<p>Make sure that you write about YOU, not some academic stuff and not someone else. If you cover the other topics, make sure you get back to focusing on how it makes you who you are today.</p>
<p>Don’t assume that an “extreme” or “risky” essay is the kind of extraordinary essay that impresses admissions committees.</p>
<p>Agree, the essay isn’t to test your ability to take an intellectual stand and write about it. It’s not like a hs essay. Not about what forms or influences your intellect. Adcoms deal with thousands of applicants per year, over many years. They want to be able to envision how you will integrate into campus life- in and OUT of class. Don’t let the “personal statement” backfire. Adcoms are an incredibly smart and kid-savvy lot. But, not professors who want to see how you defnd a position.
And, writing about self-stimulation??? Kidding?</p>
<p>I disagree with Hunt and lookingforward. the OP’s got the right idea. a friend of my relative applied to MIT a few years ago. for the “what is bravery” essay he left the page blank and wrote “this is bravery” on the bottom. he got accepted.</p>
<p>although I’m a bit skeptical about “the science behind sex.”</p>
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Yeah, but what were his stats? I suspect he got in in spite of his “brave” stunt. That is, if it’s even true.</p>
<p>IMO, the 'brave" idea was not only that, but also thinking outside the box, the kinda thing a school like MIT might like. Well done.</p>
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<p>he was international. and I highly doubt that top schools like MIT would accept someone because of their stats if they didn’t think the essays were at least OK. their acceptance rate is >10% for crying out loud.</p>
<p>Perhaps he got lucky. I would have thought that approach to the prompt was lazy and stupid. But if he was impressive enough, perhaps I would give him the thumbs up anyway. Also, it wouldn’t surprise me if dozens of kids did the same thing, thinking it was really clever.</p>
<p>^This is MIT. They get thousands of apps, and accept a very small amount. no to mention, it’s even more competative for internationals. if they didn’t like his essay, they would have rejected him. how would stats make up for it? most of the applicants have absolutely excellent stats. if they didn’t like his essay, they could have just accepted someone else with amazing stats.</p>
<p>I’m not saying his stats weren’t up to par, and his essay made up for it. obviously his stats had to get him through the door. but after that, the adcoms would have just accepted someone with a better essay if they weren’t impressed.</p>
<p>writing that does require bravery. practically no applicants would do that, not because they think it is stupid and lazy, but because they’re afraid of rejection.</p>
<p>Unless he left his entire answer section blank to show he is brave, leaving out one answer would nt make much difference and the adcoms probably just got a chuckle out of it. MIT has ridiculous number of fill in the blank questions for a tech school that does nt care as much about how poor your reading and writing scores are in SAT.</p>
<p>OK, I did a little research, and this “What is bravery” thing is an urban legend. I guess a friend of a relative is a lot like a friend of a friend. I am willing to believe that real students have done similarly dumb things, though.</p>
<p>And, you have to realize that adcoms distinuish between humor and high school humor. This sort of answer can’t be considered rare and impressive. It could be considered smug. In the end, no one knows exactly what got a kid an admit.</p>