The "Why Us?" essay isn't about proving a school is unique (despite what people tell you)

As I mentioned in my last post, most students approach the "Why Us?" essay almost like an argumentative essay. They feel they need to prove why This University is unique and go on a quest to find the most niche classes or clubs they can find.

Many students then write essays that sound like brochures for the school: Duke's undergraduate research opportunities are unparalleled, or UWisconsin will provide the opportunities, inside and outside the classroom, to transform my dreams into a reality.

But this approach is missing the point. Read the "Why Us?" prompts carefully. Most of them are not asking you what makes their school different from any other school.

Take a look at these two prompts, for example:

What is your impression of Duke as a university and community, and why do you believe it is a good match for your goals, values, and interests? (250 words max)

and

Tell us why you would like to attend the University of Wisconsin–Madison. In addition, please include why you are interested in studying the major(s) you have selected. If you selected undecided please describe your areas of possible academic interest.

These prompts are asking why their university is a good match to you. You don't need to argue why a school is unique among all schools, you just need to explain why a school is uniquely suited to you. This means the "Why Us?" essay should be just as personal as your other essays. It's a place where you can offer admissions officers new information about yourself, what you're interested in, what you want to pursue, and most importantly... why.

This is the part that's often missing from my student's first drafts.

Me: You like that Duke has great interdisciplinary research opportunities, but why? Why are those opportunities important specifically to you?

Student: I like the idea of working with people who are experts in other areas, it seems like there would be better ideas.

Me: Why do you think you're drawn to the idea of experts from different fields working together? Was there something you read, or watched, or heard that made you think that would be exciting?

Student: It kind of reminds me of one of those movies where characters from different franchises unite for the first time. Or, also, in biology we recently learned about how the discovery of DNA happened because scientists from different fields were able to combine their knowledge.

Me: What made you the kind of person who is drawn to this idea of collaboration? What is it about your family, culture, community, or experiences that formed you so that you would be interested in that kind of thing, or think it's important?

Student: I'm very much a STEM person and my mom is not. But we'll have these conversations on the way home from school and usually end up learning something from each other. Like once I was telling her about how we learned about the bubonic plague and she told me that diseases that come from animals, like rats, are so much more dangerous because usually viruses don't want to kill their hosts, but if they come from another animal then they kind of accidentally do.

This student might then go on to write a Duke "Why Us?" essay that looks something like this:

My mom is a STEM person. I am not. But that is exactly why our conversations in the car are so entertaining. I will tell her about how we learned about the bubonic plague in AP Modern European History, and she'll ask me, "You know why diseases that spread from animals to humans are so much more dangerous, right?" By the time we have pulled into the driveway, I've learned a new word, zoonotic, and she's learned about the flagellants, the group that went around whipping their backs because they didn't know how else to stop the plague.

I don't want these kinds of conversations to end, which is why I'm applying to Duke. "How Do People Affect Zoonotic Disease Dynamics in Madagascar?" This is the exact question an interdisciplinary team from Bass Connections asked a few years ago. There were scientists and sociologists working together, and I couldn't help but picture a movie where superheroes from across franchises unite. I want to go to a school where I'm in constant conversation with peers and professors who are excellent at what they do, even if it's completely different from what I'm interested in.

I don't know exactly what I want to study in college, but I know I want to talk to people and discover things and help people. This sounds vague but when I learned about Bass Connections and Duke's many other interdisciplinary research programs I could actually see it taking form. I would love to use my love of history to work with a team of scientists, and maybe, prevent the next plague.

In this example, you can see there's really only one name drop about Duke. The rest of the essay is about the student, what she cares about, what she hopes to do. There is no attempt to sound professional or as if she has everything figured out.

What makes the essay distinct isn't the information about Duke, but rather the specificity with which this student writes about her experience. How many applicants write about bubonic plague discussions in the car ride home?

And just as importantly, the specificity of this example helps admissions officers picture what this applicant would be like on their campus vs. an applicant who writes something like, I plan to engage in interdisciplinary research groups, incorporating my passion for history in order to make an impact on global health challenges.

An admissions officer from Emory said that the following questions is the one they keep asking themselves, again and again, throughout the process: “What kind of contribution can this person make to our community?”

So put yourself in the shoes of an admissions officer. Who do you think you'd be better able to picture on campus? "Bubonic plague" or "passion for history"?