{"id":55128,"date":"2022-06-14T13:43:17","date_gmt":"2022-06-14T20:43:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/gmatclub.com\/blog\/?p=55128"},"modified":"2022-06-14T13:43:18","modified_gmt":"2022-06-14T20:43:18","slug":"writing-about-your-experiences-abroad-4","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/gmatclub.com\/blog\/writing-about-your-experiences-abroad-4\/","title":{"rendered":"Writing About Your Experiences Abroad"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"Writing<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

You studied, worked, or volunteered abroad. Now you want to include part of this in your personal statement<\/a> as part of an undergrad, AMCAS or other application. Maybe you want to show that you\u2019ve experienced a different culture and expanded your perspective through your eye-opening experiences meeting new people, mountain-climbing, assisting in a rural community, or some other opportunity to help people who genuinely need it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Don\u2019t forget the most important question: WHY?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

But, at this point, you\u2019ve also realized that many other applicants have had similar experiences. While the experience may have been transformative for you, requiring you to learn how to operate without your usual safety net in a foreign environment, you need to ensure that your study abroad experience serves a role in your essay as something other than window-dressing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But you also know that your experiences aren\u2019t unique to you; other applicants will have had similar adventures. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

There\u2019s an old Onion article<\/a> that jokes about a person whose short work experience in Africa allowed her to post a better Facebook photo. Without asking yourself the most important question of why<\/em> your experience was transformative in some way, your travel descriptions might resemble the person parodied in that article.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I\u2019ve read many essays with lush descriptions of exotic scenery and people who speak different languages, yet the writer does not seem to have changed. Unless you can articulate how you have changed from these experiences, your stories will simply blend together with those of other applicants. The admissions committee will get the impression that you traveled simply to add another notch to your resume.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

You may consider that your travel experience really was transformative for you, requiring you to learn how to operate without your usual safety net in a foreign environment, a pivotal moment in your life journey. The key is for you to be able to explain in your personal statement exactly why<\/em>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

[Click here to read a sample diversity essay]<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

What, specifically, did you learn from your immersion in another culture? It can\u2019t be enough to just tell a story about someone you met on a bus, train, or in a classroom. Explain why and how that person\u2019s influence changed you. How do you think, act, and perhaps even plan differently now as a result of this exposure?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

An admissions committee member once told me that an applicant\u2019s actual experience mattered less than how they talked about it<\/a>. Even a seemingly dull experience can be transformative to someone who is really paying attention.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Do you need help taking your experiences and using them to create a unique, compelling \u2013 even exciting \u2013 personal statement? Explore our\u00a0Admissions Consulting & Editing Services<\/a>\u00a0and work one-on-one with an expert advisor who will guide you through the admissions process to acceptance.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

From Example to Exemplary: How to Use Sample Essays to Make Your Essay Outstanding<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Jessica Pishko graduated with a J.D. from Harvard Law School and received an M.F.A. from Columbia University. She spent two years guiding students through the medical school application process at Columbia\u2019s Postbac Program and is a former Accepted admissions consultant.\u00a0Want an admissions expert help you get accepted? Click here to get in touch!<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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