<p>It was always my thinking that your college essay should tell the adcoms something about you that they can't glean from grades and scores. Should you focus your essay on what you say you are going to major in? I want to go into chemical engineering but my essay relates to my work in relieving inter-religious/cultural tensions in a community. It's supposed to reveal how I improve things in my own persistent manner, rather than just reacting to something. Is this appropriate? Should I change my essay to relate to science or something?</p>
<p>No, I don’t think so. You already specify your potential major in the application. So why just repeat information? Give them something fresh and new to emphasize that you have broader interest. I would think your work with religious/cultural tensions would be more interesting than just a boring/cliche essay on science and wanting to be the next mover and shaker of the world. Give the admissions team something new and something interesting so they can see a side of you that they can’t see from your paper statistics.</p>
<p>Yeah, I agree. That is what I was going to do, but my dad was making me nervous, saying how irrelevant it is and incongruous with my major etc.</p>
<p>Well he must not know that colleges love interestingness. I read a bunch of papers for editing and critique for classmates. I’m pretty sure admissions officers read over 200 everyday. You want them to be entertained and interested. It’s good to have at least one good laugh or one essay that just makes you think. It doesn’t have to be overly complex. Just let the real you shine through.</p>