reusing old essay?

[doctormelody]

Hey guys, just wondering if you think it's bad to reuse my essay from last year and just change the parts that are school specific? Last year, I used basically the same essay for every school and just edited it to reflect the phrasing used in their prompts since they all ask basically the same things. The only thing I'm worried about is a large part of my essay is about an event that happened in the summer of 2017 and was therefore much more relevant (at least to me personally) this past year. I'm applying to only one school and I didn't apply there last year. I'm not worried about getting in because my GPA is above the threshold for guaranteed admission. I'm a little worried that it could affect my chances of getting a decent scholarship if my essay isn't up to snuff. Then again, I've also heard that for this particular school, they base scholarship awards on GPA, in which case it seems pointless to even try for more than the minimum since my GPA is only 3.5 (the cutoff is 3.4). Any thoughts? Any second cycle applicants having similar problems? Talk to me! I have less than a month to complete this application and I'm kind of freaking out since I also start a new job this week and my time management skills are admittedly awful (something I had hoped to improve before grad school, welp).

[doctormelody]

YIKES, just found this fun little addendum to the guaranteed admission policy at the bottom of an email from the Director of Admissions:

*only declined admission because of poor written statement or poor recommendations.

I assume it would have to be like, REALLY bad, but now I'm extra nervous. Great.

[catatap]

I used different versions of the same essay on my applications and have gotten into two schools and am waiting to hear back on another two. As long as the essay is your own work and answers the question asked, I don't think it should be a problem.

[doctormelody]

12 hours ago, catatap said:

I used different versions of the same essay on my applications and have gotten into two schools and am waiting to hear back on another two. As long as the essay is your own work and answers the question asked, I don't think it should be a problem.

Yeah, you're probably right. I overthink things sometimes. Thank you.

[hilaryp]

I think as long as you address the required points for each school's application, you should be fine. My personal statements all ring similar...because they're about me and why I want to go to social work school  ?. 

I'm surprised the school has guaranteed admission--that certainly makes it easier for ad coms!

[doctormelody]

On 12/7/2018 at 8:18 AM, hilaryp said:

I think as long as you address the required points for each school's application, you should be fine. My personal statements all ring similar...because they're about me and why I want to go to social work school  ?. 

I'm surprised the school has guaranteed admission--that certainly makes it easier for ad coms!

Hey, thanks for the reply! I went to an info session today and got lots of good material for the "why Pitt" section of the essay.

It's only guaranteed before a certain date if your GPA is above 3.4, and it seems like they're really strict about the cutoff. I think they can get away with it because most admission deadlines are later and so not too many people are prepared to apply this early. Could be wrong, though.