Some Nitty Gritty Questions!

Colleges and Universities A-Z Massachusetts Institute of Technology
1

<p>I'm an international student in USA, willing to transfer to MIT :)</p>

<p>I'm writing my MIT essays write now. I have been wondering how do I approach the tone of the overall essay ? Like for e.g. Can I write in semi-informal way :p i.e. using exclamation marks or words like "Oh well...", "Ahh..", or include expressions like <em>Sigh</em>, ":-P" etc ?
Will these portray me as being over smart ?
I have written informal essays earlier so, I guess I can pull it off and won't sound too cheesy, but is it worth trying ?</p>

<p>In the second essay question it says why am I transferring from my current university ?
So I have my own reasons for transferring, but they can be somewhat too rude to be written for e.g. my university has a terrible international student service office, no proper replies, no proper administration, and calls students often to give secondary copies of their paperwork since they keep redecorating their office & keep on losing our paperwork :)
I have a few more to add, but are these reasons too harsh to be written about (keeping in mind my writing doesn't cross the limits)?</p>

<p>And for the last essay question, it asks me to in a way portray myself in words. I want to write about one of the bad habits which I have, which I try to minimize as much as I can, but it helps me learn a lot about things & the people around me. So emphasizing on a certain bad of mine & the way am fighting it does it works against me (provided that I do mention my better habits as well) ?</p>

<p>I do know that I'm supposed to write the essays on my own, but these are some tiny legal hacks which I wanted to know whether I can use it or not. Please reply :D</p>

2

<p>I would not use “Sigh” or “:-P” It is very informal and makes you seem immature or nonchalant about your application.</p>

<p>I would write about the troubles you have had at your current university, but there’s a fine line between criticism and whining.</p>

<p>And writing about improving a bad habit is a pretty good idea I think.</p>

3

<p>^ Alright, thanks!
So can I use words like “Oh well…”, “Ahh…” ?</p>

4

<p>^ If it’s not in dialog, it will make you seem unprofessional. I approached all of my college essays like I was telling a story to a formal audience - this helped me make my essays personal while still maintaining the professionalism.</p>

<p>You can also read your essay out loud, but read the words, rather than performing the expressions - that’s what your reader will do. If you read your essay for another human and s/he think that it sounds professional enough, you’re probably solid.</p>

5

<p>^ Fantastic!
Thanks a ton :)</p>