Essay #2 (Required for all applicants. 500 words maximum)
Describe the unique qualities that attract you to the specific undergraduate College or School (including preferred admission and dual degree programs) to which you are applying at the
University of Michigan. How would that curriculum support your interests?
The ability to advocate for a patient's needs, respect the patient, and honestly care about their welfare are all qualities of a great nurse. A nurse who fights for the wellbeing of their patient is a nurse who is worthy of the honor of the job they possess. Seeing patients as individuals, not as a job, is a core fundamental trait for this profession. Each patient requires impartial evaluation from their caregiver and the knowledge that they will not be judged for their lifestyle or life choices. At the University of Michigan, I want to be taught these qualities through the course of my education. Many of the classes offered in the nursing curriculum teach students how to understand nursing as a part of society and the job as a personal choice, which I think is extremely helpful in setting up a basic understanding of becoming a nurse. Learning how to take care of all kinds of patients is also a part of the curriculum, and is another opportunity to learn how to respect any patient. Classes like those will reinforce the importance of each patient's needs and how to take care of them, as well as the understanding needed to respond to each patient. I spent a lot of time volunteering throughout middle school and high school, and each time taught me to see more than what was directly around me and to help those who could benefit from my support. When I volunteer, one of the larger ideas is that there is no judgement towards anyone I am helping. Similarly, the nursing program at Michigan will strengthen my acceptance towards those with any kind of need. In my junior year of high school, one of my favorite classes was psychology, which is in the course curriculum for nursing, and I would love to learn even more on the subject. Additionally, I am taking Anatomy and Physiology this year, and am eager to take similar classes as they relate to nursing.
The University of Michigan's nursing curriculum emphasizes the equilibrium of nursing classes with social and biological courses, which I find to be a benefit to my education. While balanced, this curriculum places a large focus on having mainly nursing and health related classes, which recognizes my interest in a more direct approach to the nursing program.
Being an exceptional nurse requires understanding, responsiveness to those in need and the ability to consistently put the needs of others first, all of which are qualities I possess and will take with me in the future at the University of Michigan.
Lindsay, the essay is asking you to discuss the reasons that you decided upon the University of Michigan as your nursing school of choice. When you were considering your choices from a plethora of nursing university choices, do you remember what made you decide to apply at University of Michigan? What attributes did the school have, when compared to others, that made you decide that their course curriculum and training programs were the kind of academic exposure that you feel would help you become the nurse that you want to be in the future?
Your current essay does discuss some of these aspects, but in a general way which makes it a run of the mill essay. By delving deeply into a comparison and relating those reasons to your personal objectives and goals as a future nurse, you will be able to better defend your choice of University Michigan as the university that best suits your needs as a future nursing student. That sort of discussion will just require a few adjustments to the content of your current essay. Go from general to specific in your discussion.
