Your documents are prepared, your CV is finalised, and your application is almost ready to submit – but you\u2019re stuck on how to answer the short admissions questions. How are you supposed to fit your personality, experience, and career goals into a few words?<\/p>\n
Thankfully, the short-answer responses are just one aspect of your overall profile. The admissions team is not looking for your life story in 60 words, they are looking for one interesting facet of what makes you you<\/em>. Remember, you are sharing the other pieces of the puzzle with your degree documents, your CV, your extracurricular activities and your interview. The admissions questions aren\u2019t meant to cover all of that. Instead, think of them as a way to show a glimpse of who you are that isn\u2019t already reflected in your academic or professional experiences.<\/p>\n Now, ready for some writing tips so your answers can shine? Let\u2019s go!<\/p>\n Often, when we reflect on ourselves for writing prompts like these, we come up with a list of academic certificates or professional accomplishments. While those are important credentials, they don\u2019t always show the \u201creal\u201d you. This is where the short answers come in. They are an opportunity to think beyond the paper and see lifelong motivations and passions. What early triumphs or bumps in the road led you to where you are today? How did your pathway twist and turn? Your reader can probably relate and will connect with your message if they can see themselves in your details. Perhaps you joined an extracurricular club that changed your life, or your travels abroad challenged you in unexpected ways. Ask yourself, what\u2019s one thing about me that others often notice, or that I\u2019m proud of, or that shaped how I see the world? That\u2019s your starting point.<\/p>\n Now that you have reflected, pick one<\/em> trait, experience, or perspective that truly sets you apart. Don\u2019t try to list everything \u2013 you don\u2019t have the space for it! – and depth beats breadth in short responses. When you’re given just 60 words to answer a question like \u201cWhat makes you unique?\u201d the key is to focus. Instead of trying to cram in your entire personality, background, and goals, choose one<\/em> meaningful detail that reflects something special about you. Maybe it\u2019s a quirky habit, a formative experience, or a personal value that guides your decisions. Think of it as a snapshot, not the whole photo album. This approach guides you into answers that are intentional and memorable, rather than vague and scattered. One well-chosen detail can say infinitely more than a dozen vague ones.<\/p>\n We know you are not applying to a creative writing programme here, but you will stand out if your answers are vibrant and specific. Generic answers are the quickest way to be forgotten. Writing \u201cI\u2019m passionate,\u201d \u201cI work hard,\u201d or \u201cI\u2019m a team player\u201d is fine, but those words don\u2019t tell us how<\/em> you\u2019re those things or why<\/em> it matters. Being descriptive is your secret weapon. Instead of saying \u201cI\u2019m creative,\u201d say \u201cI started a student podcast exploring alternative career paths for alumni.\u201d Instead of \u201cI\u2019m resilient,\u201d say \u201cI failed my first coding exam, then built a study group that helped us all pass.\u201d These kinds of details bring your personality to life and help the admissions team see you, not just read about you. In a short response, every word counts, so make them vivid and grounded in real life. You\u2019ll say more by being real and specific than by trying to sound impressive.<\/p>\n Even in a few words, your tone can reflect your personality. Are you witty, warm, reserved, reflective, bold, quirky, or thoughtful? Let that come through. That\u2019s you. This isn\u2019t a professional cover letter or essay, so you can write casually. In fact, the best short responses often feel like a quick conversation with someone interesting. If humor is part of your voice, use it. If you\u2019re more introspective, lean into that. The goal isn\u2019t to impress with big words or formal phrasing, it\u2019s to sound like you<\/em>. Admissions teams read hundreds of applications, and the ones that feel authentic are the ones that stick. So write the way you speak (with appropriateness, of course), and trust that your voice is enough. You\u2019re not trying to be someone else, you\u2019re trying to be the most authentic version of yourself in a tiny space. That\u2019s what makes a short response powerful.<\/p>\n These tips can help you write authentic and memorable short responses. Don\u2019t make the mistake of rewriting your CV here and lose the opportunity to let your unique personality shine. This is your chance to share a meaningful glimpse of who you are with the admissions team and increase your chances of receiving an invitation to the next stage of the application process: the interview.<\/p>\n You\u2019ve got this! 60 words is more than enough when they come from the heart.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Your documents are prepared, your CV is finalised, and your application is almost ready to submit – but you\u2019re stuck on how to answer the short admissions questions. How are you supposed to fit your personality, experience, and career goals into a few words? Thankfully, the short-answer responses are just one aspect of your overall […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1325,"featured_media":38511,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[53,39],"tags":[2381,2574,1192],"class_list":["post-38508","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-master","category-study","tag-admissions","tag-cv","tag-motivation"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.frankfurt-school.de\/de\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/38508","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.frankfurt-school.de\/de\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.frankfurt-school.de\/de\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.frankfurt-school.de\/de\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1325"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.frankfurt-school.de\/de\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=38508"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/blog.frankfurt-school.de\/de\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/38508\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":38512,"href":"https:\/\/blog.frankfurt-school.de\/de\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/38508\/revisions\/38512"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.frankfurt-school.de\/de\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/38511"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.frankfurt-school.de\/de\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=38508"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.frankfurt-school.de\/de\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=38508"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.frankfurt-school.de\/de\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=38508"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}1) Reflect<\/h2>\n
2) Focus on one thing<\/h2>\n
3) Be specific – not generic<\/h2>\n
4) Let your personality shine<\/h2>\n