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NSSR autobiography?


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I am applying to the New School for Social Research, and on top of the SOP, they want an autobiographical essay talking about basically anything. Is anyone applying there? What approach are you taking? This is freaking me out. My life is boring and nothing has ever happened to me, so I don't know how to write anything that isn't SOP-type stuff.

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I think you need to re-evaluate your assessment that your life has been "boring" and "nothing" has ever happened to you. I hear what you're saying (you never climbed Mt. Everest, swam the English Channel, went scuba diving in the Great Barrier Reef) but chances are this essay is not looking for you to say you did some out-of-this-world things. I'm guessing they want you to create a good story out of the things you've done, whatever they may be. If you really felt you had nothing to show for your life, I'm guessing you wouldn't be applying to grad school. Why do you love to study what you want to study as a grad student? What motivates you? Maybe your uncle gave you a globe when you were five and that sparked an interest in international relations. Maybe you had a really great teacher who influenced you. Maybe you volunteer at a soup kitchen or coaching Little League. Ask your friends and family what sort of things they associate with you, what your strengths and weaknesses are. Don't stress out about this too much.

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I think you need to re-evaluate your assessment that your life has been "boring" and "nothing" has ever happened to you. I hear what you're saying (you never climbed Mt. Everest, swam the English Channel, went scuba diving in the Great Barrier Reef) but chances are this essay is not looking for you to say you did some out-of-this-world things. I'm guessing they want you to create a good story out of the things you've done, whatever they may be. If you really felt you had nothing to show for your life, I'm guessing you wouldn't be applying to grad school. Why do you love to study what you want to study as a grad student? What motivates you? Maybe your uncle gave you a globe when you were five and that sparked an interest in international relations. Maybe you had a really great teacher who influenced you. Maybe you volunteer at a soup kitchen or coaching Little League. Ask your friends and family what sort of things they associate with you, what your strengths and weaknesses are. Don't stress out about this too much.

My family says I am snotty and don't take criticism well. But what you say makes perfect sense. I keep imagining everyone else sending in essays of their glorious, exotic lives filled with transformative experiences. Maybe it will be a constructive exercise in self-reflection to write this, in any event. But so unpleasant.

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My family says I am snotty and don't take criticism well. But what you say makes perfect sense. I keep imagining everyone else sending in essays of their glorious, exotic lives filled with transformative experiences. Maybe it will be a constructive exercise in self-reflection to write this, in any event. But so unpleasant.

Ha! That's what my family says about me, too! (Yoga and leaving my 20s have helped me with this, but I digress.) I'm not doing this particular essay, but I have written similar ones with no specific prompt.

I also don't have transformative experiences, but I tried to think about the little things that I did growing up and what they might say about me. I grew up very normal in a very rural area (but still a townie) and now live in a large coastal city. One of my favorite things to do with my friends is to describe how my grandma butchered chickens. It's funny because they're grossed out and because they don't think at all how meat comes from an actual animal. So I think about how being exposed to rural life might have influenced me growing up.

Another personal example for me is musical training. I studied music for many years and through college, but I'm just adequate. My life never really revolved around it, I didn't consider making it a career, but I kept taking lessons because I liked it. I might talk about what the discipline of musical training did or how it was great to get out of my head. Or how it's great to have one thing to not be competitive about because I'm competitive about everything else.

If you went to a different country and had to briefly describe yourself and your background to a real hottie that you wanted to impress, what would you say? Then when you have a few examples, think about what they reveal about you. Then leave the room. Come back in a few hours, and you'll probably think of more things. You don't say how long it needs to be, but with two or three examples, some reflection on each, and tying them all together, you should be fine.

Hope this helps! Good luck!

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