sample admission essay

Some of the terms used in graduate school admissions are similar to those used in undergraduate studies, so applicants need not be stressed by grad school admissions jargon. There are, however, some words that take on a different meaning when used within the context of graduate school admissions and curriculum. So just in case you’re not yet familiar with graduate school admissions terminologies, here are some of the commonly used terms:

Assistantship – refers to the financial assistance granted to a meritorious graduate student in return for services as an assistant in research, laboratory, and teaching. Applicants can inquire about the details of the school’s assistantship arrangements from the graduate school admissions staff.

Attestation – the process of reaffirming that a transcript or degree is genuine by having a witness or authorized person sign it. A transcript of records is an important graduate school admissions requirement, and attestation is sometimes required in certain circumstances.

Core requirements or core curriculum – refers to the compulsory courses or requisites in order to complete a degree.

Deferred admission – also known as delayed admission, this is an option that grad students have to temporarily postpone their program studies usually for work, document processing, travel, etc.

GMAT: raduate Management Admission Test – one of the main graduate school admissions requirements for business schools and MBA applicants.

GRE: Graduate Record Exam – the GRE is a common grad school admissions requirement, and can be considered as the grad school counterpart of SATs. it tests your cognitive and reasoning abilities and is composed of two elements: general and subject matter.

Letter of recommendation – another essential graduate school admissions requirement, and is written by a credible reference person to vouch for the applicant’s character, work progress, career goals, etc. Applicants usually ask professors to write letters of recommendation for them.

LSAT or Law School Admission Test – a graduate school admissions requirement for law schools, and professional and postgraduate law programs in the US.

MAT or (Millers Analogy Test): this exam is commonly used in the admissions process for social science and liberal arts graduate school programs. As compared to GRE, the MAT focuses more on verbal reasoning and qualitative skills.

MCAT: Medical College Admission Test – a graduate school admissions requirement for those applying to medical schools in the US.

Non-matriculated student — a student who takes courses from the institution but is not enrolled under any degree program. This is a good option to gauge whether a student can handle the workload of grad school.

NRMP: National Resident Matching Program offered to those applying to medical schools in the US.

Placement test – a test conducted to help students find the suitable courses for them according to their interests and academic ability.

Plan of study – details the applicant’s intended course of study and should coincide with the applicant’s stated objectives in her/his statement of purpose or personal statement. The statement of purpose is also an essential graduate school admissions requirement.

Test of English as a Foreign Language or TOEFL: One of the graduate school admissions requirements that non-native English speakers should meet.

Transcript – the official record of a student’s academic performance, contains the course titles, corresponding final grades, and each course’s number of credits. All applicants are asked to submit a copy of their transcripts as a graduate school requirement.

TSE or Test of Spoken English – a test administered to assess English proficiency for non-native English speakers.

Withdrawal – refers to the process of dropping out of a class or school.

Are you planning to apply to college?  The following college admissions terms are often encountered in the application process.  You may want to get familiar with them.

College admissions glossary: selecting the universities and programs you are interested in

It is very likely that you would encounter college admissions terms in your application. Here are a few things that would help you understand such jargon:

Associate degree

It is a program that is designed to be completed after two years. Generally, an associate degree)  is created to give students a background on a particular academic field. If the college or university permits, students finishing these degrees could continue their studies into a bachelor’s degree. Students usually choose these programs because they require less completion time than a bachelor’s degree. Ask the college admissions officer of the university you’re applying to about these programs.

Early admissions programs

Some college admissions offices offer early admissions or early decision programs. The applications for college admissions programs usually starts in November or December. The result of the application would be given to you even if the regular application has not started yet. However, you could only apply to a single early college admissions program. Once admitted, the school would automatically count you as one of their enrollees.

Early action programs

This kind of college admissions program is very similar to early admissions. You will have to apply early so you can be immediately informed of your application status. Unlike students admitted through early admissions programs, the students who used the early action programs are not obliged to enroll in the school. They can still opt to cancel their application even if they have already been admitted.

College admissions glossary: the application process

The following is a list of the common college admissions requirements that you would need to have. Take note that there are times when academic institutions have different sets of college admissions requirements.

Letters of recommendation

College applicants who are seeking scholarship grants need to submit letters of recommendation. These letters are part of the college admissions requirements. You would need someone (not a relative) to write about your skills. Ideally, the people who would write these college admissions requirements should be able to vouch for your abilities and credentials. You can ask your academic adviser or work superior to write these letters.

Personal statement

The personal statement is also popularly called the college application essay. Applicants need to write a personal statement as part of the college admissions requirements. College admissions screening committees use this essay to know the applicant more. A well written personal statement could very well compensate for an average GPA or SAT score. You could also visit websites that provide free college admissions essay samples. They could help you improve the way you write your application essay.

SAT score

SAT stands for Scholastic Admission Test. SAT is made up of two parts: math and verbal evaluation tests.  Colleges and universities require all their applicants to take this kind of test. College admissions offices use SAT scores as one of the bases for college applications.

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