Writing Your Graduate School Application Essay (Page 3 of 5) in pdf

3. Specifically explain why this institution is the best fit for you.

You must show how your research interests match the department’s academic strengths. Visit the

department’s website to see what research they emphasize and what faculty are working on.

In your application essay, identify 2-3 faculty members and relate their work to your future research

goals. If you discuss how your intended work aligns with the department’s work, you will convince the

committee that you’re interested, well informed and detail-oriented. Committees can sense if you use

the same statement for every school; you must tailor your essays to specific programs.

BEFORE

My visit to Carnegie Mellon University and my correspondence with several faculty

Omits names and work

members has further strengthened my will to join CMU’s chemical engineering

of faculty members

department. I believe that your leading faculty and rigorous training is a good match for

Doesn’t discuss

my research interests, and will aid me in pursuing an academic career in a top Process

department’s

Systems Engineering program.

specific strengths

AFTER

Carnegie Mellon University is the ideal institution to support my academic pursuits

Connects research

since the Process Systems Engineering group’s focus on optimization dovetails

interests to strengths

perfectly with my research interests. I believe I would be a valuable asset to the

of department

PSE team’s endeavors to solve design and operation problems in process industries,

specifically with my research focus in integrated process water systems. In particular,

Names specific faculty

the techniques of Professor Ignacio E. Grossmann on mixed-integer nonlinear

members and discusses

programming for the synthesis of integrated process water networks are foundational

their work

to my current work. In addition, the work of Professor Nikolaoz V. Sahinidis on

global optimization is very intriguing to me as a path for future research, as I’ve

communicated to him in our correspondence. I would greatly appreciate the opportunity

to learn from and collaborate with CMU’s influential faculty and the Center for Advanced

Process Decision-making.

4. Introduce the main idea for each body pargraph in the topic sentence.

Communication research suggests that readers best comprehend and retain information when you

unify a paragraph around one main idea that is clearly signaled in the topic sentence. Try to organize

each body paragraph in your application essay around one qualification or ability.

BEFORE

CMU’s program emphasizes real world data analysis and the practical application of

Qualifications are not

statistical knowledge in the workplace. I have taken classes in linear and hierarchical

Writing Your Graduate School Application Essay Page 3

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