8/23/2015

Managingnegativeinformationinyourgraduateschoolapplication~TheGradTrainBlog:allthingsrelatedtostudyabroad

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Managing negative information in your graduate school

application
11:51PM

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Weallhavethem.Thoseunflatteringpointsinouracademicpath,andsubsequentlyin
ourapplicationpackage:grades(GPA)thatarentashighaswewishedareferenceletter
thatisnotasshinyasexpected asuspensionorastorynotcoherentorfocusedenough.
Recently,wereceivedaquestioninourforumonhowtopresentunflatteringinformation
inanapplication.Wedecidedtoelaborateonithereforthebenefitofourcommunity.

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HereisGradTrains3stageprocesstoaddressthisissue:
First step: If
you determine
that
this
information
will be known
to
the
committee
through your
transcripts,
resume or any
other
application
materials,then
you have no
choicebuttodiscussit.
Otherwise, you need to identify whether this information is really important and
negative,orifitisonlyimportantandnegativeinyourownsubjectiveeyes.
The test of whether it is important and negative, includes two components: first, will it
seem negative to the admissions committee? We receive questions from great applicants
who did not meet their personal expectations, and thus undervalue their achievements.
Othersaretryingtodemonstratehighstandardsbycomplainingaboutwhatisactuallya
greatGPA.Notagoodidea.
Secondisthisinformationimportant?Youreallydontneedtoexplaindroppingoutof
thatextracurricularactivityin7thgrade.Onelowgradefrom5yearsbackwouldalsonot
raise any eyebrow. Take into account that as an international student, the school you are
applyingtowillnotknowallthenuancesofyourpastexperiences.Getoutofyourown
skinandseriouslythinkwhethertheywilleveninterpretwhateverthisisasnegative.
Ifthisisnotimportantandnegativeinformationintheeyesofthecommittee,justdontsay
anything.Discussingitmayportrayyouassomeonenegative,orsomeonewhocannot
tellwhatisimportant.Justmoveon!
Secondstep:Youhaveconcludedthis is important and negative information. Well, you
need to explain it then but in a way that does not leave the committee with a negative
impressionofyou.
First,askyourself:Isthereapossibilitytorepresentthisinformationinagoodway?Ifso
trytodothat.Forexample,ifyourexperimentinthelabwasbasedonfalsehypothesisand
youhavenopublicationtoshowforit,youcansaythatyoufoundthatthehypothesiswas
invalidated,andthatthisisgoingtoserveasabasisfornewresearch.
Third step: If you come to the conclusion that there is no good way to present this
http://blog.gradtrain.com/2013/11/managingnegativeinformationinyour.html

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8/23/2015

Managingnegativeinformationinyourgraduateschoolapplication~TheGradTrainBlog:allthingsrelatedtostudyabroad

negativeinformation,youneedtododamagecontrol.Herearesomeideasonhowtoframe
itinawaythatwillminimizethenegativeimpactonyourapplicationpackage:
Everythingintheworldcanbeexplainedusingpositivelanguageornegative
language.Choosethepositivetrack.Avoidwordsthatconveynegativity,like:
failure,shame,loser,blame,difficulty,fault.Instead,use:learningexperience,
challenge,responsibility,independence,lesson,improvement,growth.
Indicatepositivechange.Showthatyouunderstoodthesourceoftheproblem,
learnedfromit,implementedwhatyoulearnedandusedittogrowandimprove.
Itcanworktoyouradvantagethatyouhaveimproved.Usethisexperienceasan
honor,ratherthanasourceofshame.Itshowsyourselfawareness,diligence,and
drivetowardscontinuousimprovement.Forexample,Myfirstyeargradeswere
awakeupcallforme.Idecidedtolearntoprioritizemygoals,andtofocuson
whatwasimportantformyfuture.Thisapproachwasreflectedalreadyinmy
secondsemestergrades.Thisalsotaughtmethatimprovementisalwayspossible,
alessonIamimplementingnowasaTA.Ibelievemystudentsnowbenefitfrom
thelearningexperienceIhad.
Dontcomeacrossasinsecure,judgmental,whiny,ordisrespectful.Peoplewant
positivepeoplenearthem.Positivepeoplealsohavebadexperiences.Butthey
viewthempositively.
Neversayanythingbadaboutanybody.Evenifyouarecorrect.Dontcriticize.
Dontmakeexcuses.Dontblame.Dontbadmouthanythingoranyoneelseon
yourapplication.Ever.
Showexcellenceandbalanceinotheracademicfrontstoovercomeanynegative
information.

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Applying to graduate school abroad is a stressful process, and may cause us to act
irrationallyandexaggerateitemsinourpastthatmaynotactuallyseemsobadtoothers
andmostimportantlynottotheadmissionscommittee.Followtheprocessdescribedhere
todeterminewhetherornotyoushouldmentionit,andifyoudohowtoframeitinaway
thatwillbestpositionyou.Mostimportantly,understandwhatthecommitteeislookingfor
andfocusthepresentationofyourprofiletofitthatframework.
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11comments:
Anonymous November19,2013at7:10PM
Wow! Cool post. Thank you. It is so tempting to blame my Math teacher.... will try to
controlmypen...(orkeyboard)...hehe
Reply
Replies
sepatukantorwanitamurahsepatukerjacasualwanita August25,2014at
8:05PM
uwelcome
Reply

admissions December21,2013at6:07PM
reallyinformative.thanksforsharingthisinformativeinformation.lookingforwardtoshare
thisinmorewidely.
Reply
Replies
GradTrain December25,2013at3:15AM
Happyyoulikedit!Feelfreetoshare,ofcourse!(Withattribution:))

http://blog.gradtrain.com/2013/11/managingnegativeinformationinyour.html

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8/23/2015

Managingnegativeinformationinyourgraduateschoolapplication~TheGradTrainBlog:allthingsrelatedtostudyabroad
Reply

JamesKateron May12,2014at1:22PM
By after reading your post I've come to know some delightful knowledge about the future
educationsystem.http://www.premieressay.com/termpaper Such kind of concept is able
give us a clear idea about our nation. I hope in future you'll gives me as well as more
informationlikethis.
Reply

Friv May14,2014at3:06AM
Thankyou.ItissotemptingtoblamemyMathteacher..
Reply

friv June18,2014at11:46AM
Thissitelooksinteresting,Isharesometopicsinsomeofmysocialpages
Reply

Friv July19,2014at6:24AM
Thissitelooksinteresting,IsharesometopicsinsomeofmysocialpagesKizi8
Reply

AdmissionEssay July31,2014at2:01PM
Such a useful article. It really is a piece of art being able to transform negative info into
positiveintheadmissionessays,whichcantellalotaboutthepersonwritingitactually.
Reply

KimberlyMcNeeley October2,2014at10:37AM
i might want to partake in challenge and truly cherish that sort of challenge and giving
exposition benefits here while premeir essay helped me write my paper our paper are
exceptionallyusefulandsteadfastforunderstudieswhogettinginstructionathome.
Reply

HuynNguynVn October10,2014at10:57AM
Thankyouforsharinginformation.Ilikeit.
Friv5|YepiGames|Friv9
Reply

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