<p>For the supplement it asks you to reflect on your own interests and experiences, and talk about either intellectual engagement, the common good, or connection to place. I am planning on writing about connection to a place. Am I supposed to talk about a time I have experienced a connection to a place, or am I supposed to reference how connection to place will be important to me at Bowdoin?</p>
<p>That is part of the question: You have to figure all of this out for yourself.</p>
<p>Either, but I prefer the former option</p>
<p>I just did this supplement and I really enjoyed writing it! I sort of fused the two things you were talking about but tried to make it as personal as possible.</p>
<p>It’s an interesting supplement. It actually made me want to apply more.</p>
<p>Run with it in the way that works/feels best to you. When I read my son’s essay I thought that I learned something about him. He didn’t take an obvious approach to this essay, so clearly they don’t deduct points for not answering it in a particular way…but I think the thing that earned him points was that it gave them a clearer picture of who was applying. It gave ME a clearer picture of who he was and what he valued. If you make that your top priority, and focus on presenting the admissions officers with a meaningful look at who you are, then the particular approach you choose to this essay shouldn’t matter. Be responsive to the prompt, but don’t let yourself be shackled to looking at this in one or another particular way. And definitely don’t approach it differently just to show them that you’re thinking about it differently. That shows them that you want them to see that you can be different – which is really just another way to be the same as everyone else. Instead, devote your energy to figuring out what this prompt makes you want to share about you. It’s a great prompt because it forces you to connect yourself to the school and its core values – something many students neglect in their essays. This prompt is written to ensure that will happen as long as you’re responsive, but I promise you that they’re definitely not hung up on HOW you navigate the prompt. So I suggest that you table that concern, think about what you can reveal about who you are and then deliver them that insight in whatever way that works best. You don’t want to do it in reverse: which would be to settle on your approach and then give a response that has to conform – and possibly be limited by – your chosen approach. First and foremost, make sure your message gets through to them and, then based on what you want to share, decide the best vehicle for delivering your message. In fact, I suggest doing this step even before finally deciding which of the choices presented is the one you want to respond to.</p>
<p>I think this last “tip” applies to almost any essay prompt and how to make it compelling, but I’ll throw it out here because this hit me after I read my son’s response to this particular prompt: try to write a response that leaves someone who already knows you well thinking that they know you even better after reading your essay. Don’t be gimmicky to be original and distinctive. The easiest way to stand out and be unique is to reveal yourself. You’re unique and one-of-a-kind. Use that to differentiate yourself. It’s powerful, it’s easy, and it’s more informative than any attention-seeking writing trick that any other applicant tries to employ to their advantage. Plus, revealing yourself is a way to show the admission team that you’re willing to take risks. Putting yourself out there, standing naked (in your own words) before strangers, is no easy feat. It requires true courage – which may be why other applicants try other techniques, like writing their essay by hand in spirals as a metaphor for the many layers of their connection to their hometown. That sort of thing is risky in the “let’s play a game of dice” sense of risky but it’s sort of reckless and trite – while putting yourself on the line (and not just your writing chops) conveys both confidence and vulnerability in yourself if you’re willing to understand yourself and then share your revelations with these people you may not have met or, more interestingly, with an admissions officer you DID meet.</p>
<p>^^ thank you so much!</p>
<p>@D’yer Maker: Wow, thanks! That helped a lot :)</p>
D’yer Maker,
I am applying to Bowdoin soon. I have written the Supplementary Essay and I would like to know if you could please read it and provide me feedback.
Thanks.