<p>Chaos theory, quantum mechanics, the existence of order, etc.</p>
<p>Common App: How I find my composting worms and the process of turning food scraps to rich organic fertilizer fascinating. Vermicomposting, basically.</p>
<p>Arts&Sci: I tied in my love of animals and the natural world starting from my bucolic upbringing in Florida with overall love of learning/reading.</p>
<p>I don’t think it’s a good idea to share essays or what you are going to write. Students have gotten in trouble with similar essays. Even if it’s your best friend, I wouldn’t advise to share it. </p>
<p>OP - if you need FA, don’t apply ED. You should visit Cornell if it’s your first choice, not to get browny point, but it would help with your decision and help you write a better essay. Most top tier schools don’t care if you visit.</p>
<p>calabacin90- thanks</p>
<p>oldfort- thanks for the tips. I’m going to visit so I can incorporate what I learned/saw there in my supplement! And why shouldn’t I apply ED if I need FA? I thought if I wasn’t offered enough and could prove it wasn’t enough I could get out of ED.</p>
<p>Not to freak you out honorstudent, but we may be the same people. I also went through a car accident around three years ago where the car flipped twice, and I (along with everyone else in the car) was completely fine, no bruises or a scratch. Secondly, I also have overcame an obsessive compulsive germophobia phase that effect the relationship between me and my sister. Very odd, I’d say.</p>
<p>Each school has its own calculation of your parents’ EFC (estimated family contribution), on top of that each school can determine its own package (grants, loans, work study). What Cornell determines is your family’s contribution may not be what your parents could afford, or if their FA has a large portion of loans. If for example you determined you couldn’t afford Cornell after your acceptance, you then apply to Brown, Duke, Yale…you would really need to prove you are turning down Cornell because of financial reason, not because you have changed your mind. If you wait until RD, you could then also compare all FA packages before you decide. Lets say if Duke or Penn were to give you a much better package than Cornell, would you (or could you) still go to Cornell?</p>
<p>Very simply put, if you need FA, you can’t really afford to apply ED. Many threads now on students who got accepted to schools for ED and now can’t afford to go.</p>
<p>RileyJohn- That is incredibly odd! Maybe we are soul mates or you are my long lost brother, lol</p>
<p>oldfort- Ok thanks! It’s definitely something to consider. Cornell is my first choice by far but I’m just really paranoid I won’t get in if I don’t apply ED, my biggest fear is that I won’t get into a top school. I’m 99% sure I won’t get in even with ED so I’ve already got a list of 10-15 schools I plan to apply to after I get rejected like BC, BU, Brandeis, Vassar, etc.</p>
<p>Ok so which essay should I write/will be most beneficial:</p>
<h1>1: How my car accident renewed my faith in God and my relationship with my brother.</h1>
<h1>2 How the accident renewed my faith in God and has led me to want to pursue a career in IR and help reform Romania’s orphanages (since I’m fluent in Romania and they’re infamous for their rundown orphanages, especially after they’re still trying to get it together after the fall of communism)</h1>
<p>-I think this would be trite and cliche though?</p>
<h1>3 Basically number 2, but with a spin on it. It’d be an informal interview in the future between the president and I as I’m being considered for Secretary of State and he/she asks me how I got to the position I’m in and then I proceed with essay #2 as a flashback</h1>
<p>-or I was thinking of doing this as my Cornell supplement and then I can throw in a bit about my time at Cornell and how attending Cornell helped get to where I am</p>
<p>So… what happens if an atheist read your essay?</p>
<p>i’d go with number 2. i’d say 1 is more cliche than 2. 2 sounds pretty interesting too.</p>
<p>3 i dont even know how you would write that?</p>
<p>I think you should feel within yourself which is a better idea.
If you can’t, then just start writing and see what happens.
Ehm, I am not a “Cornellian”, although I would like to be, but I think it is always best to do the thing that feels “right” for one. Sorry, if you don’t care about my opinion, when I am still in high school.
I can only speak for myself, and of course it depends on how you write it, but I sense that these 3 subjects might be a little, umm… over the top - bit overdramatized etc.
But is that what they are looking for in essays? I would actually be interested to know.
I just think that it sounds a bit simulated, affected… Resembling “I had an epiphany and then I knew I wanted to go to Cornell” - It could probably be the case in extreme situations, but I doubt it. (although miracles happen every day 
)
Is that actually what they like to hear at the admissions office?</p>
<p>Lollerpants, I think most atheists respect religious people’s faith.</p>
<p>Isn’t it better to write about a neutral topic in that EVERYONE can respect and not MOST? Just saying. Don’t want to eliminate that possibility.</p>
<p>Feral24- You really think 2 is less cliche than 1? I’ve already written 1 and the main focus is how my renewed faith in God (I also briefly explain at the beginning why I began to doubt His existence) gave me the strength to overcome my germophobia which is what hindered my relationship with my brother so I think 1 really shows how I’ve changed. I really like the idea of 2 but I think if I used it for my common app essay it would be repetitive since for my supplement I want to talk about how Cornell’s numerous opportunities could help me in achieving my goal with their study abroad program and maybe dipping my feet and seeking some counseling from their infamous hotel management school might help me with the hospitality aspect of opening my own orphanage, how living in the language house will help perfect my Spanish for working in IR since I don’t want to just focus on Romania, I’d like to work for the UN or CIA, etc etc. On the other hand, instead of taking it was repetition, they could take it as passion? Ugh, I don’t know! I’m just so confused and really need guidance, lol</p>
<p>Lollerpants, most of the world’s population is religious, and therefore the reader should not be offended by religion.
Now that we have established that religion is not offensive, I do not see why not to write about it. Sure, one could just avoid ANYTHING that people might dislike but then I suppose one might as well just leave the paper blank.
I believe it is like saying that one should not include that one play tennis, because the person reading it might not be a tennis player?
I was gonna elaborate, but I think I have proven my point.</p>
<p>Write whatever you feel describes yourself the best. If they reject you for being too religious, then you shouldn’t have come here anyways (and go somewhere where your beliefs are more respected).</p>
<p>Though it is also possible that certain people look more favorably upon intellectual/humanitarian motivations than religious…</p>
<p>Yes I agree. I read that the essay should give the school an idea of who the student is, and if religion is an important part of one’s personality, I think it ought to be included.</p>
<p>To clear things up, I’m not super religious. I do not attend church, even at holidays, but I do pray nightly. I believe in gay rights and abortion so I’m very liberal. When I did talk about God in my essay, I explained that since a young age I had doubted Him due to numerous reasons but after my car accident where my car flipped twice and I was absolutely okay, that was the moment that put my doubts to rest and that’s about it really. I don’t go into specifics and so therefore I don’t think it’s offensive. I initially chose to write about how it changed my relationship with my brother because I thought it would sound cliche if I wrote about how it has made me want to go into IR and the orphanages which is why I was thinking I could write about that in my supplement and excluding God from the equation there since the CAS prompt is:</p>
<p>Describe your intellectual interests, their evolution, and what makes them exciting to you. Tell us how you will utilize the academic programs in the College of Arts and Sciences to further explore your interests, intended major, or field of study.</p>
<p>But now I really don’t know anymore! Ugh, this is so stressful, I wish I was done with the entire application process already, lol.</p>
<p>I think it sounds good!
By the way, I have not even started writing yet; I do not even know what I want to write about… I just thought I would write about myself and my beliefs (if I apply). Is that good enough?
But yours sounds exciting; you could actually write it like an action scene (about the car flipping twice and all…), woooow… But really, I had tears in my eyes for several hours just after seeing a deer getting run over, so I can imagine it must have been a shocking experience for you.</p>
<p>“…I think most atheists respect religious people’s faith.”
My D wrote of her fascination with/admiration of religious structures although she herself is an atheist.</p>