<p>Ok so I cant decide what to write about for my admissions essays! For the comman app how many essays can/should you write? And of the following which one do you think would be the best essay</p>
<ol>
<li>My summer marketing internship (creating marketing plans, social media work, competetor analysis work etc)</li>
</ol>
<p>-the problem is I might choose international business not marketing for one school so for that school I dont know how well this will tie in</p>
<ol>
<li>Hopsice volunteering (cheering up termanily ill people, what ive learned from them)</li>
</ol>
<p>-however I just started doing this so I could only say I have a few months experience with this.when I send my application</p>
<ol>
<li>Overcoming an eating disorder (wasnt medically diagnosed)</li>
</ol>
<p>Which choice do you think would stand out and be the best essay? Thanks!</p>
<p>For the common app, you only write one essay. Choose one of the six topics given. If I were you, I would choose either the first or second, the eating disorder one could very easily become a sob story which adcoms don’t want to see. Although, if you do it right, anything could be an essay that stands out.</p>
<p>The best topic is the one that allows you to write your most specific, detailed, personal essay. The one that is your you that only you could write it.</p>
<p>Only you can know which topic that might be.</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>It doesn’t matter if the essay ties into your proposed major or not. </p>
<p>
</p>
<p>For purposes of the essay, it doesn’t matter how long you have done something. What matters is revealing something of the sort of presence that you would bring to the campus, to the classroom, to the dormitory. </p>
<p>Reflect regularly on your experiences and feelings at the hospice. I wouldn’t be surprised if you could find a lot to write about (keeping the main focus on you and your experiences).</p>
<p>Pick anything other than the eating disorder. It is very hard to write that well, and some colleges are skittish about accepting people with struggles that could become an issue under stress.</p>
<p>Ok thanks for the responses. As of right now I think I will write about hospice, and maybe mention thw internship is the spot on the common app where they ask if theres anything else we should kbow. Does that sound good? Because I feel like hospice would be a very personal good essay, yet I feel like the internship deffinatley is important and makes me tand out a tiny bit.</p>
<p>Keep in mind that the application provides space to list activities such as the internship. You might finds that space to be all that you need to let people know about it.</p>
<p>Try not to make the hospice one generic where you just made other people feel better by being an angel. The 3rd one, as others said, is definitely NOT what the adcoms are looking for, a self-diagnosed pity story. I like the marketing idea, but that may be its own essay in a supplement or description when you state your E.C.'s, but if you learned something a lot bigger than that, I’d use it.</p>
<p>Remember: show, not tell. The idea is to show, through the tale you craft, the strengths they like in their students- perspective, energy, good will, maturity, etc. Agree, don’t be an “angel.” And, watch out for the “oh I realized how fortunate I am” pitfall. #1 is good, too. Agree with ADad: this is about “the presence that you would bring to the campus.”</p>
<p>I don’t know much about writing essays but I just read this essay a girl wrote to UC Berkeley about how she won’t let dyslexia bring her down, it was beautiful! (btw She got in)
Your third option might be great if you write it well.
Here is the essay:</p>
<p>Hannah Edwards
UC-Berkeley
Class of 2013</p>
<p>“Beautiful. B to the back, b to the back. So b first. beautiful. Next, it’s that French thing. Gosh … Uea, no e … a … u. Eau. So beau. Beautiful. Ti. That’s easy. Beauti. Beautiful. Full. No not full: ful. They chop that l off, so b-eau-ti-ful.”</p>
<p>You do not need to write about your activities and work experiences in your personal statement. Your third topic can work depending on how you choose to present it. Overcoming adversity stories have their own set of challenges -</p>
<p>1) You will want to end on a positive note.
2) Strive for an accurate, personal account of your experience; don’t involve melodrama and self-pitying.
3) Devote a big enough chunk of your story to the ‘recovery’ portion of your experience
4) Don’t be afraid to use some humor, even for such a serious topic.</p>
(btw She got in)