<p>I wanted to re- post this topic so people can find it. I am a 16 year old junior who resides in North Carolina and is applying to Boys State Program. I've heard great things about this program and how it builds young leaders. I am also very interested in civics and government, and heard this would help in the college admissions process. I already have a American Legion Sponsor.</p>
<p>Now, this isn't the first time I've written essays for admissions to programs similar to this. But these essay prompts seems so vague and they want you to answer each in 50 words or less! Has anyone who has been to this program successfully answered these questions? Do you guys have any suggestions on answering these questions? What kind of answers are they looking for. I know some might say, "Be original, answer how you feel is right." But from my writing tons of essay questions, I have learned that there is always a right way to answer a question. So any help from you guys would be greatly appreciated! :)</p>
<p>So here goes the questions, (I know, they're general):</p>
<p>1) The qualities of leadership I possess are:</p>
<p>2) What I hope to gain from this program is:</p>
<h2>(Explain in 50 words or less)</h2>
<p>I don't know if I'm supposed to list them, list and explain, or write a structured essay on it. Probably the essay. The prompts are printed on a single 8x11 sheet of paper with about 4 inches of vertical space to answer them. Though I will probably print out my essay and attach.</p>
<p>Thanks guys, I love being apart of a forum like this! Any help would be appreciated.</p>
<p>Dont give a laundry list.
My suggestion is:
1) Make a strong general statement about yourself and than just say why it makes you a strong leader.</p>
<p>2) Perhaps you can say something you don't like about yourself or your current environment and then how you hope the skills/people/whatever this program offers can help fix this problem.</p>
<p>50 words it tight. :-/ If a Telluride finalist and our essays were 2 pages so I don't have much experience in the technicalities. Hope that helps</p>
<p>one thing that always makes your writing better is to include specific information -- include a specific incident that describes your leadership characteristic (as a summer aide at scout camp, I taught Joe and Sam to swim. Neither had ever had formal swimming lessons before and I was able to connect with them by sharing my lack of baseball lessons. By the end of the week, Joe and Sam were both comfortable in the deep water and having a blast. Seeing the results of my hard work, I realized the joy of helping others).</p>
<p>giant red lobster said: " 1) Make a strong general statement about yourself and than just say why it makes you a strong leader. "</p>
<p>I think this is a good idea but I don't know how to say it makes me a strong leader. Can you guys gimme an example. For example: the traits are loyalty, trustworthiness, hard working, friendly. Now how do I say why this makes me a good leader?</p>
<p>50 words, that doesn't even qualify as a paragraph, much less an essay. Are there any other <em>real</em> essay questions on the application for which you can present yourself to the adcom? </p>
<p>For these questions, I don't think you should worry too much, because honestly there is only so much you can do in the space of two sentences ~ 50 words. For the first question I would suggest a simple yet clear format such as "I possess X; an effective leader ____ (blurb about trait X); I possess Y; an effective leader ____ (blurb about trait Y)...". </p>
<p>F.X. "I'm outspoken: effective leaders must have strong vocal presence to attract constituents. I'm honest: effective leaders ... " </p>
<p>If you have a specific small incident that showcases your qualities well, opt for that instead. However, 50 words isn't quite enough to both tell a story and list traits, unless you want to tack on a laundry list at the end ('This story shows that I am honest, hardworking, blahblahblah'), which is boring! So I don't think you should use a personal experience. </p>
<p>For question 2, discuss any difficulties that leadership present for you, but try to be specific. Does public speaking make you nervous? Do you want to learn how to fundraise successfully? Do you want to find a way to turn a certain leadership-related ambition into a reality? Don't just say "I want to learn how to become a better leader", actually delineate one or two specific goals. Don't appear too ambitious, because then it might appear that you have no realistic goals.</p>