Saying the Unsayable in Admissions Writing

Many applicants feel constrained by the purported boundaries of admissions writing. Admissions essays and 'statements of purpose' feel far too stilted, sort of like meeting the parents for the first time. They strangle the narrative voice; they stifle one's authentic Self; they inhibit one's true feelings. However, admissions writing doesn't have to be that way, nor does your first encounter with your in-laws, for that matter!

Listening to NPR just the other day, I caught Jonathan Franzen discussing his new novel Freedom and sharing insight into the purpose of a novel:

Mr. FRANZEN: I wanted to write long before I was in need of therapy. But having said that, much of the work on a novel for me consists in the kind of work you might do in a paid professional's office of trying to walk back from your stuck, conflicted, miserable place to a point of a little bit more distance from which you can begin to fashion some meaningful narrative of how you got to the stuck place. And the stuck-ness, for the working novelist - or at least for this one - has to do with not wanting to get into certain intensely fraught or private experiences, finding - having - feeling that it's absolutely necessary to say things that are absolutely unsay-able.

Many novelists have touched on this capacity to say the unsayable, to articulate and breathe life into those lacunae that exist between paragraphs, conversations and even thoughts--but it's something that really every great piece of writing should aspire to do. Admissions writing is no different, really. Whether you are applying to residency programs and substantiating your interest in pediatric surgery, or regaling a college AdCom with your Academic Decathlon defeat, you should aim to achieve this level of honesty and authenticity...then lightly 'sanitize' your writing for the admissions audience (you might not want to confess the all-night party that caused you to fail your Calc exam).

Our Premiere Service begins with a Skype conversation and really works to serve this authenticity-harnessing purpose. To quote Mr. Franzen again--our process is much like one you'd find in a 'paid professional's office'--we challenge our clients, we force them to distill connections and answer the 'why' questions. This is essentially the way our Advanced Service works too.

Recently, a client seeking a free writing assessment asked if he could just send me a stream of consciousness email. Our response? Absolutely! We'd much prefer the uninhibited, authentic content--the saying of the unsayable--than the alternative, which is 'writing what the AdCom wants to hear.'

Keep it authentic.

Cheers,
Janson
Ivy Eyes Editing
www.ivyeyesediting.com