Essay Ideas for a hopeful student?

Colleges & Universities A-Z Harvard University
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<p>Hey everyone! </p>

<p>So I have been pretty active on CC, possibly due to my month long obsession over college (it was really getting rather unhealthy), so I feel like my stats have already been posted somewhere. If not, I will give the quick basics. </p>

<p>If you already know, or just don't care, please feel free to skip to the bottom. </p>

<p>3.95 unweighted GPA.
Senior courses: AP European History Independent Study(not offered at my crap Southern Il school), AP English 4(Brit Lit), AP Bio 2, AP US Gov, AP French 4, Hon Pre-Calc(ding ding ding! there's my biggest flaw).
Test Scores: Well, I cannot really tell you, seeing as I have not taken the ones that I plan on submitting. My first ACT was a 31(bleh), first SAT was a 2120, US History Subject test was a 720. I will be majoring in poli sci or something of the sort. will be taking the math2 and bio subject tests in the fall(only because they usually reqeust a math and a science, i might take Lit on the same day but I am not sure if 3 in one day is a wise choice). </p>

<p>EC's: V Tennis, V Speech, V Scholar Bowl (wont be doing any of those in college or as a pro or anything of that sort), founder and President of Women In Politics club at school, president of Key Club, now state Lt. Governor of Key Club in Illinois(one of 25 for state, but first from my school EVER), Freshman Mentor, Lifesaver, Global Initiative Organization VP, NHS, 3 summer jobs to pay for my car and car insurance, and I now am the only High School Intern selected to work directly for the Lt. Governor of the state of Illinois (Simon). Not a URM, although my father is a native Iranian and my mother is a Jew, making me a Persian Jew:) that should be a URM if you ask me. Parents are divorced, fathers in California with new family, we make about $55,000 annually. All of my family has only attended Southern Illinois University, although my mother went to a fairly small but accomplished law school and now works legal aid with a Harvard Grad. </p>

<p>Due to my family's annual income, and the fact that my family believes that there is no reason I should not be satisfied with a SIU education, I have not been financially able to attend the countless leadership classes and forums I have been invited to(I might put that I was at least invited on my apps?...)However, my school and District Board as well as my local Kiwanis has paid for me to go to International Convention in Arizona this summer (i am counting that as a summer experience). Also, I won an essay contest on news media that won me a trip to Washington DC sponsored by local Electric Coops. I usually spend half of my summer in California...being Persian. </p>

<p>I am female by the way. </p>

<p>Alright there is more but it is not important. I apologize that is the opposite of short.</p>

<p>So, point. I am starting my application process, in the midst of all of my ACT/SAT studying, summer work, summer homework, and Key Club travel. I need to write my Common App Essay before the end of the summer, and then I can edit it before I apply EA in the fall. Please give me any ideas you may have, either general ideas (please give some explaination and elaboration:)), or if you would like to use my given info to help me find a topic, that would be great as well. </p>

<p>So bottom line, sorry for the novel I wrote here, and also, I thank you very much for all of your help and/or support!
You know I need it and will appreciate it!Thanks!</p>

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<p>"I need to write my Common App Essay before the end of the summer, and then I can edit it before I apply EA in the fall. Please give me any ideas you may have . . . "</p>

<p>Y does a much better job than H in helping students understand what Admissions Directors are looking for in an essay. Watch: [Advice</a> on Putting Together Your Application | Yale College Admissions](<a href=“Advice on Putting Together Your Application | Yale College Undergraduate Admissions”>Advice on Putting Together Your Application | Yale College Undergraduate Admissions)</p>

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<p>thanks. will do:)
bump</p>

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<p>double bump</p>

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<p>i think you should write about key club since you’re like state president or something. write about what you did for it, how you accomplished the title, WHY you CARE about it, why you like itetc.etc.</p>

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<p>Another Persian female applying EA to Harvard?? <em>High five</em> ;)</p>

<p>I agree, we should totally be counted as URM…not “white/middle Eastern” on the common app :/</p>

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<p>I would hide the AP Bio score. On the other hand, your summer jobs will look good and so will sports! </p>

<p>Good luck!!</p>

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<p>@collegeinfo1994 Yes! I would really like to incorporate that into my application somehow, just because recently it has become such a big part of my life and philosophy. But I really like ylaxw1123 's idea about Key Club, I think I might do that.
Also, I am sorry I forgot that so many CC users have taken a lot of AP tests, I should have written that more clearly. Those are not my scores those are just the classes I will be taking next year. Like because I took Honors Biology as a Freshman I can take AP Bio 2 as a senior.</p>

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<p>Our D1 got into Harvard with an essay about her custom of making sushi on Saturdays and her observations about the relevance of her sushi passion to her appreciation of diversity as a white Southerner. While sushi is a pretty superficial artifact of multicultural awareness, the essay was probably to a greater extent a vehicle for demonstrating her creative writing skills, which are pretty good. D2 got in with an essay about bonding with a little Mexican girl during a weeklong Habitat for Humanity service abroad in Mexico, though she didn’t speak much Spanish and the little girl spoke no English. So in our family’s experience, valuing diversity can be a promising topic as long as the examples are genuine, personal, and not contrived.</p>

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<p>Oh, gotcha on the AP Bio thing. My bad! </p>

<p>As for the essay, if your accomplishments and passion for key club exceeds what you have done in the Persian community, I would take the advice of writing about Key club. Really, it doesn’t matter what you write about as long as it’s meaningful to you. After reading many commentaries by Harvard Admission Officers, they repreatedly hint to discuss your passions in your essays. They also look for that passion to reflect in your EC’s. I’ve read “actual results” threads where people have gained admission into Ivy’s by writing about Rubics Cubes and other things that may seem insignificant at first. BUT, the guy who used the aforementioned topic started a Rubics Cube club at school and he is also the #5 fastest solver in the nation or something. <–Passion :wink:
I still have to write mine, too :confused: AND the word limit is down to 500 words this year. Craaazy short.</p>

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<p>Tell stories. They can be long-term stories, like “how I’ve improved Key Club over the years,” or short term ones that show something bigger about you (I told a story, for example, about one of my first times eating really spicy foods, and how I liked it, and how that reflected my sense of adventure.)</p>

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<p>Thank you guys! I am really enjoying reading your comments.
Okay one more question!
I am thinking about trying to raise my 720 on the US History SAT Subject Test, but I only will have one test date left, and I have heard that taking 3 tests in one day is not a very good idea (especially since I will have to study my butt off for math 2 and biology). I may still try and take three, so that I can send in three test scores, but otherwise, do you think it is possible with my stats to get in with 2 subject test scores above a 750? If I do cut one out it will most likely be bio…
Thanks again</p>

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<p>Well I remember reading(on the Harvard website) that they like it if you can give them more than 2 subject test results to show your versatility and academic ability in several areas. I have a friend who had similar EC’s and stats as most people from my school who applied, but he submitted 7 subject test scores and was the only one to get waitlisted this year(no one was accepted). There were probably other factors that gave him a boost(especially being Indian/ African American), but he tells everyone it was his subject tests. Personally, I’ll be submitting all that I score above a 750 on (hopefully 5 by EA time).</p>

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<p>Okay thank you for the help! I guess you are right. I think I was just having a lazy moment. I know that if I had the time and had thought ahead like I smart person, I would have had time to take the Lit and World History as well, and then I could have had 5 because I know I would do well on those two. But I need a wider array of subjects so I have to take some in my two least favorite subjects instead: math and science. Haha. sigh. I suppose I should start studying for those now then (considering I still have not yet taken AP BIO). </p>

<p>I am going to take the other two in December so I can give it to Harvard when they defer me(I hope they do not reject me right off the bat!) and then hopefully they will fall in absolute love with me as an applicant. That is my fantasy at least. :)</p>

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<p>Also. I asked this question in a different forum but you guys are all much more on top of things (thanks especially to collegeinfo1994 :slight_smile: ).</p>

<p>For the Harvard Supplement essay prompts, since they do not have a chose your own topic option like the Common App has, if I were to choose one of the prompts from the 2011 supplement, would that most likely apply to the 2012 prompt as well?</p>

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<p>Those prompts are all just “possible prompts,” so you could still use your own prompt.</p>

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<p>^yes. My supplement will be about my passion for science–research/ starting National Science Hon Society/ Health Occupation Students of America National Leadership Conference/ why I love and want to enter their neuroscience undergrad concentration program. The purpose of the supplement is to tell them any circumstances you haven’t convered(doesn’t have to be any of the given prompts), but really concentrate on connecting that to why you would be a perfect fit for Harvard. Do you know what you want to write about yet?</p>

<p>& about subject tests, if you haven’t taken AP bio, the subject test will be pretty hard. So start review books now!</p>