<p>Coureur that is really funny.</p>
<p>Wow, that means I'd be horrendously screwed because I don't think I say very many sentences without swearing at least once. Hm... that, however, doesn't mean that I don't have a nice vocabulary. All it means is that I'm ... expressive of my feelings, heh...</p>
<p>Why don't you just post the damn setence so we can judge whether or not it is appropriate?
Damnit.</p>
<p>Coreur, how did those writers come to be considered good writers if while they were not considered good writers they could not swear in their works, lest they apparently be looked down on for it?</p>
<p>Henry Miller (as an example) is an average no talent writer > Henry Miller writes Tropic of Cancer, which is filled with obscenities > Eventually becomes known as a good writer, Tropic of Cancer arguably his most famous work and most of his others not very clean either</p>
<p>See what I mean?</p>
<p>The same could be said of Stephen King, William Burroughs, Charles Bukowski, and at least a few others. I've never read Catcher in the Rye or The Sound and the Fury but I hear that parts of them are pretty risque, and if Salinger and Faulkner aren't considered great writers, at least for those books, then I don't know who could be (from what I hear). Even Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man uses the phrase "Damn me!" an awful lot. And the main character sleeps with whores.</p>
<p>I mean, hey, maybe it's not a good idea to use any risque or remotely taboo words in your application, because maybe the adcoms that review you WILL think worse of you for it, but, if so, I must say that that sort of thing is pretty hypocritical.</p>
<p>no lucifersam, it is not hypocritical. an application essay IS NOT A BOOK. you are NOT an author, and you are NOT trying to sell a book. You are trying to sell YOURSELF, and if you come across as someone who uses curse words in a formal resume type letter, then you're not doing a very good job of selling yourself are you?</p>
<p>I totally agree. I doubt his college essay is/was written to be published. He is not an author, just a student trying to get into college</p>
<p>Exactly, you are trying to sell yourself, sell your personality, and write a captivating essay. Especially for the "Write us something that tells us about you" topics, you are not writing a "formal resume type letter," you are writing something that you hope will describe yourself and convey most of the intriguing and essential elements of you as a college student. </p>
<p>If you are truly planning to write a "formal resume type letter" for your "Write us something that tells us about you" topic, if there is one on your app, then your chances may not be very good for admission if it comes down to your essay, unless you have uncovered the secret to writing some really awesome "formal resume type letters". Some people who were accepted into some very good schools have shown me their essays, and although I didn't see any risque words, (and as I said I am NOT essentially advocating that one uses some), their essays were both informative and interesting, and actually "sold" the applicants in good ways, and most of them could have easily been considered short stories, albeit with a "I'd like to attend your college and I'm a good and interesting college applicant" sort of twist.</p>
<p>Will you keep us posted as to where you sent that damn essay and whether or not you get into that damned school??
By the way, there was great scene in the movie "Ghost", where Whoopie Goldberg was functioning as a medium, channeling spirits from the "other side". One spirit of a deceased husband took posession of her body , took one look at his wife and said "Damn baby, what'd you do to your hair??!!??" Now that was an appropriate use of the word. I am not particularly offended by the word-- it just has no place in a college application essay.</p>
<p>Yes, of course you are trying to sell your personality and write an interesting essay. Of course the essay needs to captivate the reader and leave a lasting impression in his/her mind in order for you to be accepted. But the fact of the matter is curse words do not belong in the application essays. The essays should be interesting, and could even be on slightly unconventional topics (just not too obscene), but should not include curse words.
Now back on the subject of the word at hand, 'damn.' Many do not consider this a curse word. I do not consider 'damn' a curse word. However, like i said in an earlier post, it depends on the context in which it is used. If it is used as a direct quote from someone or something you heard, then I don't think it will matter. However, if you are using it as a description of someone or something, you are totally out of line. Unless it is delivered in such a way that it is somehow meant to be funny, and actually is, it will be taken as very rude and might strike many admissions officers wrong. Again, it all depends on context.</p>
<p>lucifersam -</p>
<p>I don't know whether Henry Miller's literary canon includes his college application essays, but I doubt it.</p>
<p>In any case you are making a mistake to say that hey, they wrote it in their novels so I can write in on my application. There are TONS of stuff, including and way beyond the word damn - both topics and vocabulary, that are used in literature that are not appropriate for a college app. And there is nothing hypocritical about it. It's simply that language appropriate to one setting is often not appropriate for another. I don't know why this is so hard to understand.</p>
<p>Applying to college is like applying for a job. Where I work if any applicant was so foolish as to use damn or any other curse words in his/her application or cover letter, I guarantee you they would not be hired.</p>
<p>Like I said if earlier, if you feel so strongly about this that you are compelled to curse on your college apps, go right ahead. It will just open up more slots for other applicants who had more sense.</p>
<p>I can see how you don't understand where I'm coming from, coureur, but the parallel that I'm drawing, which I think is very relevant, is that, for example, if a college knew they were going to be cultivating and further producing a writer like Henry Miller, then they probably would not hesitate to admit him, even if they knew he would turn out to write some pretty obscene novels. So, if most are to praise these writers despite what they say in their papers, why can't the institutions that are supposed to help writers along in their talents not place much emphasis on obscenities in writing? </p>
<p>Although I keep reiterating that I don't mean to blatantly advocate the use of words such as "damn" in college application essays, I still think it is hypocritical for such words to be made such a big deal of in the college admissions bit. Perhaps it stems from my English teachers (who could not spell very well and used words like "conversate") not allowing me to use words like "damn" and begin sentences with contractions, despite the fact that many fiction writers that are hailed as great have done so. I don't know. </p>
<p>And I'm sure that if I am as qualified as I hope to be when I apply for transfer, if I DO decide to use "damn" in my essay, it won't be the straw that breaks the camel's back and denies me admission, and the same would probably go for any other students that are otherwise very qualified. </p>
<p>"Oh, well, see, this guy here has a 4.0 and a 1600 and is the recipient of plenty of awards, and then there's this other guy over here in this pile who has a 3.5 and made a 1350 on his SAT . . . who should we pick? I'm leaning towards the first application for some reason . . ." "Hang on, Willy, looks like that first boy wrote 'damn' in his essay when speaking of his excursion on K2!" "What is that you say? We can't have such base and debaucherous young men attending our prestigious university! I won't have it! Let the last boy in and deny the first one admission!"</p>
<p>Your college essay is in front of the Adcoms speaking for you because you are not there to speak for your self. If you were actually sitting in front of the Adcoms, would you say damn or any other curse words? I highly doubt it.</p>
<p>If I were there in front of an adcom and I had an impulse to answer a question using the phrase "Damn the torpedoes and full speed ahead" I very will might not attempt to quell that impulse, if the question was fitting for using that phrase as part of a response. </p>
<p>Furthermore, you are exhausting the "Sell yourself since you are not there" analogy here. Would one speak in the tone he or she speaks in or even talk about the same subject matter and only that subject matter that the person discussed in his essay, if he or she were in front of an adcom? The application essays and actual face-to-face meetings or phone calls are different animals altogether. You would not be asked the same questions nor would you have as much time to prepare your phrasing during interviews and the like, and impulsive actions in good taste (and certain usage of the word damn could definetly be considered good taste; at least certainly not bad taste) would probably be more accepted in person even than on paper.</p>
<p>I have stated many times that I am not adamantly promoting usage of the word "damn" on college applications or meetings with admissions officers, but I feel that many of you seem to be approaching the issue a little too prudishly or shyly.</p>
<p>Why am I not surprised that this sparked such a heated debate on CC? First, just let me say that I wrote the essay kinda last minute (no need to tell me what a bad idea) although I felt comfortable writing it. When I typed it on the computer, I was just so exhausted from work and writing that day that I just wanted to turn in my app as soon as possible, so my mind wasn't where it should have been and I wasn't able to think of anything that would replace "damn" with the same meaning, although the next day, it came to me. And no, shucks and fiddlesticks is not my real voice so why would I use it? Plus it just sounds fake. I don't think that it was the best word to use, but it was not completely out of line (in my view and for a little less than half of you it seems).<br>
My essay was about how from the start of my day to the end of my day any intellectual curiosity is suppresed from everyone around me, from my classmates, parents, (not so close) friends, and co-workers. I then went in to how the library is the only place where I can be free to feel smart without others making fun of me or telling me that I shouldn't take hard classes or read or study. When the librarians announced that the library was closing, I said "damn" to myself because then I would have to go home. Damn was the first word that came to mind and with apps due that day, it was a little hard to think of something to replace it.
Anyway, I just hope that this will help end this debate. I personally don't think that it will matter too much because it is in the middle of dialogue, so they might just skim over it and miss it. Or someone very strict might read it and automatically reject me, which I realize as a possibility. And for those that care, I will keep you posted as to if I get into my schools that I used this essay for. Just 85 days left!!!</p>
<p>Mekrob -</p>
<p>If you already used the word and sent it, why are you asking us? It's too late to change anything.</p>
<p>For those of you who have not yet turned in your applications (next year's batch?), don't use swear words in your essays. Why give your adcom a reason to reject you? As for sounding like yourself and letting your personality shine thru, blah, blah -- I don't buy it. Most kids speech consists of more f*** and s*** than damns - but everybody seems to understand that you have to self-censor those words out.</p>
<p>I, for one, think that your essay idea was a very good on, mekrob, and that sort of event is the sort in which using the word "damn" would be perfect. </p>
<p>By the way, I'm pretty sure that the fiddlesticks and shucks ideas were only brought up sarcastically, because I definetly saw some humor in them.</p>
<p>I asked before I sent it in.</p>
<p>I agree with both of you. I don't think it will hurt me too much, most likely. But had I done my apps like I should have (early), then I would not have had to use it. I will keep you informed about my status. If I get accepted, then it is fine in context. But if I don't then I guess we really won't know since my stats are way up there.
Thanks lucifer...umm....lucifersam, I mean. I appreciate the encouragement.</p>
<p>Mekrob-
Gotta give you some credit-- you could have chosen to use a term for excrement ( I suspect if I type either in here they will be deleted-- but what the heck, I'll.. try)-- you could have used "****" or "crap", and you had the better sense than to do that :)
OK-- It let one in -- the first one starts with "s" and ends with "t". Duh.</p>
<p>mekrob,
if the rest of your application presents you as a thoughtful but academically frustrated individual, I think you're ok most places. From a pragmatic viewpoint, the fact that you appear to be a good writer won't do you any harm. Time will tell, and and I will be interested in seeing how you fair. </p>
<p>The negative responses to your thread are not only for you, they are also for any juniors (or seniors with essays yet to write) lurking about, and trying to think of an essay that will get them noticed. </p>
<p>Just curious - did you apply to UChicago? </p>
<p>BTW, I like the way you describe your location in your CC profile.</p>