The Importance of Sharing Your Story with the Grad School Admissions Team

Sharing your story is an important part of your graduate school application, both for the written components—like your personal statement and resume—as well as any interviews you may have with admissions staff.

Illustrating your values and accomplishments is important because it will show (not tell!) the admissions team why you're right for their program. Admissions staff are especially interested in seeing your potential to succeed in grad school and in your future career; they also want to know that you will contribute to the education and careers of your classmates, so it’s smart to highlight your variety of skills, experiences, and perspective.

To help you be strategic when sharing the story of your background and goals, we've come up with some helpful steps to guide you through the strategic storytelling process.

Strategic storytelling building blocks

Great stories should have a beginning, middle, and end—they start with an inciting incident and move on to a turning point, moral/message, or surprise. For example, what did you learn about yourself as a result of a personal or professional challenge? How does this inform your interest in the school and program you are applying to? And how does it tie back to what you hope to achieve when you graduate?

Below, we've outlined some things to think about as you are crafting your personal narrative:

• Set the scene: Be as specific as possible about where and when your story takes place. An engaging first sentence that hooks the admissions committee is a great way to begin your grad school application essay.
• Clarify the problem or obstacle: Engage the admissions staff by outlining the situation that made you start to consider how grad school could help you grow in your career. 
• Connect the dots: Make sure to weave supporting details about your skills and past work experience into the story so it’s clear how your expertise evolved. By sharing specific examples and reasons, you are illustrating something about yourself that they might not otherwise know from reading your resume or application.
• Reflect on the moral of the story: What did your previous experiences mean to you? What did you learn or do differently as a result of them? How did they help you grow as a leader?
• Resolution: Tell your audience the specific outcome of your efforts and why graduate school would be a good place to further support your growth. Don’t forget to highlight your strengths that could apply to any future coursework or internship opportunities!

Define your personal values and beliefs

Still struggling with what story you should share? Here are some writing exercises to help you with this process.

1. List 5-10 of your closest-held values that have shaped your daily life and your choices, such as courage, compassion, integrity, loyalty, or adaptability.
2. Consider two or three of the most defining moments of your life and what they taught you about yourself, what you believe, and the world. These moments can be a shocking event that inspired you to go into a certain field, a personal experience that helped you understand a particular community, or a job opportunity that introduced you to a new culture or country.
3. Choose the one moment that best encapsulates some of the values you listed earlier. Then, write the story of that moment, detailing the effect it had on you, how it shaped your values, and who you are as a result. How does this story reveal what you will do in grad school and in your career?

As you prepare your graduate school application, it’s a good idea to spend time reviewing each program’s promotional materials and writing down the skills that would help someone succeed in these programs. As you ask former supervisors or professors for letters of recommendation, ask them to share how you emulate those skills with specific examples.

Where to share your story

You can use the following application pieces to share your story:

• Interviews and conversations with admissions staff: When prompted with a question about a skill or experience, share a relevant anecdote. You’ll want to be clear and concise but also authentic and engaging when speaking.
• Resume: Share your story by linking experiences throughout your professional journey, using verbs to showcase what you’ve contributed to different organizations in past roles.
• Essays or personal statement: Your personal statement provides the space for you to share a specific story illustrating your values, beliefs, and skills, and how a specific grad program can bring them all together.
• Letters of recommendation: Although you are not writing these letters, remind references of your accomplishments by sharing relevant news, updates, and a copy of your resume when you ask them to write a recommendation.

By following the above steps, you can successfully create a clear narrative about who you are, what you stand for, and what you have done in the past that will set you up for success in grad school. Further, you’ll demonstrate to the admissions team that you’ve done your research and are confident in your ability to succeed in their program.

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