Happy Friday, Reader, you made it! It’s magically mid-August, be sure to pencil in some final summer fun on your to-do list.
Today, we’re talking about the elusive concept of “fit.”
It’s how admissions committees determine who to accept - and it’s up to applicants to figure out what it means for each program.
Admit it: “Fit” makes way more sense for jeans than it does applying for graduate school.
It gets thrown around as often as “holistic review," usually with a lot of pressure to prove yourself and no clear direction of what actually needs to be proved.
Here's what's really happening.
To an applicant, fit sounds like a verdict:
Is this program right for me? Am I "good enough" for it? Am I who they want as a student?
To the person reading your application, fit is a more narrow question:
Does this applicant understand what we do in this program - and does what they want line up with what we can give them?
Keep in mind, admissions committees are doing more than cherry-picking strong applicants.
They’re also:
- Assembling cohorts with a variety of backgrounds that will make class discussions more robust
- Building pipelines of future alumni headed into change-making careers
- Matching applicants’ interests to faculty who have room on their research teams that year
When I read applications for over a decade, this one question helped me determine how well someone would “fit” in my programs:
Will this person take advantage of the resources provided for them?
The people applying were often academically exceptional, with long lists of involvements, and well-written essays.
The tipping point to acceptance (in my programs, review process, and applicant pool) was when someone described how they’d taken initiative to learn and grow in their prior experiences.
When I saw a go-getter who maximized their resources - regardless of how few or many they had - it was an easy yes for me to accept them.
Every graduate program determines fit differently behind closed doors - but there are often hints clearly noted on their websites.
Here are action steps to figure out your fit with a specific program, and how to show it in your application materials:
Action Step 1: Review program admissions pages, plus any pages on mission, values, and vision.
If their values speak to you at the cellular level, chances are high that you could be a good fit as an applicant.
Look for program, college or school mission pages first; use the university’s if they don’t exist.
Here are examples from The Ohio State University (my alma mater):
Bonus step: Schedule a brief call with an admissions counselor or faculty member to hear about the program in their own words. Their responses tell you what the program cares about most.
Action Step 2: Write down the keywords you find, then write notes on which of your experiences align with each one.
This pre-work sets you up for personal statements and interviews. You also can share relevant terms with recommendation letter writers.
The goal here is to make clear connections between your experiences and strengths with what they value most as a program.
When applicants skip this step, it shows.
Action Step 3: Refer to these connections in your application materials - organically.
Admissions committees can spot when keywords have been retroactively stuffed into generic personal statements.
If you do the pre-work and write each statement separately and with intention, you can be that easy-yes applicant for reviewers.
This article will help you understand how to apply this work to your statement:
Break up this research and pre-work one program at a time.
This strategy helps you identify which programs best fit you - and prepares you to show why you’re a strong fit for them, too.
What I'm working on ✍
Outside of my graduate school work, I love building the alumni experience as a volunteer.
I’m the VP of my high school’s alumni council, and on Monday I led an alumni engagement strategy retreat. The best education is often rooted in community - if you find a program that celebrates and supports alumni, it could be the right fit for decades to come.
And on a personal note, the trip home included family birthday celebrations. My grandmother’s turning 90! 🎉
As you explore programs and build your strategy, keep in mind that you can apply these fit-finding steps to any job or volunteer application.
This work is often the missing piece between knowing you’re qualified and understanding how to show it to the people meeting you on paper (or screen) first.
You can do this.
Thanks for being here, make it a great weekend!
Dr. Jena
P.S. If you know you’re a good fit for a program but need help putting it into words, that’s exactly what we do in a strategy session. After hearing your story and a quick read of a program’s mission and values, I can tell you exactly how (and where) to share that with application reviewers.