{"id":29912,"date":"2015-08-03T11:28:54","date_gmt":"2015-08-03T18:28:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/gmatclub.com\/blog\/?p=29912"},"modified":"2016-07-27T16:04:20","modified_gmt":"2016-07-27T23:04:20","slug":"so-these-two-grad-school-applicants-walk-into-a-bar","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/gmatclub.com\/blog\/so-these-two-grad-school-applicants-walk-into-a-bar\/","title":{"rendered":"So These Two Grad School Applicants Walk Into A Bar . . ."},"content":{"rendered":"
\n
\"Learn<\/a><\/dt>\n
If used right, humor can help you stand out from your competitors in an unexpected way.\u00a0<\/dt>\n<\/dl>\n

This might be a great opening line for a comedy night at a university student center, but can you use humor in a graduate school application essay<\/a>? Should you even try?<\/p>\n

The answer is . . . maybe. If you can use humor effectively, it will help you stand out from your competitors in an unexpected way.\u00a0 (\u201cOh, is she the one who joked about her first time playing jazz in a live audience?\", an adcom member might ask while reviewing the season's applicants.)\u00a0 Humor can make us appear more human and relatable, especially with the most popular form of humor: the gently self-deprecating remark. For example, \u201cMy single New Year\u2019s resolution this year is to buy a new bathroom scale, and, perhaps, one day, use it.\u201d Or, \u201cI discovered that I had a textbook case of \u2018Congenital Fraidy Cat Syndrome.\u2019\u00a0 I knew it: my expanding medical knowledge was slowly killing me.\u201d<\/p>\n

This kind of humor reveals a writer\u2019s vulnerabilities, making her sympathetic. However, as a grad school applicant, your goal is to show yourself as a focused, qualified, intelligent, and capable individual. If you lack the confidence to show that vulnerability, or the confidence to try to get a laugh, do not try. It is far more important to speak with your authentic voice. But if you have a track record of getting laughs among friends, don\u2019t be afraid to use humor -- judiciously -- in a personal essay.<\/p>\n

Here are a few examples of how \u2013 and how not \u2013 to use humor:<\/p>\n

Good:<\/strong> \u201cIn all my travels, I had never before sipped anything called Toadstool Brew. After I was finished, I hoped never to have to sip it again.\u201d This works because it is gently self-deprecating; you are poking fun at your own lack of appreciation for an exotic tea.<\/p>\n

Not good:<\/strong> \u201cIn all my travels, I had never seen a more bizarre-looking individual. My first thought was, \u2018This guy could get a gig on a reality TV show in the States.\u2019\u201d This doesn\u2019t work because poking fun at someone else looks petty.<\/p>\n

Never force humor into your writing. Use it when it feels natural, and perhaps try it out on another reader first. Adcom members will surely appreciate a laughter break while reading through all those serious essays!<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

By Judy Gruen<\/a>, MBA admissions consultant since 1996 and author (with Linda Abraham) of <\/em><\/em>MBA Admission for Smarties: The No-Nonsense Guide to Acceptance at Top Business Schools<\/a>.<\/a><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Related Resources:<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u2022\u00a0From Example to Exemplary<\/a> [Free Guide]
\n<\/b>\u2022 Can I Use Humor In My Application Essays?<\/a>
\n\u2022\u00a0How To Think Like A Dean Of Admissions<\/a><\/p>\n

This article\u00a0<\/a>originally appeared on\u00a0<\/em>blog.accepted.com<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n

Accepted.com<\/a>'s\u00a0<\/em>experienced admissions consultants<\/a>\u00a0can help you create the most impressive application possible with\u00a0<\/em>comprehensive packages<\/a>,<\/em>\u00a0<\/strong>or provide targeted assistance from\u00a0<\/em>picking perfect programs<\/a>\u00a0to\u00a0<\/em>designing a dazzling resume<\/a>,\u00a0<\/em>constructing engaging essays<\/a>, or\u00a0<\/em>preparing for intense interview<\/a>s<\/a>\u2026and more!\u00a0<\/em>Accepted.com<\/a>\u00a0has guided thousands of applicants to acceptances at top programs since 1994 \u2013 we know what works and what doesn't, so\u00a0<\/em>contact us<\/a>\u00a0to get started now!<\/em><\/p>\n

Accepted.com<\/em><\/a>\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 ~\u00a0The Premier Admissions Consultancy<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

If used right, humor can help you stand out from your competitors in an unexpected way.\u00a0 This might be a great opening line for a comedy night at a university…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[11,939,775,113,243],"tags":[1048,90,621,227,1896,39,370,998,325,278],"class_list":["post-29912","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-mba","category-accepted","category-admission-consultants","category-applications","category-blog","tag-advice-for-mba-applicants","tag-application-essay","tag-application-essays","tag-application-tips","tag-mba","tag-mba-admissions","tag-mba-advice","tag-mba-application-advice","tag-mba-application-essay","tag-mba-application-tips","entry"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/gmatclub.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/29912","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/gmatclub.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/gmatclub.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gmatclub.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gmatclub.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=29912"}],"version-history":[{"count":18,"href":"https:\/\/gmatclub.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/29912\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":29930,"href":"https:\/\/gmatclub.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/29912\/revisions\/29930"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/gmatclub.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=29912"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gmatclub.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=29912"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gmatclub.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=29912"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}