<p>I hope you guy's are right. My Chicago essay is completely absurd. I like writing it though; hopefully admissions officers will as well.</p>
<p>i am a terrible writer, really terrible that i can turn a really easy story into a complicated thing. i mean, i can't even teach anyone. i'm sux at communication. however i find that when i'm clicked at the right point, i get interesting things written down. honestly i literally failed my writing class until my prof told me to write a journal. and she said a piece that i complained about missing the buses was the best piece i'd ever written. take something u feel strongly about it and i'm convinced u can make it a good essay, as long as u can bring ppl to feel similar to u.</p>
<p>u don't really need LAC's to make a good essay. i wrote about my family. it was something way too personal i didn't want to write about. i mean, i wrote a bunch of essays and asked my friends to read and comment them. that one was gonna be my last choice but my friends told me they like it best, and it worked. u might feel embarrassed but it's very important how another person (who's not you) think about the essay.</p>
<p>
[quote]
Seriously I don't buy that "it's bad ethics to make up stories" on your app s--t. Hell it's creative writing for a reason.
[/quote]
</p>
<p>Actually, on the Common App, it's not called Creative Writing. It's an essay. And you also have to check this box before you submit the Common App:
[quote]
By checking this box, I certify that all information in my application, including my Personal Essay, is my own work, factually true, and honestly presented
[/quote]
I guess it's not "bad ethics" to certify that your made-up story is true?</p>
<p>It doesn't have to be true. I'm not saying you should go all out and make an obvious lie about yourself, but this isn't a true test. It's an essay to gain the applicant's point of view along with their writing skills.</p>
<p>Well, my point of view is the following...</p>
<p>I believe with the competeition nowadays people are quite desperate to get into THE college that many will do just about anything to get into that college. And for those "goody-goody" morally correct people who oppose lying on an entrance essay, well... it's not quite fair for them is it (especially if their life is as boring as mine...)?</p>
<p>But my main point is that this essay is to let the adcoms know how well you write. And if we assign an extremely boring topic to a very gifted writer, I'm sure he/she could put a spark in it... Take the book: Last Chance to See by Douglas Adams. The book itself is about excursions to visit almost extinct animals - sounds boring but put in the hands of Douglas Adams and he riddles this book full of humor which makes an otherwise extremely dull book interesting to read. </p>
<p>Basically what I am trying to say is that if you truly are a good writer, a boring life is not a hindrance. </p>
<p>I am not encouraging lying or not lying, I am simply saying: sometimes a story in the hands of a horrible writer could turn out worse than a cruddy story in the hands of a great writer...</p>
<p>My 2 cents</p>
<p>Just wondering is it true that the "passion" type essays are overdone? That's what I've heard from other threads and from this one too. It seems that people prefer to write about something mundane (or something you wouldn't expect to hear about) and talk about themself through that to stand out.</p>
<p>But when I talked to the three students from my school who got into Harvard, they all wrote about their "passions"...</p>
<p>Basically I'm having a really hard time trying to decide what kind of tone and topic to write about. I know it should be about whatever you want but I just want to make sure that after the adcom reads it he/she isn't saying "So what?"</p>
<p>If there's a passion that's important to you, then by all means, write about that! If you think an adcom can learn the most about you through whatever you're passionate about, go for it. You don't HAVE to be mundane to be interesting... basically, no matter what the essay is, as long as "you" shine through, that's the important thing :)</p>
<p>My issue is not having too little ideas for an essay about overcoming challenges [my topic for this thing]. I have too MUCH!</p>
<p>Learning English, moving across the Atlantic, moving across the Pacific [first time], moving across the Pacific [second time], being a non-resident alien in the USA, having surgery without anesthetic, losing a pet, having an abusive family member, losing my brother, etc....</p>
<p>Now that I think about it ... my life kind of stinks. Haha. kindofalot. :'(</p>
<p>"Learning English, moving across the Atlantic, moving across the Pacific [first time], moving across the Pacific [second time], being a non-resident alien in the USA, having surgery without anesthetic, losing a pet, having an abusive family member, losing my brother, etc...."</p>
<p>Pick the challenge that you feel taught or inspired you the most or illustrates the most about your postive character traits. How you handled or grew from the challenge is more important than what exactly the challenge was.</p>
<p>I think having surgery without anesthetic would make the most interesting essay.</p>
<p>ccccccsssssssssssssss</p>
<p>10 char( )</p>
<p>how about an essay about my almost fatal and life-changing bout with...
premature male-pattern baldness?</p>