application with special case

Applying to College Common and Coalition Application
1

<p>this is the first 2 pages of my additional information</p>

<p>"Maybe you are wondering what I’m trying to do with my application. Well…
- I left all required essays blank.
- I didn’t submit my college transcript.
- I didn’t submit any letter of recommendation. </p>

<p>First and foremost, let me clarify one thing: in the last academic year, I abandoned my study in the middle for an extreme working experience. I didn’t attend all of my classes and I received a GPA of 0.15. I wish that I could apply as a freshman but I’m not eligible.</p>

<p>On the positive side, I have 10,000 hours of working experience. These works are serious works related to my major and are supported by a substantial list of achievements. Now I’m attending college again because I realize that I need it for my future career. </p>

<p>So why did I leave all required essays blank? </p>

<p>Well, I have a unique life circumstance and I have been living like this for several years. The way I was raised, the way I grew up, the way I studied, the way my ability developed… all are unique and are based on my life circumstance.</p>

<p>Required essays are the place where I’m supposed to express my thoughts, personality, commitment and passion, right? So what if my life circumstance is unique and I wouldn’t be able to explain to you in the assigned essays? </p>

<p>That’s why I have to do this. </p>

<p>In the pages below, I will submit an alternative essay. This essay is 4444 words in length – I know it’s long but I have my reasoning; you need to read it first and then you’ll understand it. Please be assured that I’m not trying to constrain your patience – I’m not stupid to do that. My life circumstance is unique and that’s why I have no choice but to write this long essay. To avoid confusion, I will briefly summarize my essay first.</p>

<ul>
<li><p>My essay started with an illness – I used to suffer from a serious and destructive illness that lasted for years. </p></li>
<li><p>But what I was afraid of wasn’t the illness itself, but how others would think about me. I endured a lot of pain and suffering and I was so scared of stigma of my illness; then I managed to hide it from everyone: I had girl friend several times; I had a lot of friends; I was in a sport team. And, in all those years, I suffered silently; no one, even my closest friend, knew of that – I was too scared of discrimination to reveal. </p></li>
<li><p>However, the illness disrupted my life heavily with many frustrating experiences. Then I was always tempted to abandon my study and devote myself fully to my passion – and I ended up doing so. In my essay, I wrote about how painful I felt, how my illness stripped me away from the inessential and gave me the courage to abandon my study, ignore everything else in my life and commit myself whole-heartedly into the work and passion where I truly belonged to. </p></li>
<li><p>In the end, I had more than 10,000 hours of work. I also had a substantial list of achievements. These achievements are considered impossible and unachievable (because they were all too difficult at my age) but the pains I endured gave me an incredible strength and courage to ignore everything else and put all of my heart and soul into my work which made the impossible possible. </p></li>
</ul>

<p>The essay submitted is coherent – it talks about my endless battle against illness and stigma, my thoughts when time was hard and my extreme working experiences and achievements."</p>

<p>Does any one have any advice on this? Will this work?</p>

2

<p>You have abandoned too much of the regular process. And the essay is definitely way, way too long at 4444 words. This borders on a “manifesto” and would make them wonder about your sanity. It should be no longer than the combined number of words that all the not-filled-out essays allowed you. If you are using the common app, then you will have to put something in every field that is required anyway. Don’t deviate from the process in so many ways. </p>

<p>You will pique their curiosity, but you’d better be able to deliver an incredibly interesting, succinct, honest, detailed essay that reveals who you are and exactly what you have done in your life. From what you have written here (and I am being brutally honest) you are repetitious, and I feel more wary than curious. You need to have people who are skilled at writing to read and give edit suggestions on your essay. Don’t depend upon yourself alone. You are putting a lot of eggs into one basket.</p>

<p>You HAVE to submit your college/HS transcripts if they are required. If you are explaining why your record isn’t great in your essay, then you need not fear. But if I were an admissions counselor, I would wonder what you are hiding. Give them credit for being able to take even an extreme situation into account. They are intimately acquainted with many thousands of unique student situations. </p>

<p>You HAVE to submit recommendations if they are required. If you worked 10,000 hours, then there must be someone somewhere in the world who can write a letter of recommendation for you. Make your difference be that you submit recs from unusual sources, rather than teachers. But DO submit recs.</p>

<p>Finally, the more you deviate from the norm, the more you need to submit verifiable information. Can you prove that you worked 10,000 hours? How about that list of substantial achievements - can you send them records proving it? Did you withdraw from your previous college in a responsible manner? That is, paying your bills, notifying them, etc.?</p>

<p>Have you considered re-applying to the college you withdrew from? They may be a lot more sympathetic to your situation than colleges that do not know you. They may still have your original essays, transcripts, etc. You’d be applying to be reinstated rather than admitted.</p>

<p>Also consider applying to non-traditional colleges that give you credit for life experience. I don’t know where you are located, but there are options nearly everywhere for the adult going back to college. See Cambridge College in Massachusetts’ website for an example of this.</p>