Foreign Language Essay

I’m thinking about prompt #1 on the common app which basically says to identify an interest that your application wouldn’t be complete without. So basically just writing about something I’m interested in. I wanted to originally do prompt #5 (event that changed your outlook on life) and talk about china exchange trip but that seems too cliche. So with prompt #1 I can talk about my love for learning Chinese since 7th grade all the way till 12th grade ap chinese and how that love is also shown through my involvement in chinese club and the china exchange trip I went on? Is that also generic?

Thanks for anyone’s input!

Is it generic? Yes and no.

Remember that your essay is about you - and not about your China Exchange trip, etc.

Your love of learning, and your clubs and trips, can be great if you remember to write them about you. Too many kids write about the details of certain activities, and less about how they felt, what they learned about themselves, and how these experiences made them want to study fill-in-the-blank.

But since a lot of Asian kids write about this topic, it may be hard to make it stand out at some of the ultra-elite colleges. Unless perhaps you have a twist on it that you come from an American Indian or African American family, and your essay is about the reaction you got when you started to learn Chinese…

The essay is, of course, only one part of your application, and its importance varies at different schools.

Since you were fortunate enough to afford a china exchange trip, you might be tipping your hand as to your family economic status. I have heard conflicting advice about whether it’s advisable to do this. But then again, if you’re from a Crazy Rich Asian family it may not matter where you apply.

There are ways to write a compelling essay about anything - even if it seems cliché, if you write well and your own voice comes through, regardless of the topic, you can show them why you deserve admission.

Best of luck to you.

Thanks. Yeah I’m definitely trying to keep it more about my experiences and growth rather than the details. Were you talking about a lot of Asians write about learning chinese or going to china on an exchange trip? I’m not Asian by the way lol

I was suggesting that a lot of students write about learning a “foreign” language that is actually spoken by relatives at home, and going on an exchange trip to a country they are already familiar with. The student whose last name is Chu writing about Chinese, the student whose last name is Pulaski writing about a Polish exchange trip, or the kid whose family is Italian, writing about going to Italy, etc.

You’re on the right track keeping it about you - but be sure to include enough description to help the reader feel what you felt - as they say, show, don’t tell.