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When prospective students apply to enrol in one of our longer courses like the Diploma in Beauty Therapy and Applied Aesthetics, one of the requirements is he or she must write an essay in response to statements we have given them. This exercise gives us a fairer idea of their direction and insight into why exactly they want to enrol in our course.
Unfortunately, a small minority of the responses we receive appear to be spouting what we want to hear, not responses where the applicant has sat down, truly thought about what to answer, and written the reply from there.
On the other side of the coin, a good chunk of the responses we receive do, to varying degrees, address this and delve (at various depths) into giving us insight into the reason(s) why the prospective student wants to enrol in the course.
My suggestion to those applicants who are interested in studying with us is to sit down, have a good think of why you feel this is the industry for you, and answer from your heart. Like in a court case, use evidence to back your statements up, where possible.
For example, you might say from a young age you were passionate about beauty therapy.
Why? How? There are so many ways you can take this statement to expand upon it. Maybe some of your fondest memories were of accompanying your favourite aunt to her weekly facial treatment, and the beauty therapists there got your initial interest going. Over the years, you built up this interest by… (and you can continue from there).
And “passionate” is a very strong word to use. Why are you passionate about this industry? A lot of people say they are “passionate” about something, but how many can demonstrate or explain why?
These are the sorts of questions you might want to ask yourself after making the first draft of your essay. (I say first draft because you may need to go through and clarify things, correct misspelled words, and so on.) When you read the draft of your essay, make changes and corrections, and think of how to best expand upon what you have written (if needed).
Remember, you know what you are talking about because you have experienced it; putting those ideas on paper doesn’t always translate the way you want it to. So think about, “does the way I’ve written this get my point across?”
(It’s like people who don’t use indicators when they are driving. They know where they are going. The rest of us don’t!)
If you’re not sure, have someone else who is very analytical at these things sit down and read your essay to make sure it makes sense and gets your point across. This could be a teacher or parent or someone who has perhaps experienced with writing essays for university or other tertiary education.
Of course, as always, if you need clarification or guidance, please feel free to contact us, and we will be more than happy to assist as best as we can.
Scott Fack is the Director of Operations for The National School of Aesthetics, the South Island’s leading beauty therapy, nail technology and spa therapies training provider.