Candidate Weekend Essay, NYU Abu Dhabi

Hello there, I was recently invited to the NYU Candidate Weekend at Abu Dhabi, and with this comes an additional essay. They say that this essay is sent to their teachers so they can recommend you for when to take a certain class, though I assume it will be ‘graded’ for admission as well.

The problem that I am having is that it is labeled as a “formal essay” yet the prompts are quite informal. The prompt that I believe I will be writing about is:

“When was the last time you felt that the world had suddenly shifted out of the blue-- personally or politically; environmentally or culturally; or in some other way? Explain your answer.”

This doesn’t necessarily have to be super informal to respond to the prompt but I would like to explain how it relates to myself. Also, one of the prompts is simply “tell us what you think about fish,” with a reference to Dr. Suess.

I’m basically wondering what style of writing they are looking for. Can I use “I” and “me?” Should I build an argument or describe my own observations? Does everything have to be structured and laid out in my introduction? I am really struggling with the idea of it being both formal and subjective (“you felt”). Maybe it’s just me.

Also, if anybody went to Abu Dhabi or knows somebody who did, I would love to get in contact to ask some questions, if possible.

I’m dealing with the same thing, wanna discuss the prompts through whatsapp??
if so +971508229097

I’ve been selected in the fourth wave and face the same problem. Would you mind telling me what you did at the end with the essay?