<p>OMG - in less than a month we'll find out whether our essays actually sucked or not... I'm freaking out. Freaking out.</p>
<p>Anyway, peindre, your essay sounds good, if you ask me. As long as it was well written (your post alone demonstrates good vocab/writing skills, so I'd venture to say an emphatic yes on this one w/o having even read your essay!), I think you covered a topic that was personal, which is much better than ranting about air. And they might like to see you taking up artistic license to its fullest (shows character). And even if you would change some factual stuff, it doesn't really change the direction of your essay. The adcoms aren't looking into details - they want the gist of who you are, and it seems like your essay is very telling about yourself based on what you've said. So don't worry!</p>
<p>bazcat89, bedhead is right - your essay topic shows character and how you might contribute to global awareness and diversity on campus (positive traits, of course!). Let's face it, controversy is compelling; much better that than a safe, dry essay (like mine :().</p>
<p>hakunamatata, reading essays in the summer - good plan! I'll probably read mine a year for now (for laughs, of course :)). I don't have a fire place, and since I'm in the city, I wouldn't know where to physically burn my rejection letters and college essays, but I could do other things... like make paper planes out of my rejection letters and fly them out my apartment window... hmmm, not violent enough (unless there is a wicked thunderstorm outside), but I'll think of something!</p>
<p>thanks schitz :-D it's not that I changed factual stuff, it's that I didn't know exactly what the factual stuff was in the first place. for example I imagined how the conversation between my pediatrician and my mother would have gone, except I had them say things in a sort of Louis Sachar/Joseph Heller style where everyone says things literally, like the exact meanings behind their words and reactions. </p>
<p>do you want me to PM it to you or something? I sent in only my second draft because despite the fact that my english teacher didn't like it two people whose reactions I trust thought it was amazing. And I liked it exactly how it was. And that's the story of how I got my common app essay done on November 1st :-D</p>
<p>Don't feel too bad, fellas... after rereading one of my essays I noticed I used the term "tangible gods among men". How corny is that? I don't understand how it sounded good at the time.</p>
<p>Here's mine: "It was as if each reading contributed a new square to this growing mosaic of understanding, arduously constructing the surface of the sphere, which promised an interior lush with fascinating theory." <-- that's me trying to explain why I like my major. It doesn't even make sense - the surface of the sphere idea just randomly pops up... The good news is that this college accepted me in spite of this terrible essay (I swear, my entire essay is like this, not just this one line), so there's hope for us!</p>
<p>And this is the only other line I can stand contributing: "I recall the very rebuttal of defiance in my veins that made me question my purpose in life’s greater context and find contentment in my actions." The bad thing is that this is directly from my common app. :(</p>
<p>it's hard to top teenagers in terms of pretentiousness. not counting myself out, obviously :-D</p>
<p>LOL you guys are pretty good writers, believe me I have seen a lot worse in terms of pomposity. For example Invisible Man, which was written by a grown man but reads like it was written by a 16 year old boy in the height of angstiness (no offense to 16 y o boys :-p). But that's another story. Freaking AP Lit.....</p>
<p>And I shall PM you my essay shortly schitz. it'll be interesting to see what someone who doesn't know me IRL has to say.</p>
<p>I was afraid that my essay was too cliche (i.e. go to college, graudate, the save the world). Although, I talked about an emerging international issue that I grew up knowing about, which grew into a desire to join the Peace Corps after college, and improve human rights globally (but particularly women's rights in the Americas. For those that are curious, the issue was femicide in Juarez, Mexico and Guatemala City). Anyways, I thought it would be too cliche or idealistic. And I was afraid that it might be interpreted as overly dramaticized. And I continued to regret the essay until I was accepted to several of my choices. I suppose I was able to reveal enough about myself and being an idealist still counts for something.</p>
<p>Yes, I'm regretting my UC essays.. I don't even remember what they were about! Oh yes, vegetarianism. I'm thinking that I shoudn't have picked such a controversial, slightly cliche topic.. My other two essays are about trig and a club my friends started. I'm afraid they're rather boring and well, it was difficult to write those without sounding like I was boasting. I should have started them so much earlier than I did.</p>
<p>Wow, I got accepted to my top choices despite my bad essays. I kind of still regret them because I could've done much better, but what does it matter if they served their purpose. I guess I can read them now without going all paranoid.</p>
<p>Haha same. I went back and read them again after I got accepted; I had been too afraid to before. I then read some of the ones I got rejected to and gagged a little bit on a few (and some of the accepted ones). </p>
<p>I don't regret, but would have absolutely scrapped them completely looking back on it, like 3 of the supplements out of the billion I had to write.</p>