{"id":42225,"date":"2018-06-18T06:50:22","date_gmt":"2018-06-18T13:50:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/gmatclub.com\/blog\/2018\/06\/the-element-of-surprise-in-what-sets-you-apart\/"},"modified":"2018-06-18T06:50:22","modified_gmt":"2018-06-18T13:50:22","slug":"the-element-of-surprise-in-what-sets-you-apart","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/gmatclub.com\/blog\/the-element-of-surprise-in-what-sets-you-apart\/","title":{"rendered":"The Element of Surprise in \u201cWhat Sets You Apart?\u201d"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Element<\/figure>\n

A common theme in B-school applications (in almost any application, actually) is the \u201cwhat sets you apart\u201d question.<\/p>\n

With thousands of candidates to assess, it\u2019s understandable that the adcom would ask, directly or indirectly, why you\u2019re any different from Bob, Billy or Brad\u2014what makes you unique? What will your classmates be surprised about? They\u2019re looking for a revelation here, something unexpected, interesting, and\u2026 surprising. This essay is a stumbling block for most candidates, and there are a few mistakes almost everyone falls for, but don\u2019t worry, we\u2019ve got your back.<\/p>\n

What\u2019s the worst kind of surprise?<\/em> The one you kinda already know about. It seems obvious to point out that a good surprise should be, well, surprising, but that\u2019s the key to cracking the \u201csomething unique about you\u201d essay. The most common fault in this kind of essay is the topic choice: Candidates often overestimate just how \u201cunique\u201d their special talent or accomplishment makes them. Trust us, we see thousands of these essays, and though it may be impressive, your triathlon skills just don\u2019t set you apart.<\/p>\n

Think about it this way: Let\u2019s say you\u2019re the best swimmer you know. If you know about 30 other people who swim, and you\u2019re the best\u2026 well now, you\u2019re at least a 1-in-30 swimmer! But if the adcom is looking at 8000 applications, there are as many as 266 people who swim better than you. Your skill stands out in a small sample size (day-to-day life), but when you dive into a big MBA applicant pool, you\u2019re quickly left behind. Applicants, and humans in general, are bad at predicting their uniqueness in large groups (a cognitive bias called illusory superiority).<\/p>\n

Another common mistake is the \u201cunique but unimpressive\u201d essay. While it may be, um, unique<\/i> that you have a stamp collection, that doesn\u2019t necessarily tell us anything impressive about you, what you\u2019re capable of, or your standout qualities. The unique-but-lame answer won\u2019t stand out to the adcom any more than the generic, non-unique response.<\/p>\n

The third, and probably most cringe-worthy mistake, is to use this essay as a chance to brag about X or Y accomplishment. This is NOT a chance to tell the adcom about an award, a competition you won, or any other singular feat, no matter how unusual, and answering this question with a \u201cthanks for asking, let me brag about ABC accomplishment\u201d will not win you any points. You will sink into the company of an unknown number of other candidates who have written essays about speed chess tournaments or workplace MVP awards. The point of these essays is to show that you would add a new and interesting element to the class, and sadly \u201cbraggart\u201d is an all-too-common trope on B-school campuses.<\/p>\n

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Recommended Reading >>> How Thought Bubbles Conquer Clich\u00e9s in Your Essays<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

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So what\u2019s the hack?<\/em> How can you approach this essay successfully, and avoid sounding like a total tool? For starters, think about the surprise factor. What\u2019s something that either WOULD or DID surprise close friends or family about YOU? Something that stands out as unexpected compared to the rest of your character? Maybe you\u2019ve already had this \u201creveal\u201d moment, when someone close to you was blown away by something you did (or do). If not, think about what you could tell them about you or your life that would make them say, \u201cHoly cow, I had no idea!\u201d If it surprised them, chances are it will surprise the adcom, too. Needless to say, this should be a pleasant surprise, not the \u201cI killed the cat and hid the body in your backyard\u201d kind of surprise.<\/p>\n

If you\u2019re struggling to gauge the uniqueness of your subject, give this thought experiment a go: picture 10 guys or gals a lot like you\u2014same age, background, GMAT score, goals, and so on\u2014sitting one after the other in a bland waiting room, each soon to be interviewed by the same admissions committee member. Can you picture them saying something similar about what sets them apart as you have? Are they all sailboat-in-a-bottle fanatics too? If so, then you haven\u2019t done your job. You want to choose something that makes your interviewer (or reader) step back and say, \u201cwhoa, didn\u2019t see that coming!\u201d Something that defies your \u201ctype,\u201d something none of those other schmos could say, something badass!<\/p>\n

Similarly, the combination of your background and your goals probably have you pinned down in a certain \u201ccategory\u201d by the adcom. Picture piles of applicant folders\u2014you\u2019ve got the tech people, the consultants, the engineers transitioning into business, etc. With each category come assumptions about who you are and what your interests might be; for example, if you\u2019re a tech guy you might be into gaming, or coding, or reddit. You get the picture. The point of THIS essay is to tear that picture up and defy expectations. Instead of discussing your gaming tournament, tell them about your abiding love for the poetry of A. E. Housman. Make them rethink your \u201ctype\u201d so they can\u2019t put you in any of those piles.<\/p>\n

If you can surprise the adcom, stay genuine, and avoid any applicant archetypes, then you stand a good chance of catching the adcom\u2019s eye.<\/p>\n

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Trying to find that element of surprise in your MBA applicant profile? Our MBA Consultants and Essay Specialists<\/a>\u00a0are ready to help.\u00a0 Hop on over and\u00a0take your first step<\/a>\u00a0toward rocking those apps and essays.<\/p>\n

The post The Element of Surprise in “What Sets You Apart?”<\/a> appeared first on Admissionado<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A common theme in B-school applications (in almost any application, actually) is the \u201cwhat sets you apart\u201d question. With thousands of candidates to assess, it\u2019s understandable that the adcom would…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":140,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"1","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[11,817,775],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-42225","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-mba","category-admissionado","category-admission-consultants","entry"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/gmatclub.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/42225","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\/140"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gmatclub.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=42225"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/gmatclub.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/42225\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/gmatclub.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=42225"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gmatclub.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=42225"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gmatclub.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=42225"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}