This article was originally on ProFellow, a great online resource for finding fellowships and funding.
Dear Dr. Johnson,
I’ve always wondered how some people manage to get into almost every university they apply to. It’s clear that having a solid application and being a good match for the school is important, but there’s got to be something more, right? I personally had to apply three times before I finally got into my master’s program at a top school that I’m really excited about. And even then, I still faced rejections from other schools that are similar. So I’m curious—what do those people who get accepted everywhere have that others don’t? Is there some hidden quality or strategy that makes their applications stand out? Because lots of people have strong profiles, yet only some seem to crack the code. What’s their secret?
From Dr. Vicki Johnson:
I appreciate this question. I can speak from my own experience and also as a mentor to many people who achieved acceptances to top universities and fellowships.
First, it’s important to take what others share about their acceptances with a grain of salt. Sometimes people do not share their rejections out of fear of going against what people expect of them and what they expect of themselves.
Like the people you mention, I have been accepted to most of the (carefully selected) universities and fellowships I have applied for, including Ivy League schools and a Fulbright award. What you wouldn’t see is that for most of these competitions, I did not have the most competitive academic and professional record among the candidates.
My advantage was that I have practiced and honed the skill of persuasive writing since primary school, which also helped me to develop strong interview skills. I believe this skill is the “secret” that allows a small portion of people to have an exceptionally high rate of success in the competitive application process.
Persuasive writing is the art of writing a compelling statement that convinces the reader to take a specific action. When writing personal statements, proposals, and cover letters, most applicants focus heavily on expressing all their accomplishments at the expense of providing other key information about their career goals, their motivations for applying to the program, and what they will contribute. When you do this, you put yourself at a disadvantage. A graduate school acceptance or fellowship award is not an award for all the things you have done in the past. Rather, it is an investment in you and the impact you will make in the future.
Persuasive writing is not just about the words you use; it’s also about the research done beforehand. I teach applicants to humanize the selection committee and deeply investigate the program’s mission, outcomes, and differentiators so that they can express mission alignment in their application and effectively answer the question “Why you?” I also teach applicants how to wordsmith statements about their goals and motivations because these often lack specificity and substance. ProFellow offers a wide range of workshops and courses to help you learn the art of writing a compelling application and hone this skill at any stage in your career.
In your case, your repetitive application to the same program sent the selection committee a message that you are very serious about attending their program. Even if you used the same personal statement year after year, this message may have been enough to take you from being an edge applicant to accepted. But I suspect you reworked your personal statement and other documents at each application round to ensure they were improved each time. This honing is likely what made your application a success on your third try.
Success is also a matter of fit. Your master’s program may have become a better fit for you after two additional years of work experience. Highly successful applicants often do a great job of choosing programs that are the best fit for their goals and their academic and professional foundation. They start the application process early and invest a significant amount of time in program research. They have a clear idea of what they want to achieve and can show they have the foundational skills and right motivations to be successful in the program.
In sum, if you start early, choose best-fit programs and become skilled at persuasive writing, you can master virtually any application.
Dr. Vicki Johnson is the Founder and Director of ProFellow, the world’s leading online resource for professional and academic fellowships. She is a four-time fellow, top Ph.D. scholar, Fulbright recipient, and an award-winning social entrepreneur. She is the creator of the Fully Funded Course and Mentorship Program, which helps graduate school applicants enter top graduate schools with funding awards.