<p>Hi all, I'm a current senior and have struggled a lot with the process of writing my college essays. I heard advice from so many people on what to write about, what not to write about and how to write it, that I was virtually paralyzed. It was only when I changed my perspective on these essays that I was able to proceed. I decided to view them as an opportunity for success rather than an opportunity for failure. I know that it's hard, and everyone cites statistics and horror stories of non-admission to discourage you from just RELAXING. Any advice should be taken with a grain of salt--including mine--no one knows exactly what will happen when the adcom reads your application unless they are a time traveler. The best you can do is show them who you are beyond your grades, beyond standardized tests, beyond the walls of school, maybe even beyond what your peers or your family see. Who are you at your core? This is what will determine who you will be and what you will do in the future, which is what colleges care about. I have spent the past year and a half freaking myself out and just recently realized that it wasn't helping anything. You are much more likely to present a compelling picture of yourself if you can calm down and think about you really are.</p>
<p>My best advice is don't be insincere. The application is a chance to impress the adcom with who you are, not who you aren't. Writing about classical music, when you really love rap is n't going to work. If you really have a passion for something, even if it isn't something that you think of as being conventionally appealing or impressive to colleges, write about it. Your essay will be far more compelling if they are about things that you genuinely care about than something that you think they want you to care about. In addition, the colleges are not just judging you for the sake of doing so, they are trying to see if you would be a good fit at their school. The school that works well for a student who chooses to read Kafka in his or her free time is likely to be different than the one that works for a student who chooses to read J.R.R. Tolkien, which is likely to be different than a school that works for a student who chooses to read Stephen Hawking, which is likely to be different than the school that works for the student who loves all three. A school's name or reputation may seem impressive, but is it the place you will be happiest? The admissions committee knows the school and the student body well, they are often called gatekeepers. Rather than thinking of them as gatekeepers blocking you from entering, think of them as gatekeepers determining whether you would be happy if they let you enter the gate. Don't try to cater to what the admissions committee wants, because you don't know what that is! It changes by the year, and as an outsider, you cannot know what goes on. </p>
<p>Also, taking the questions at face value is more likely to lead to a hackneyed topic. If you really think about all of the different ways the question could be interpreted, you may realize that a seemingly simple question is complex and gives you more of an opportunity to speak about yourself than you thought. In the world we live in, there is little focus on the importance of thought. Think about how much time (besides when you are asleep,) you spend alone in silence each day. Alone means no facebook, no texting, no iChat. How much time do you spend with yourself, letting inspiration hit you? When you're struggling with your college apps, go for a walk (without your iPod) and watch your footsteps. Feel your heart beating in your chest, hear your breath coming in and out of your body, look at the sun or the moon in the sky. Be in tune with your body, think about yourself as a baby and how impressive you are for accomplishing all you have thus far, how many exciting things you have to look forward to. Try to clear your regular worries out of your head to make room for ideas. Silence and time spent alone are vastly underrated. When you return home, and sit down to work on your essays, revisit your walk. Let your thoughts and feelings guide you. Don't think about your college counselor, your mom, your friend who got into "</p>