<p>what kind of essays does cornell like? funny, serious, to the point or ?
do they want to know why you want to go there or why they would want you?
can't answer it all in 500 words so how do you get your point across quickly?
ideas?</p>
<p>write something that distinguishes you...many funny essays DONT work and just kind of turn off the admissions officers...yet some do. i think you have to pick and choose your college--ie: wash u or vanderbilt probably would be a decent idea to kind of throw some humor in there, but idk if its such a great idea for cornell. so many qualified kids apply there and why should they take you just because you threw a couple of jokes in there? just an opinion though, hope it helped.</p>
<p>I dno, I wrote bout my fascination with the world of human creation, which goes along with my intended major (anthropology). I'm pretty sure my essay was the part that got me into Cornell (mediocre test scores, 26 out of 260 in my class, and EC's were basically sports and a little volunteering).</p>
<p>I guess you can incorporate your love of learning somewhere into your essay (if you hate learning, then fake it)</p>
<p>tommy232... out of curiosity - how would you know that "most funny essays DONT work and just kind of turn off the admissions officers"? Have you attended an admissions officers conference?</p>
<p>It doesn't matter what kind of essay it is. As long as its well written, focused, and not overly boring.</p>
<p>Here's a checker: read your own essay. Do you like reading it? If you don't, then the admission's officers probably won't like it either.</p>
<p>humor, if used properly, can be great!</p>
<p>hhaa i guess youre right tahoe--im pretty much assuming (i think we all are)...just the overall nature of different colleges leaves me to believe that</p>
<p>ie: at washu and tufts, they want well rounded applicants who basically have done everything...at cornell, during the informational session, the cals admissions officer said, "if you have done something outside of your intended major..we dont care about it"</p>
<p>i know that it doesn't directly associate with humor, but i just got the feeling that where washu likes a kid thats different, unique, and has a great personality, cornell likes atmospheric science applicants who just talk about that or biological sciences who just talk about internships...for the record: i obviously have no idea if im right, im just giving my opinion..</p>
<p>but i understand why that could have been confusing! sorry for that!..anyway, good luck to all</p>
<p>agree with tommy's original point. Most adcoms say that a really good funny story is a big plus. The trouble is that most kids aren't that funny good (yet), and their attempt to be young David Letterman [or fill in your favorite comeidan] falls flat.</p>
<p>It seems that lots of people who try to write funny essays do so because they imagine that the majority of their competition is going to write dry, serious essays. As a result, the "funny" guy's essay will explicitly or implicitly make fun of such dry, boring students and try to distinguish the funny guy as a laidback, more openminded person. I'm not an adcom, but this seems like a recipe for ironically crappy essays.</p>
<p>I'm not suggesting that you write a contrived humorous essay trying to be the next Sasha Baron Cohen or Adam Sandler... however your essay should be a reflection of you. If you are have a good sense of humor you can infuse a little of it into an insightful, poignant essay. It can be extremely compelling - the caveat is that it has reflect your own "voice". It can be very refreshing for the reader.</p>
<p>Think about the kids on this discussion board - are you interested in reading the dry, somewhat arrogant comments when they are describing themselves - their interests? To me, those kids all sound alike and my eyes start blurring. I feel the same way when I read a dry college essay. A good friend of mine is a private college consultant and he said that a little humor, when used appropriately can be quite effective.</p>
<p>Do you think it will seriously hurt your chances of acceptance if you're essays are on the dry side? Not all of us are great at writing.</p>
<p>that was not a rhetorical question btw</p>