/ University
- Ethical Dilemma Essay
- Situation Essay
The Nature of Admission Essays
Another crucial factor is the nature of the essay prompt as it decides the response to the essay. The applicant’s answer should be based on the way the topic is presented. In case the essay prompt is a question, the applicant must take a stance. Thus, the answer should have supportive observations and facts. These types of admission essays are:
- Argumentative: For these types of admission essays, the applicant must present his viewpoint on the statement or topic, thereby proving the same with facts and evidence that are convincing.
- Autobiographical: These autobiographical essays are written in the first person, where the applicant presents a brief description of his/her life. This entails highlighting the academic, personal, professional, and social experiences of the applicant’s life.
- Descriptive: In this, the applicant is required to describe a topic in detail. It can be based on the travel experience, cultural diversity, or any incident.
- Narrative: The applicant may write a narrative essay, to showcase a course of events, anecdotally. You may narrate various events that depict your varied experiences and lessons learnt from the same.
- Persuasive: In the case of persuasive essays, a literary work, news clipping, or a particular extract from an article can be given for you to state your opinion on it. The answer should be persuasive enough to convince the readers of your perspective.
Other Types of Admission Essays
In addition to the types of and samples of admission essays discussed above, there are other admission-related essays that you may be required to provide with your application. Now, these types of admission essays are conditional and you should draft them only if the university has asked for the same. These essays are:
- Scholarship Essays: Some universities offer various forms of scholarships. In case the applicant is eligible for any of them, he would be asked to write a scholarship essay based on the requirements of the university. However, this is not mandatory for all universities. The essay can be your chance to convince the admissions committee (Ad Com) why you deserve the scholarship over other applicants having the same qualification/ eligibility.
- Gap-year Essays: The gap-year essays are mostly required by universities for undergraduate candidates, who have one or two academic gap years after completion of their schooling. For such essays, the applicant must explain his/her reason for the break, and also discuss how he/she utilized that time, and what activities or courses they took up during that time.
Also, read:
Types of Admission Essays: FAQs
Q. What are the types of admission essays required for an applicant?
A. The types of admission essays depend on a number of factors. There are undergraduate and MBA essays that cover various aspects of the applicant’s personality and different topics. Furthermore, there are some other categories as well like scholarship essays and gap-year essays, for specific conditions.
Q. What topics can I expect in a UG essay?
A. The various topics for UG essays are:
- Your academic interest
- Why this course/college/university
- Tell us about yourself
- Important current issue/s and how you would solve it/or views on them
- Activity essay
- Your post-program goals
- Amaze us with your cleverness and creativity
- Important risk or event in your life
Q. Is there any way that I may explain my gap years in the admission essay?
A. Yes, there are gap-year admission essays where you may explain any break in your academic or professional life. In such types of admission essays, you may discuss the reason for the break, how you utilized that time to learn something, or the activities or courses you undertook during the gap years.
Q. What are the different topics of MBA essays?
A. MBA prompts may require you to write essays on topics such as diversity, ethical dilemma, career goals, achievement, failure, why this university, and cultural shock, among others. The Ad Com will gauge different aspects of the applicant’s personality and perspectives to see if he/she will be a good fit for the program/ university, and vice versa.
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