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Graduate School Essays

Application essays, or personal statements, are often the most difficult part of the graduate school application process. Don't go it alone. The Career and Counseling Center staff, as well as the Cooper Foundation Center for Academic Resources, provide assistance in writing essays.

Resources in the Career and Counseling Center

Books on writing essays:

• How to Write a Winning Personal Statement
• Graduate Admissions Essays: What Works, What Doesn't, and Why
• Perfect Personal Statements

  Workshops:
  Each semester, the Career and Counseling Center offers workshops on writing graduate school essays.

  Essay critiquing:
  The Career and Counseling Center provides a critiquing service for graduate school essays. Drop your essay by the Center and it will be critiqued and ready to pick up in three working days (possibly longer in busier weeks). In addition, the Writing Workshop, housed in the Cooper Center for Academic Resources, provides assistance in developing and writing essays.

Resources on the Internet
The Personal Essay: "Tell about Yourself"
Jobtrak offers writing tips on how to get started on your essay.

Graduate School Application Essays
Maintained by Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute Writing Center, this site offers useful advice on developing application essays.

Accepted.com
This site contains writing tips and sample essays for law, medical, business, and graduate school applicants. Some services are offered for a fee, but there is also extensive useful, fee information available.