Hi everyone. I’m beginning the process of drafting some of my college essays, and I’m trying to come up with something that is unique. I could write about my horse showing experience, or my YouTube experience, but I keep coming back to my family’s pig farm. I’ve worked there since I was ten, and know every aspect of the business. I have some cool stories to tell, like the time my family made me load pigs on my 11th birthday, etc. Do you think this could be a good essay choice? I’m hoping to get into Baylor, TCU, and BU, and I’m applying to Brown and Columbia as reach schools. Any input is appreciated!
Personally? I love the idea!
Everything of course depends on how you write it, but it sounds great.
For Brown and Columbia, esp, remember that these are places that really pride themselves in parsing ideas intellectually. You don’t have to quote Proust or anything. In fact, I’d recommend not doing anything overtly heroic like that. But somehow you should be sure to show them your intellectual chops. To my mind, the best way to do that is through excellent writing. Great writing alone will showcase your talents as it’s so hard to do.
There’s to my mind a truly great essay by EB White called “Death of a Pig”. You may want to see what a great writer can do with simple language about a seemingly prosaic subject. You may recall that EB White wrote Charlotte’s Web. He knew a thing or two about writing. And pigs. The essay is much longer than yours will be, but you may find some interesting angles in his work. One thing that I’d like to draw your attention to is his simple language. EB White also wrote one of the most famous books on writing (Strunk and White’s Elements of Style). Simple language. Short declarative sentences. Images.
Here is the essay–
http://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/1948/01/death-pig/309203/
Yes. It speaks to you and who you are, yet will be something that admissions officers won’t likely to be reading about in other applicant’s essays. The novelty will seem like a breath of fresh air if nicely written.
in my opinion it is something that is unique, has had a great impact on the person you are today, and would likely make you stand out. i know i would be interested in reading that essay.
I like it. Just make sure you put in enough info about you and how it has impacted you.
My daughter included goat herding in hers so I completely get behind the idea of pig farming as a subject matter. I can’t imagine that it comes across frequently in the personal essays. Follow the advice to make certain it is well crafted and you should have an essay that intrigues your reader. :-B
One of the most memorable books I read as a child was A Day no Pigs Would Die.
You’d certainly stand out with a topic like that. Just make sure that it’s more about you than the pigs.
don’t use too much overly sentimental language, though. you don’t want it to sound hammy.
^lol @Wien2NC
To me, sounds like a great topic. (consider Cornell too…they like kids from agricultural backgrounds)
Yes. I did swine 4-H as a kid and everyone who hears about it wants to know more (city kids ha!). Adcoms probably will too.
Pig farming would be an excellent context for an essay. Why? Clearly not something that many, or any, admissions officers have seen before. So it would stand out. But the pigs cannot be the topic, i.e. you are not writing about pigs. They simply provide a unique context for the actual topic, which is the personal trait that is revealed or that formed in that milieu.