February 2023 - Page 2 of 2 - Consultants' Corner

Resources for Diversity Statements

Next week, I’ll be releasing two longer videos with some strategies, tips, and insights on how to write effective diversity statements. For many applicants -especially those from outside the United States- this is the most confusing and opaque part of the application process. How Americans think about diversity, what they’re looking for, and how this reality impacts people of varied backgrounds is a fraught, complicated, and high-stakes question.

Hopefully, our presentation takes some of the mystery out of the process and helps people from all groups (under-represented minorities, non-minority, and “over-represented minorities) understand how to approach this question. So stay tuned for that! In the meantime, I’ve gathered together links some links from the best public universities in America (and Notre Dame) whose statements on writing diversity statements provide genuine insight and helped to supplement my professional and personal experiences with these issues.

In addition, if you need more help with your diversity statement, personal statement, or any other admissions writing, check us out at Gurufi.com. Our personal statement editors and consultants have decades of experience helping clients get into top programs. Our specialty is helping you craft compelling personal statements that move the needle in your admissions process! For questions, shoot us an email at service@gurufi.com. Check us out on Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn.

The University of California, Berkeley’s guide on writing a diversity statement: https://grad.berkeley.edu/admissions/applying-to-berkeley/diversity-statement/
The University of Michigan’s sample diversity statement and tips for writing a strong statement: https://grad.umich.edu/admissions/applying/diversity-statement/
The University of Wisconsin-Madison’s guide on writing a diversity statement: https://grad.wisc.edu/applying-for-admission/personal-statements/diversity-statement/
The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill’s tips for writing a diversity statement: https://gradschool.unc.edu/apply/diversity-statement/
The University of Virginia’s tips for writing a diversity statement: https://grad.as.virginia.edu/admissions/application-information/personal-statements-essays
The University of Florida’s tips for writing a diversity statement: https://www.grad.ufl.edu/admissions/diversity-statement/
The University of Texas at Austin’s tips for writing a diversity statement: https://www.utexas.edu/graduate/apply/diversity
The University of California, Los Angeles’s tips for writing a diversity statement: https://grad.ucla.edu/admissions/application-information/diversity-statement/
The University of Notre Dame’s tips for writing a diversity statement: https://gradstudies.nd.edu/admission/diversity-statement/
The University of Pennsylvania’s tips for writing a diversity statement: https://www.sas.upenn.edu/admissions/admissions/diversity-statement
The University of Minnesota’s tips for writing a diversity statement: https://twin-cities.umn.edu/admissions/diversity-statement
The University of Washington’s tips for writing a diversity statement: https://www.grad.uw.edu/applying-grad-school/personal-statements-and-essays/diversity-statement
The University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign’s tips for writing a diversity statement: https://grad.illinois.edu/admissions/application-information/diversity-statement
The University of California, San Diego’s tips for writing a diversity statement: https://grad.ucsd.edu/admissions/application-information/personal-statement/diversity-statement/
The University of Colorado Boulder’s tips for writing a diversity statement: https://www.colorado.edu/graduateschool/admissions/diversity-statement
The University of Arizona’s tips for writing a diversity statement: https://grad.arizona.edu/admissions/apply/diversity-statement
The University of Oregon’s tips for writing a diversity statement: https://gradschool.uoregon.edu/admissions/diversity-statement
The University of Pittsburgh’s tips for writing a diversity statement: https://www.gradschool.pitt.edu/admissions/diversity-statement
The University of Georgia’s tips for writing a diversity statement: https://www.admissions.uga.edu/grad/diversity
The University of Iowa’s tips for writing a diversity statement: https://grad.uiowa.edu/admissions/diversity-statement

How to Write About Blemishes in Your Personal Statement

At Gurufi, we help applicants of all backgrounds write powerful and compelling personal statements, but if I had to pick our specialty, it would be helping people with blemishes on their record. Maybe you had a bad first year in college; maybe you got arrested when you were 19; maybe you founded a company right out of college that went bankrupt and lost your investors a ton of money. We’ve seen it all. In nearly every case, we’re dealing with people who stumbled, got up, and rebuilt their lives informed -and even powered by- the lessons they learned from their mistakes.

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Don’t let academic or professional setbacks derail your MBA application! Here’w how to address these concerns in your personal statement. #MBA

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As you look to build your personal statement or write about a blemish in your past, here are five tips to follow:

Be sincere: When discussing flaws in your history in your personal statement, it’s crucial to be sincere and upfront. Don’t speak in vague terms or euphemisms. Being direct, clear, and frank can demonstrate maturity and self-awareness and assist you in giving the reader a more accurate and genuine picture of who you are.

Consider the lessons you’ve learned: When writing about previous transgressions, take into account the lessons you’ve learned and how they’ve helped you become a better person. This might show that you’re able to grow from your mistakes and make progress. A good rule of thumb is that you should look for a 2:1 ratio (lesson learn to describing the mistake) when talking about missteps.

Don’t concentrate on the bad: While it’s vital to acknowledge and talk about previous mistakes, you should try to avoid focusing on the bad parts of the event. Instead, concentrate on the advantages of your development and progress. Make it clear how / why you’re a better person. If you can, provide an example of an instance where you faced a similar challenge and crushed it.

Give particular instances: Give specific examples to support your views and to assist explain the lessons you’ve learnt from prior mistakes. This can enhance your writing’s vividness and interest, as well as assist the reader remember your personal statement longer.

Keep it short: It’s always a good idea to eliminate unnecessary text, but it’s 10x important to keep this section lean and direct. Be succinct and to the point while writing about flaws in your history. Stay away from delving into too much detail or focusing on the unpleasant parts of the encounter. Instead, concentrate on your main points and leave it at that.

For more help with your personal statement, check us out at Gurufi.com. Our personal statement editors and consultants have decades of experience helping clients get into top Masters and Ph.D. programs in STEM, humanities, fine arts, and social sciences. Our specialty is helping you craft compelling personal statements that move the needle in your admissions process! For questions, shoot us an email at service@gurufi.com. Check us out on Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn.

Avoid These Mistakes When Seeking a Letter of Recommendation

Letters of recommendation are hugely important parts of your application. Having a third party assess your skill, talent, experience, accomplishments, potential, and maturity provides admissions committees with valuable data. Unfortunately, because this is an “outsourced” part of the application, many applicants aren’t sufficiently thoughtful about the process, thus hurting their chances of admission.

At Gurufi, we can help turn your letter-writer’s recommendation into a more effective and powerful bit of writing. And, for additional thoughts, check out this extended YouTube video we made. In the meantime, here are the five most common mistakes that I’ve seen clients make.

Requesting a letter of recommendation too late. It is critical to allow enough time for the individual writing the letter of recommendation to finish the assignment. A decent rule of thumb is to request a letter at least one month ahead of time. If you wait until the last minute, your letter may not be as effective as it may be. Remember, you’re asking someone for a favor, so do what you can to make it easy for them as possible.

Asking the incorrect person. It is critical to ask someone who is familiar with you and can speak to your skills and successes. This might be a lecturer, supervisor, or mentor who has worked with you closely and can offer concrete instances of your abilities and successes. Too often, applicants will seek letters from big names who might not actually know them well. In these instances, you’re going to get a pretty vanilla recommendation that just doesn’t move the needle.

Failure to provide adequate information. It is critical to provide the person composing the letter with all relevant information about the opportunity for which you are seeking, including the requirements and deadlines. The writer will be able to personalize the letter to the individual opportunity, making it more effective. If you have it, provide a copy of your Personal Statement and CV. Offer to sit with them for a chat about it as well.

Failure to follow up. After asking someone to write a letter of recommendation, it is critical to follow up to verify that the letter is finished and delivered on time. This is especially true if a deadline is approaching.

Failure to thank the writer. This is basic human kindness, but it’s also a smart life strategy. People like to feel appreciated, so if someone does you a favor, let them know. They’ll be more likely to go the extra mile for you in the future. It is essential to express gratitude for the time and effort that the person composing the letter has put into the assignment. A simple thank-you message or email might go a long way toward improving your relationship with the writer.

For more help with your personal statement, check us out at Gurufi.com. Our personal statement editors and consultants have decades of experience helping clients get into top Masters and Ph.D. programs in STEM, humanities, fine arts, and social sciences. Our specialty is helping you craft compelling personal statements that move the needle in your admissions process! For questions, shoot us an email at service@gurufi.com. Check us out on Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn.

More free resources:

“How to Request a Letter of Recommendation” (n.d.). The Graduate School. Retrieved from https://www.grad.illinois.edu/career-services/how-request-letter-recommendation
“How to Request a Letter of Recommendation” (n.d.). The University of Pennsylvania. Retrieved from https://www.vpul.upenn.edu/careerservices/students/graduate/request.php
“How to Request a Letter of Recommendation” (n.d.). The University of California, Berkeley. Retrieved from https://career.berkeley.edu/Grad/LOR
“Letters of Recommendation” (n.d.). Stanford University. Retrieved from https://www.stanford.edu/dept/spec_coll/uarch/exhibits/letters/letters.html
“Letters of Recommendation” (n.d.). The University of Michigan. Retrieved fromhttps://careercenter.umich.edu/article/letters-recommendation

How to Fix a Broken Personal Statement

Congratulations! You’ve written the first draft of your personal statement. You’ve managed to distill your life, aspirations, and strengths down to a few hundred words, which is no easy thing! But here’s the bad news: you’re just getting started! But, as Ernest Hemingway famously said, “the first draft is sh**.”

Effective revision is the difference between a mediocre draft and a good one, a good one and a great one, a great one and one that blows the AdCom’s socks off! Don’t drift across the finish; take an assertive, thoughtful, and meticulous approach to revising your essay.

Read your personal statement out loud: Reading your personal statement aloud will help you spot clunky text and uncomfortable wording that you may not notice while reading silently. You also want this to be a personal statement, and if it doesn’t sound like you when you read it, it probably isn’t connected to your personality and strengths as an applicant.
Take a break and return to it later: After drafting your personal statement, take a break and return to it with fresh eyes later. Creating a sense of distance from your draft will help you see it anew. This might assist you in identifying errors that you may have overlooked earlier.
Use a spelling and grammar checker: Most word processing software products include spelling and grammar checkers that can assist you in catching problems. However, keep in mind that these tools are not perfect and should only be used as a supplement to your own proofreading efforts. I also like Grammarly. Remember, though, that no software is perfect, so don’t just blindly follow the advice on grammar, syntax, and wording that they provide. Be thoughtful and proactive about it.
Have someone else go over your personal statement: Obviously, we here at Gurufi.com think we’re the best in the business at helping you turn your personal statement into something great.  But, if you can’t afford it or you want to do it yourself, having a friend, family member, or writing instructor look through your personal statement will help you discover faults that you may have overlooked. As with point #3, listen to all advice that you’re given and think carefully in every instance whether it’s right for you and your application.
Check for consistency: Make sure your personal statement has a consistent tone, style, and layout. Avoid the Frankenstein essay where you try to incorporate too many bits of advice or try to cram too much into it, and so along the way you lose your voice and the essay’s sense of direction.
Make sure your personal statement is straightforward and easy to read. Young writers love trying to dazzle readers by blasting them with every fancy word they know. Don’t do that. Follow Ernest Hemingway’s four rules for writing. The TLDR is: keep it simple. Avoid employing jargon or sophisticated terminology that the reader may find difficult to understand. And certainly NEVER use a word or phrase unless you’re absolutely certain you know what it means.
Use a top-to-bottom, bottom-to-top proofreading method: Start by reading through your essay top to bottom, fixing anything that needs fixing. Then, begin with your final sentence, read it, and revise. Then go to the second-to-last sentence, and repeat. Do this until you’ve gone from the end of the essay to the top. Breaking it up in this way allows you to see avoid getting into the flow of the essay and instead see each sentence on its own.

Should You Go to Grad School?

Graduate school can be deeply fulfilling, put you on a path to a career you love, and allow you to study things that you’re passionate about under the mentorship of people who are genuine experts. But it’s also an intense all-encompassing experience and can be time-consuming, expensive, and professionally and personally disruptive. Far too many people don’t take into account that, in graduate school, your entire life becomes about the thing you’re studying, the university where you live, and the ideas you’re to understand and solve. This shouldn’t be done as a way to delay or avoid making hard choices about your future and you should certainly think about all aspects of the program, experience, mentorship, and professional prospects you’ll face afterward. Here are ten things to think about as your decide whether graduate school is for you.

Your academic and career goals: Think about what you want to accomplish via graduate school and how a graduate degree will help you get there. If you don’t have a clear plan for how graduate school gets you from A to B in your career, then don’t take the plunge.
The program’s reputation: Research the reputation of the graduate schools you’re interested in, including their professors, research opportunities, and job placement rates. This isn’t just about vanity or brand obsession. If you’re thinking about becoming an academic, the reputation of your program matters A TON. Similarly, many non-academic employers strongly prefer graduates of top-tier programs, and if that’s the case, getting a graduate degree from a lesser program may not get you the opportunities and R.O.I. you’re looking for.
Financial considerations: Consider the cost of tuition and other fees, as well as how you intend to finance your graduate studies. I personally don’t think that you should ever pursue a PhD without full funding, but others feel differently. For Masters programs, think about whether the bump in your expected future earnings justifies what can be an immensely expensive undertaking.
Location: Don’t EVER view graduate school as just something that you’ll endure. If you find yourself saying “I could tolerate being in City X for a few years…” then STOP! As a former PhD student and professor, I have seen many smart, driven, and ambitious people leave their programs because of lifestyle considerations. If you don’t think that you would THRIVE in a city and he happy there, don’t apply. Think over the school’s location and whether it fits your lifestyle and personal preferences. Your chances of completing the program, doing well, and continuing to feel excited about your program are all connected to whether you are happy within your city.
Program structure and duration: Learn about the program structure and length, as well as if it offers full-time or part-time choices.
Coursework and research possibilities: Think about the sorts of courses and research opportunities available in the programs you’re interested in, and how they match your interests and aspirations.
Professors and mentorship: Research the faculty in the programs you’re interested in, and evaluate if you’ll have access to mentors and advisers who can help you advance academically and professionally. This relationship between you and your mentor will ultimately define your level of graduate school success. An engaged, demanding, helpful, and caring mentor can put you on a path to success; a distant, demeaning, uninterested, or unsuccessful mentor who doesn’t believe in your ideas or potential will make graduate school nearly impossible to excel within.
Admission criteria: Learn about the admission requirements for the programs you’re interested in, such as transcripts, test scores, letters of recommendation, and any other application materials.
Time commitment: Consider the time commitment necessary for graduate school, which includes courses, research, and any other responsibilities.
Career prospects: Think about the professional possibilities for graduates of the schools you’re interested in and whether they correspond with your career ambitions. Overall, before going to graduate school, it is critical to conduct extensive study and carefully analyze all of these variables.