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<li><p>Do you usually just put a bulleted list of things that you couldn't include in the actual application? Or do some people actually write another sort of essay?</p></li>
<li><p>If the college you're applying to is your top choice, would it be helpful to just state "This college is my top choice and if I get accepted, I'll be attending for sure". I heard that colleges will like the fact that they're your top choice, but stating it like that sounds really desperate.</p></li>
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<p>Thanks!! Sorry for the dumb questions, I'm just finishing up my first app and wanted to make sure everything is perfect since it's my top choice...</p>
<p>I think you should use the space to customize your app to the specific school based on what you think will be most effective relative to their particular admissions process and interests. You can just add some bulleted things you couldn’t include elsewhere, but for that you might just want to attach a resume’. </p>
<p>I think it’s an opportunity state something in particular that you really want the adcom to know about you. For example, it’s a good place to explain something related to your grades or transcripts they might not otherwise know, but would shed some light in your favor. One of my kids did this and recieved a thank you note from the adcom saying that type of info was really helpful to them. </p>
<p>I think it’s also fine, if true, to indicate the school is your first choice. There are many ways to express that without sounding desperate. </p>
<p>Other items you might consider including are things such as your favorite books, unique interests, work experiences, etc — items not detailed elsewhere, but gives the adcom some further insight about you. </p>
<p>I think it just depends on your strategy for the specific school(s).</p>
<p>FLVDAD’s advice is excellent. Use the “Additional Information” space to tell colleges what you think they should know that isn’t listed elsewhere in the application. The format can be whatever works best in this situation … a list of bullet items, a short supplemental essay, a letter, even just a brief sentence (“Spelman is my #1 choice!”)</p>
<p>You certainly don’t HAVE to use this space, so don’t force it. In fact, it could work against you if you’re blathering on about nothing in particular, or if your academic explanations sound too whiny (“Well, I got that “C” in English because my teacher was a loser, and my algebra teacher didn’t like me, so my B- should have been a B, and my bus was always late, so I sometimes missed the first three minutes of homeroom, which got my day off to a bad start …”)</p>
<p>When I was writing *Panicked Parents’ Guide to College Admissions<a href=“pretty%20ancient%20now,%20so%20this%20is%20not%20a%20shameless%20plug”>/i</a>, my co-author, Sid Dalby, suggested a “game,” which we included in the book. Here it is:</p>
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<p>So if students are willing to play this “game” with their parents (or even with friends or siblings) it can be a good way to identify potential fodder for the “Additional Information” section. Admittedly, you probably don’t want to tell colleges “I’m a major procrastinator,” but if “gourmet cook” doesn’t come up elsewhere in the app, you may find a spot for it under “Additional Information.”</p>
<p>I thought about using the space to explain how my senior schedule got to be full of electives - my language course was cancelled, I couldn’t afford the college classes I had been planning to take, etc. Is that “whiny” or explanatory? How can I make sure I don’t sound “whiny”?</p>
<p>A touch of humor and even the slightest positive spin can often make the difference. Examples:</p>
<p>Whiny (sort of): I couldn’t get to take a lot of the classes I wanted this semester but it wasn’t my fault. I was supposed to be in AP French, but the school registrar messed up and then not enough kids signed up, so I got stuck in painting. Also, my stepfather told me that he would pay for some community college classes and then told me at the last minute that he wouldn’t do it. </p>
<p>Better: I dream of being the next Albert Camus, but for now I’m settling for a shot at a future Monet. You see, my AP French class was canceled due to lack of enrollment (no other Camus clones out there?). So I’ll save that goal for college and paint my way through third period–and towards immortality–in the meantime. I also tried to take French–and other classes–at a local college, but my babysitting wages didn’t cover the cost of the books … much less the tuition. I come from a pull-yourself-up-by-your-own-bootstraps family … good life lessons in the long-run but currently condemning me to only the classes offered in my high school. This, of course, makes me all the more eager to be at Bard.</p>
<p>So you suggest writing it as more of an essay? I had initially written the paragraph as an explanation, without any real personality to it. I can change that, I’m sure.</p>
<p>Thanks everyone for all the help. I have another question that’s related to this.</p>
<p>In your essays, would it be okay to end your essay saying something like “and I really look forward learning more about Astronomy at blah blah University”. Or would that make you sound too confident (like you’re kinda assuming you’ll get accepted?)? o_O Thanks so much!</p>
<p>Also Sally, do admissions officers only take around 30 mins to review your entire app and make a decision? I was just curious about how long the entire process takes before a decision is made. How much time do they spend on your essays? I’m talking about public colleges btw. I’m just curious.</p>
<p>if we’re talking about the common app additional info section, i’m just wondering how we can indicate that one college is our first choice–as the common app additional info section is sent to all colleges?</p>
<p>I certainly can’t speak for all colleges, but I do know that the amount of time spent per student varies greatly from school to school and even from student to student. Likewise, the process varies from one institution to the next … for example, at some colleges a committee reviews every applicant… at least briefly. At other colleges, only those applicants whose require special discussion are brought to an entire committee.</p>
<p>Even among public colleges there is a lot of variety. A growing number of public colleges use the “holistic” approach and don’t just go by numbers alone. </p>
<p>I’d say that 30 minutes is a very rough average … and those 30 minutes are rarely contiguous. In other words, one admission official may spend 15 minutes reading a folder and pass it along–with notes–to a colleague who takes 10. Then the student may be discussed in committee for another five or so minutes.</p>
<p>Not surprisingly, students with extenuating circumstances will require far more time than those whose applications seem more typical and straightforward. Occasionally I’ve seen applicants rejected in under five minutes when they are clearly overreaching and there is no special situation that might warrant a closer look.</p>
<p>^ Ok thanks for all the help! I think at U of M 2 different admissions officers look and rate your app, then a committee looks at it and makes a final decision.</p>