Why grad students should drop Dr. Seuss from their application essays
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And this has exactly what to do with your research interests?
Chronicle of Higher Education blogger "Female Science Professor" talks about how graduate-school applicants need to write more about their scholarly experiences and interests -- and can the cutesy stuff:
At the risk of sounding like a cranky old science professor, I will state emphatically that when I read an application to our graduate program, I do not want to hear about your second-grade teacher (with all due respect to excellent second-grade teachers). Neither do I want to read about a star-gazing experience at age 8 (even on a cold, windswept hill), a childhood chemistry set (no matter how beloved), a fantastic documentary that someone happened to find when a televised golf match was canceled (serendipity!), or anything that is supposed to convince the graduate faculty that you have really, truly, profoundly loved science for a long time.