<p>It's a tradition at my D's college, and one of the highlights of Orientation, that one of the Admissions officers addresses the new class to "tell you a little about yourselves and help define the character" of the incoming class. She gives all kinds of interesting factual information -- various places which the students call home, most popular names and birthdays, cumulative SAT score and number of college applications submitted, number of cumulative siblings, career aspirations, ECs. </p>
<p>But what I thought might interest you high-schoolers is her comments at this year's Orientation on the always-difficult subject of essays. What strikes me is the amazing variety of topics -- everything from dead-serious to totally zany (ever thought about writing an essay on pink frogs or power tools?). It's really true: There isn't a right or wrong topic. Write about something which reveals who you are. These students were being themselves when they wrote, and this Admissions officer liked that.</p>
<p>
[quote]
The essays accompanying your applications helped the admissions committee learn more about
who you are, what you think, what challenges you have faced or are facing, how you commit your
time, and what issues are important to you — all things that continue to inform your lives. The
subjects of your essays included important people, whether family members, coaches, teachers,
neighbors or friends. Briana, Hermione Granger, Ben, Martin Luther King, Jr., Uncle Mike, Erin
Fletcher, and Stephen Young (the “math dude”) — were or are some of the important role models or
persons who in some way influenced and shaped your lives.</p>
<p>You wrote passionately about various spiritual journeys, the loss of a family member to
cancer, immigration issues, third world poverty, factory farms and eating responsibly, parents’
unemployment, living with autism, being adopted, homelessness and capital punishment. We
read about various wilderness adventures, music recitals, athletic competitions, self-discovery and
appreciation for cultural differences during travel abroad, mission trips and the importance of family
and family traditions. On a lighter note you expressed anxiety about leaving for college and about
writing your college essay, singing in the shower, the responsibility of being a perfect child, your
obsession with mathematical formulas, and confronting one’s fear of power tools.</p>
<p>I selected a sampling of some of my favorite first lines from the essays you submitted, recording
at least a dozen “memorable” lines, but I’ll share just a few with you today: “I eat lunch with a group
of very unusual high school students;” “My entire life, I have never been in a hurry;” “Middle school
is awful;” “It’s a girl… again!” “I headed out to the backyard, a wonderland that seemed ripe with
possibilities;” “To this day, I still can’t multiply;” and “In four separate instances between October
1987 and February 1988, small pink frogs rained down from the sky onto various parts of Great
Britain.”
[/quote]
</p>