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What are important things to mention in your resume and college essay?
#career #medical #career-advice #school #medicine #career-path
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7 answers
Updated
Tsion’s Answer
Hi
I would say your life experiences. Specially if you are from a different background or born and raised elsewhere, you can talk about your journey, experiences and things that have inspired you along the way.
You could also talk about your volunteer experiences or community work. Or even if you take care of an elderly person in your family, you should still talk about your ability to care for others.
You could also talk about your future aspirations and carrier goals if you already know what you want to major in. (what inspired you to pick the field)
With your college essays, you want to stand out and tell a different story and it doesn't have to be something extravegent but only has to be unique in its own way.
Good Luck!
I would say your life experiences. Specially if you are from a different background or born and raised elsewhere, you can talk about your journey, experiences and things that have inspired you along the way.
You could also talk about your volunteer experiences or community work. Or even if you take care of an elderly person in your family, you should still talk about your ability to care for others.
You could also talk about your future aspirations and carrier goals if you already know what you want to major in. (what inspired you to pick the field)
With your college essays, you want to stand out and tell a different story and it doesn't have to be something extravegent but only has to be unique in its own way.
Good Luck!
Updated
Nikita’s Answer
Do mention what you're passionate about! Other than what other answers mentioned, I think any volunteer opportunities you've done go a long way to describe you as a person and what you care about. Definitely emphasize those.
Updated
Joshua’s Answer
Hi Daniela,
Life experience is definitely extremely important as Jason mentioned. The key thing is to really have the basics down solid. Making it clear what work experiences you have had (if any), what your grades are, what your interests are, as well as any community service events you have participated in are really important. After having this locked down, you can start getting creative with your college essay.
Jason's story about the passing of his friend is a strong one but don't worry if you don't have a traumatic experience to talk about. The key thing is to not lie. Lying on your college essay will make your writing come across as insincere and that is a big problem. In my college essay I talked about rock climbing and how I had associated one challenging rock climbing wall with many life obstacles that were in my way. I wrote about how reaching the top of the rock climbing wall symbolized my ability to get through all life obstacles so long as I maintained a dedicated and persistent mindset. The idea of my college essay was to express emotion or catharsis (if relevant of course) through a somewhat standard experience - don't think that you need an out of the ordinary experience to excel in your writing.
Hope this helps and be sure to reach out with any questions!
Best,
Josh
Life experience is definitely extremely important as Jason mentioned. The key thing is to really have the basics down solid. Making it clear what work experiences you have had (if any), what your grades are, what your interests are, as well as any community service events you have participated in are really important. After having this locked down, you can start getting creative with your college essay.
Jason's story about the passing of his friend is a strong one but don't worry if you don't have a traumatic experience to talk about. The key thing is to not lie. Lying on your college essay will make your writing come across as insincere and that is a big problem. In my college essay I talked about rock climbing and how I had associated one challenging rock climbing wall with many life obstacles that were in my way. I wrote about how reaching the top of the rock climbing wall symbolized my ability to get through all life obstacles so long as I maintained a dedicated and persistent mindset. The idea of my college essay was to express emotion or catharsis (if relevant of course) through a somewhat standard experience - don't think that you need an out of the ordinary experience to excel in your writing.
Hope this helps and be sure to reach out with any questions!
Best,
Josh
Updated
Anand’s Answer
Here are my recommendations:
Resume:
- Review the profile you are applying for and align your resume to reflect the top skills they are looking for. I am not asking you to add things in your resume based on the job profile but highlight sections in your resume that will show the recruiter how you are a good fit.
- Highlight any volunteering or community contributions you have done.
College essays:
Talk about your life experiences and what makes you "you". Similar to resumes, research about the colleges you are writing about. What is that college proud of, what are their core values etc. See if you can show how your are a good fit based on those. This shows the admissions team that you have done your research and have gone the extra step to tie your values with the schools.
Hope that helps.
Resume:
- Review the profile you are applying for and align your resume to reflect the top skills they are looking for. I am not asking you to add things in your resume based on the job profile but highlight sections in your resume that will show the recruiter how you are a good fit.
- Highlight any volunteering or community contributions you have done.
College essays:
Talk about your life experiences and what makes you "you". Similar to resumes, research about the colleges you are writing about. What is that college proud of, what are their core values etc. See if you can show how your are a good fit based on those. This shows the admissions team that you have done your research and have gone the extra step to tie your values with the schools.
Hope that helps.
Updated
alex’s Answer
There is not a cookie cutter answer for what to say in a resume or college essay, but I have a couple of thoughts that might be beneficial for you to think through:
Resume - think of this document as "credentialing" yourself. This communicates objective measures related to your education, volunteer, and other life experiences. It's often difficult to set yourself apart from other students/applicants through the resume as a standalone document - many other applicants will have good grades and impressive extracurricular activities to highlight.
Essay - think of this document as a way to make yourself memorable and stand-out among your peers. What are specific attributes that are unique which you want to communicate to the admissions committee? What is a memorable life experience that has shaped your educational or career aspirations? Describe a specific challenge you've overcome in your life and what lasting learning you'll be able to apply from that challenging experience. These are just a handful of ideas to get your mind thinking, but ultimately the essay should be personable and unique!
Resume - think of this document as "credentialing" yourself. This communicates objective measures related to your education, volunteer, and other life experiences. It's often difficult to set yourself apart from other students/applicants through the resume as a standalone document - many other applicants will have good grades and impressive extracurricular activities to highlight.
Essay - think of this document as a way to make yourself memorable and stand-out among your peers. What are specific attributes that are unique which you want to communicate to the admissions committee? What is a memorable life experience that has shaped your educational or career aspirations? Describe a specific challenge you've overcome in your life and what lasting learning you'll be able to apply from that challenging experience. These are just a handful of ideas to get your mind thinking, but ultimately the essay should be personable and unique!
Updated
Jason’s Answer
Life experience! Anyone can read a transcript and SAT/ACT scores. A lot of your recommendation letters will come off as generic. If you had something impactful happen in your life and you plan to major in it this is a good start. I am not a college admissions counselor.
My story is that when I was applying for college I had a very close friend of mine pass away from cancer. My interests were very much centered around becoming a psychotherapist. This was discussed in my essay. I didn't go to Harvard but I got into school.
Best of luck!
My story is that when I was applying for college I had a very close friend of mine pass away from cancer. My interests were very much centered around becoming a psychotherapist. This was discussed in my essay. I didn't go to Harvard but I got into school.
Best of luck!
Updated
Estelle’s Answer
I recommend mentioning how dedicated you are to your education. Note that you realize it will be a long and arduous process, but you are full committed. Let them know that you have the persistence and determination to see your dreams happen and are not afraid to work hard. Don't be shy about pointing out your strongest attributes: intelligence, leadership, athleticism, whatever you have to offer. Then, back it up with evidence.
Good luck!
Good luck!