<p>I want to write an essay that will stand out as different, but so far I've only come up with one possible topic. Do you think an essay that relates science and the fact that I'm a total science geek to the sports that I do (gymnastics and running) and the fact that I'm a jock would stand out, or do a lot of people write essays like that sort of stuff?</p>
<p>As long as you work really hard on it, and pour yourself into it, I'm sure the topic doesn't matter all too much... Just that it's something honest, and important to you.</p>
<p>Mine's about how the American Museum of Natural History captivated me for years, and inspired me to take a summer course in anthropology at Brown.
Seems really random, so I don't know how it's gonna work out...</p>
<p>I don't think the topic matters. it's how you write it.</p>
<p>a). Show them who you are
b). Make sure it sticks in their mind somehow-> avoid trite thoughts/cliches</p>
<p>Everyone writes trite sports essays about their great moment scoring the game-winning basket or hitting the walk-off home run to win the championship for their teams. That's one of the worst possible topics. Stay away.</p>
<p>oh, no, that wasn't going to be it at all. It was more going to be about how science bleeds into my athletic life (an example being me and my friend calculating our average velocities during XC and track seasons, another example being the day that I spent my entire workout on floor trying to remember whose uncertainty principle said you couldn't simultaneously know position and direction of an electron). It makes more sense if you read what I've written than if I try to explain it here.</p>
<p>actually, schmivy, that's a pretty good idea. you've already got a couple of anecdotes lined up, so just make sure you include lots of detail and imagery. i think it'll turn out great!
btw, i'm sending you a PM.</p>
<p>
[quote]
Everyone writes trite sports essays about their great moment scoring the game-winning basket or hitting the walk-off home run to win the championship for their teams. That's one of the worst possible topics. Stay away.
[/quote]
</p>
<p>my essay was also about sports but it was actually about how much i sucked at sports and finally made the JV bball team sophomore year but ended up being a benchwarmer but then ultimately found my niche playing volleyball and editing the sports section of the paper....using my love of sports in a more intellectual fashion.</p>
<p>btw, schmivy, sorry if it seems like i'm picking on you today but be careful that your essay doesnt sound like your trying too hard to sound like a nerd or like you are overly interrested in academics....your academic interests should show in your grades try to make your essay show a different side of you.</p>
<p>
[quote]
how science bleeds into my athletic life (an example being me and my friend calculating our average velocities during XC and track seasons, another example being the day that I spent my entire workout on floor trying to remember whose uncertainty principle said you couldn't simultaneously know position and direction of an electron). It makes more sense if you read what I've written than if I try to explain it here.
[/quote]
</p>
<p>This sounds extra-nerdy and not even impressive.</p>
<p>well, uh, thanks for your feedback guys, I guess that probably won't be my real essay then (I'm writing it anyway, I'll get some feedback from my sister who's a creative writing major, and see what she says)</p>
<p>it probably does make me sound way nerdier than I actually am.</p>
<p>sorry if it sounds discouraging but that topic doesnt really strike me as original and interresting.....</p>
<p>Oops 10char</p>
<p>no, Shraf, it's fine, it's better to hear that in all honesty, than for people to be like "yeah, that's a great and original topic!" because they think that's what I want to hear. I'm more likely to catch attention with an original topic than with one that's been done a million times before.</p>
<p>The thing I think with ur essay is not neccesarily its too "trite" a topic- it just seems (from what you've written) that you're more trying to show off how much physics you understand and set a dichotomy with the fact that you're also into sports. Remember- the essay is more about showing off your character rather than the knowledge whether it be Heisenberg Uncertainty Principle or Tunnel-Barreling. gl, I'm also screwing around wiht my essay</p>
<p>I think you should write whatever you want to write. I think that yes, the sports essay is probably overdone, but there's always a new way to write something or spin it. If sports and science are what you're passionate about, there has to be a creative and original way to tie the two together in a way that reveals something about you. A good writer will always be able to find a new angle.</p>
<p>And Columbia2002? Seriously, there's absolutely no good reason to be so mean to everyone on these forums. You can be honest and critical without being a complete jerk. You do more to turn people off the school than you help. Who wants to go to school with someone like that?</p>
<p>dude, whatever you do, don't write about that one trip you took where you discovered "well gee wiz, i never knew there was so much poverty in the world"</p>
<p>if you stay away from that and talk about something that makes you stand out from the rest, you should be fine.</p>
<p>I have a new idea for the gymnastics-science thing. Do you guys think it would be a horrible idea to try to write it like I was doing a lab writeup? like, the purpose could be to execute the perfect [some random skill], and then like, the equipment needed could be whatever I use to train, and then like, the procedure could be the steps to go through to work with it, and then observations/conclusions....</p>
<p>ok, yeah, it's a bad idea. I'm just trying to get feedback on what sort of stuff works</p>
<p>at least u realize that that's a terrible idea.</p>
<p>while being original is key this should not compromise quality. The point of the college essay is to show something about you that doesnt come out in any other part of your app. It's your chance to fill a whole page with a story that will both captivate and reveal your personality and your passions. Your good at science or physics or whatever, we get it, who cares....anyone can look at your transcript and see that....one of THE WORST topics you can possibly write about in a college essay is academics! (its even worst to format your essay like a lab report!) Colleges, especially ivy league colleges arent looking for people who were glued to their books 24/7...they are looking for people with personality and in turn they are looking for an essay that will give them a much better idea of who you really are....something intimate. Stop trying to just get something on the page and sit back and think....ponder....reflect....i know you are only 17, but stuff has happened in your life nonetheless....there have been events that have shaped your personality, that have helped you grow up or have opened your eyes to something or other. Some topics that make the worst college essays in my view are: school/academics, family history, race/gender issues, and september 11th to name a few. You also need to write something that you will be proud of later on....til today i enjoy telling people what i wrote about in my essay and if i were to reread it now i would think "damn, that really did have a big impact on me, my personality and the way i looked at things....it really helped me grow up" but with this lab report idea you will look back on it and say....wow, what a generic cop-out.</p>
<p>The problem is the only thing that has really shaped me, that I can think of, is gymnastics (I've been doing it for 12 years), and I think that sports is probably a topic that I shouldn't approach, unless I can do it from a really unique angle. Which is why I'm trying to find a unique angle.</p>
<p>I guess instead I should try to find another topic completely.</p>
<p>IMO you are paying too much attention to the opinions of other people. Write what seems true, genuine, personal, specific to you and forget about what other people say. Whether or not what you write seems valuable or sensible to someone else on this forum doesn't matter, that person is not you. </p>
<p>It is helpful to ask a small number of people to comment on your draft essay (as opposed to just your topic). But only follow advice from those few people if the advice seems genuine, authentic to you, to your own voice.</p>
<p>If you listen to lots of people, your topic and your essay will become a mixture of everyone else's voices and not something uniquely your own. Your goal is to write a college essay that only you could write. This means that the essay should show things, experiences, events, perspectives that are unique to you.</p>
<p>The topic is not important. Almost any topic can make for a great essay; almost any topic can make for a terrible essay. It is not the topic, it is what you do with the topic. </p>
<p>For some excellent guidance from UVa on writing essays, see
<a href="http://www.virginia.edu/undergradadmission/writingtheessay.html%5B/url%5D">http://www.virginia.edu/undergradadmission/writingtheessay.html</a></p>
<p>I'm going to be honest and say that I don't really like either of your topic; it sounds like you're trying too hard. The essay is supposed to show who you are, perhaps showing them a side of you apart from academics, sports, awards, extracurriculars, etc. that you've already had a chance to mention in other parts of your app. I remember an ad com for Stanford said that if you were a national champion in a sport and then wrote about that in your essay, they wouldn't really get a sense of who you are - it would make you seem one sided and non-dimensional. If you're a national champion, they're going to know what it takes to get there and succeed, and if you write your essay about your experience, it's just repetitive and you're wasting a chance to show them a different part of your life, interests, etc.</p>