<p>Is there a sample essay that can give some guidelines for the 2011 applicants? Should the word count be exactly adhered to? What are the bullet points to remember before responding to essay qs?</p>
<p>Thanks,</p>
<p>there was no word limit last year, they said about a page. my essay was ~900 words or so.</p>
<p>I don’t know about bullet points, but the essay topic was describe how you use math and science in everyday life, tell them how you are a scientist.</p>
<p>I wrote only ~600 words.</p>
<p>Write how you love science… like your idiosyncrasy XD… How you approach the world / everyday life with scientific views.</p>
<p>Mine was only around 400 words… just make sure it’s honest and interesting. Don’t worry too much about “bullet points”, and just write about the first thing that comes to mind when you read the prompt. Caltech wants to know how you express your love for science – tell them the truth, not what you think they want you to say.
I don’t think they’re too picky about the essay. I say this because I just opened mine, reread it, and found 2 comma splices and about a gajillion run-on sentences. Oops.</p>
<p>My son’s was about 1000 words and it didn’t talk about how he used math and science in daily life but how he thinks about it. I think they want to know if you love it - your grades and tests tell if you’re capable, but they want to know that you’ll be happy immersed in it for four years.</p>