Hatrack River Forum: Applying to College...

This is topic Applying to College... in forum Books, Films, Food and Culture at Hatrack River Forum.

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Posted by Princess Leah (Member # 6026) on :

*bangs head against stack of essay topics*

I am chanting my sanity mantra ("I am more than a statistic I am more than SATs) but IT'S NOT HELPING!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Posted by mackillian (Member # 586) on :

I wrote about my favorite childhood book "The Comet and You."

Posted by Rappin' Ronnie Reagan (Member # 5626) on :

You were a member of Heaven's Gate as a child?

Posted by Belle (Member # 2314) on :

I feel your pain Princess Leah. [Frown]

But, I'm transferring in - I have previous college credits. So, it's a slightly different process. Instead of writing essays, I'm chasing down transcripts.

Posted by mackillian (Member # 586) on :

Obviously not, since I lived through childhood. [Wink]

Posted by Shigosei (Member # 3831) on :

Try to write essays that you can reuse over and over.

I remember I had a very hard time writing about myself. If you're having a problem, you could always think of this as writing a landmark.

Having gone through this process two years ago (Good grief! Already!), I know how painful this is.

Posted by Raia (Member # 4700) on :

Leah, I'm right there with you. Believe me. *kills college applications with a big knife*

Posted by IrishAphrodite19 (Member # 1880) on :

Do any of the colleges you are applying to accept the Common Application? That is the route a lot of my friends took, that way they only had to write one essay for a couple of different schools.
225 schools now accept to Common App, you might check it out.

~~Irish

Posted by fugu13 (Member # 2859) on :

Have fun with your essays.

I wrote one as a letter from my id recommending my ego (they said we could write a letter of recommendation for ourselves [Wink]

).

I actually forget the others now, but they were all fun to write and came at the questions from unusual angles.

This is a good strategy for several reasons:

1) College recruiters read lots of applications. Sticking in someone's mind is a very, very good thing.

2) Colleges could care less what you write the essay on. Those topics they provide are provided because they hope they will lead the student to a good essay, not because the college wants people to stick scrupulously to them. Do not completely change the topic if a college doesn't provide a "write your own essay" option, but feel free to bend it.

3) A good essay talks about you. This application process is about you. But more importantly, a good essay talks about you in a way that conveys an understanding of your personal values, an understanding of your personal growth, an understanding of your relationship with the world, and an understanding of yourself overall.

4) Do not list activities. Do not list anything else that is listed elsewhere in the application. Do not list anything, unless you're doing something cool like writing a chocolate chip cookie recipe and showing how you're like a chocolate chip cookie (this essay was featured in an article a while back; the author got into some big name school or another with it). You might mention ONE or TWO activities or clubs or whatnot that are directly pertinent to the point of your essay.

5) Relating to four, this is your chance to tell a story. The rest of the application is dry facts. This is where you let your ability to communicate shine through.

6) You do not have to be a wonderful writer. Your essay should have perfect spelling and grammar, of course, and you should put considerable time into refining it, but colleges are not expecting brilliance. Colleges expect an essay to reflect potential for growth, which is best done by making your essay very personal and very personalized. Do not write a generic essay.

Posted by blacwolve (Member # 2972) on :

Of course, fugu has never had a problem with being overly modest, either. [Wink]

Posted by fugu13 (Member # 2859) on :

Where in there was I not modest [Razz]

Posted by blacwolve (Member # 2972) on :

When have you ever been modest? [No No]

Posted by Farmgirl (Member # 5567) on :

Yes, it is somehow very fitting that Fugu writes about his ego....

[ROFL]

FG

[ November 08, 2004, 10:57 AM: Message edited by: Farmgirl ]

Posted by fugu13 (Member # 2859) on :

Ego in the freudian sense -- my "self" [Razz]