Monday Morning Essay Tip: Personal and Too Personal
June 30th, 2008 | Posted in Monday Morning Essay Tips, Blogroll
Last week, we wrote about how important it is to thoroughly explore and access personal stories. Of course, there is always the case of too much of a good thing – Admissions Committees can be put off by candidates who go too far and become too personal.
Some stories are particularly challenging for Admissions Committees. For example, we have strongly discouraged candidates from writing about divorce as an example of a moment of failure. If an individual took responsibility for a failed marriage, then he or she would likely be revealing personal problems, rather than portraying him/herself as having learned from a constructive professional or personal challenge.
What you have to keep in mind is that in many ways, the Admissions Committee is meeting you for the first time. So, a simple guide for judging whether you are being too personal is to ask yourself, “Would I be uncomfortable if, immediately upon meeting someone, he/she were to share this sort of information with me?” If your answer is “yes,” then you might consider changing your approach.
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