Book excerpt: The fully updated fifth edition of the go-to guide for crafting winning essays for any type of graduate program or scholarship, including PhD, master's, MD, JD, Rhodes, and postdocs, with brand-new essays and the latest hot tips and secret techniques. Based on thousands of interviews with successful grad students and admissions officers, Graduate Admissions Essays deconstructs and demystifies the ever-challenging application process for getting into graduate and scholarship programs. The book presents: Sample essays in a comprehensive range of subjects, including some available from no other source: medical residencies, postdocs, elite fellowships, academic autobiographies, and more! The latest on AI, the GRE, and diversity and adversity essays. Detailed strategies that have proven successful for some of the most competitive graduate programs in the country (learn how to beat 1% admissions rates!). How to get strong letters of recommendation, how to get funding when they say they have no funding, and how to appeal for more financial aid. Brand-new sample supplemental application letters, letters to faculty mentors, and letters of continuing interest. Full of Dr. Donald Asher's expert advice, this is the perfect graduate application resource whether you're fresh out of college and eager to get directly into graduate school or decades into your career and looking for a change.