1. After completing your first application, the approach to re-using your essays should be:

1. In looking at the new essay questions, consider first whether you’ve written any essays that could answer them, and if so, adapt the essays.
2. Never re-use essays because it’s better to start fresh every time.
3. In looking at the new essay questions, decide what topics would offer the best answer, and if you have written previous essays on that topic, adapt them carefully.
4. In deciding which essays to adapt, look for those that will require the least change.

2. When working on multiple applications, it’s best to:

1. Try to work on them consecutively and separately if possible.
2. Try to work on them simultaneously to keep everything in the forefront of your mind.
3. Make a spreadsheet listing all the parts of all the applications, and where there is overlap, create generic text you can cut-and-paste into the applications (e.g., for descriptions of job responsibilities).
4. Because almost every school will ask why you want to attend that program, gather information on the similarities among the programs and then prepare those sections ahead of time to drop into the appropriate essay.

3. When you’ve completed some applications and still have others to work on, you should:

1. Forget about the previous applications and just keep a forward focus.
2. Capitalize on your time (and possibly money) spent by copying and pasting as much as possible from previous applications.
3. Feel free to have your essays reflect the refined and deepened thinking regarding your experiences and goals that naturally occurs as a result of your application reflection and writing.
4. Be sure to change your goals to match the strengths of the particular program.

4. As you write additional applications, it’s fine to:

1. Discuss new experiences that occur.
2. Take a different slant on a previously discussed experience that, on reflection, you now see differently.
3. Emphasize different aspects of your goals depending on the question and the program.
4. All of the above.

5. As you start to prepare for interviews:

1. Memorize as many anecdotes as you can.
2. Review the schools’ questions as much as possible and memorize answers to the best of your ability.
3. Review the schools’ questions and web site and also review your experiences to prepare examples of teamwork, leadership, integrity, and initiative – all qualities that schools value.
4. Practice until you never have a moment of silence as you mentally compose an answer.