Essay - Be humble or be righeous?

Question

My friend is applying to Med School, and we both have different opinions on how we should come across in our essays.

Her essays outrightly say "I'm a leader. I'm kind. I'm nice... " (with examples to back them up, of course)

Mine are more "humble", I guess you could say, and although I don't come outright and say I'm a leader, I talk about leading clubs and organizations and helping other people.

She believes that sometimes you need to come out and list the qualities you possess to make you sound more confident in your abilities. I personally think I should let the adcoms know my accomplishments and let them come to their own opinion about what words describe me.

Any thoughts?

asimov · Answer

I think both approaches are acceptable, as long as you illustrate your claim with evidence.

Some school's essay topics directly ask about your leadership quality, etc.? So it's okay to come straight out and list the qualities in the initial sentence/introduction, and then use the body of the essay to back up your claim with examples that illustrate your leadership skills.

Jerz · Answer

It's a heck of a lot better to demonstrate your skills than to tell people you have them. If you truly are a leader, talk about how you led and the impact you had and people will see that you are a leader. If you go around telling people that you are a leader, you probably aren't.

SnehaC · Answer

Jerz - that was my opinion exactly. I guess I'll go ahead and stick to my approach then

Thanks you both for your input!

thisguy310 · Answer

I would agree with asimov.
I think showing with examples and experience goes a much longer way as well as sets you apart from all of the other applications being read.

resh · Answer

I agree !
If you have instances that demonstrate leadership skills, you can mention that briefly.

I recently read the essay of a lady who had 4 months experience and in her essay she had mentioned how she was extremely capable and outsmarting collegues with 5+ yrs of experience in those 4 months. My first impression after reading it was not good. It seemed immature and pompous.

So, IMO as Jerz rightly put it, it is not the quality of mature leader to go around telling people.

resh · Answer

I am also in the process of getting applications ready.In my case, I had made some significant contributions to my prev project. I discussed with my supervisor who is giving me a recommendation, if he would mention that in the letter of recommendation.

He said he would be glad to make a note of it.

He said he would be glad to make a note of it.

Essay - Be humble or be righeous?

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