{"id":35884,"date":"2017-02-12T12:57:54","date_gmt":"2017-02-12T19:57:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/gmatclub.com\/blog\/?p=35884"},"modified":"2017-03-09T13:42:37","modified_gmt":"2017-03-09T20:42:37","slug":"two-grad-school-applicants-walk-into-a-bar","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/gmatclub.com\/blog\/two-grad-school-applicants-walk-into-a-bar\/","title":{"rendered":"Two Grad School Applicants Walk Into a Bar…"},"content":{"rendered":"

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

If You Have a Funny Bone, Use It<\/strong><\/p>\n

The answer is\u2026maybe. If you can use humor effectively, it will help you stand out from your competitors<\/a> in an unexpected way. (\u201cOh, is she the one who joked about her first time playing jazz in a live audience?\u201d an adcom member might ask while reviewing the season\u2019s applicants.) 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 I knew it: my expanding medical knowledge was slowly killing me.\u201d<\/p>\n

This kind of humor reveals a writer\u2019s vulnerabilities, making the readers sympathetic. 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<\/a>. But if you have a track record of getting laughs among friends, don\u2019t be afraid to use humor \u2013 judiciously \u2013 in a personal essay.<\/p>\n

And don\u2019t forget: as a grad school applicant, your goal is to show yourself as a focused, qualified, intelligent, and capable individual. Your essay can include some humor, but you\u2019re writing an essay, not a comedy sketch.<\/p>\n

Examples of Good Humor<\/strong><\/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 and rude.<\/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 laugh while reading through all those serious essays, but make sure that your essay reveals your focus and intelligence<\/a>, and not just your funny bone.<\/p>\n

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

\"Judy<\/a> 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> Want Judy to help you get accepted? Click here to get in touch!<\/a><\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

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

\u2022 5 Fatal Flaws to Avoid in Your Grad School Applications<\/a>, free guide
\n\u2022 What Adcoms and Admissions Consultants Share<\/a>
\n\u2022 Admissions Tip: BE YOURSELF!<\/a><\/p>\n

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

Applying to a top b-school? The talented folks at Accepted have helped hundreds of applicants get accepted to their dream programs. Whether you are figuring out where to apply, writing your application essays, or prepping for your interviews, we are just a call (or click) away.<\/p>\n

Contact us, and get matched up with the consultant who will help\u00a0you\u00a0<\/em>get accepted<\/a>!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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? Should you even…<\/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":[641,1866,227,1229,811,1695,883,121],"class_list":["post-35884","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-mba","category-accepted","category-admission-consultants","category-applications","category-blog","tag-admissions-tips","tag-application-essay-tips","tag-application-tips","tag-business-school-essay-tips","tag-essay-tips","tag-mba-admissions-tips","tag-mba-essay-tips","tag-tips","entry"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/gmatclub.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/35884","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=35884"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/gmatclub.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/35884\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":36273,"href":"https:\/\/gmatclub.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/35884\/revisions\/36273"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/gmatclub.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=35884"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gmatclub.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=35884"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gmatclub.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=35884"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}