<p>Hello everyone!
This year the MIT App has 5 short essay questions on it (Part 2) that have me worried:
In addition to my science interest and good academics and all that ubiquitous jazz, I like salsa dancing. On my current draft for my essays, two of the five pieces are focused on salsa. I'm worried that the admissions people will see this and think of me as big idiot who dances away his free time. This is made especially bad because I don't have THAT much going for me in the way of science: I've done research and am the captain of my school's Science Bowl team, but I haven't done anything HUGE. Should I refocus one of the two essays on chemistry/science, or should I stick with what I have?</p>
<p>It is completely fine for two of your essays to focus on the same thing, whatever that thing is. (Well, maybe not if they both focused on your passion for committing felonies or something, I guess.) Don’t refocus the essay just because you worry that you “should” have an essay about science.</p>
<p>In general, I would encourage you to write the essays, take a week or two off, and then come back to them with fresh eyes and try to see the whole picture you’re presenting in the application. It may be that you’ll read the whole application and think, “Man! Too much salsa!” But it may be that you’ll read the whole thing and think it sounds just like you.</p>
<p>If nothing else, I can guarantee that nobody at MIT will ever think anything even remotely akin to “this person is a big idiot who dances away his free time.” Ever. And MIT has a very vibrant dance community – if you’re a big idiot who dances away his free time, so are a whole bunch of current students.</p>
<p>"I’m worried that the admissions people will see this and think of me as big idiot who dances away his free time. "</p>
<p>you should not be worried about this</p>
<p>Just make sure you talk about different aspects. Don’t say the same thing in 2 essays. Talk about how you do it for pleasure. What about it that makes it enjoyable to you, etc. If you then use it for the challenge essay, talk about a challenging aspect. I would NOT expound in the Pleasure essay that you like it because it is challenging. Then you really are using the same essay twice.</p>
<p>For example, you could say that you like the music, style, and fluidity of the movements. In the challenge you could then say that you danced mechanically for years. After years of practice, your body was ready, you had an epiphany, and …</p>