<p>Ok I've never done an application essay before for college? How does it work, is there a set topic to write about or just anything? Can you write about how a scholarly articl</p>
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<p>Scholarly* article by Ralph waldo Emerson inspired you?</p>
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<p>There’s a personal statement on the CommonApp. That’s the essay that all of the colleges you apply to see. They have suggested topics and then an option to write whatever you want. Your essay idea would fit into the “whatever you want” category. The personal statement is approximately 500 words. Then, for each college you apply to they usually have supplementary essays that you have to write. Those have specific topics and a range of word requirements.</p>
<p>You can really write about whatever you want, but you want to make sure that it gives the admissions committee a sense of you who actually are as an individual. I wrote several completely different essays before I got the one I used. I basically got so frustrated trying to think about what makes me unique and different that I just wrote about all the reasons my friends think I’m weird or all the things I do that embarrass them. And from there I worked it into not following the crowd, taking risks, etc. But I tried to keep it real and avoid the stuff that just sounds like BS to impress, because the readers can see right through that. Keep it sincere. My first sentence was about how much I like Rebecca Black (and then, of course, I had to explain WHY I think she’s actually pretty cool). It had a more conversational tone, and it wasn’t about all the impressive things I’ve done, although I also talked a little bit about how I got my job when I started out as the least experienced and youngest intern. Anyway, it got me into Duke, Cornell, WashU, Northwestern’s J School, etc. My advice would be to not worry about following any rules or saying the right things. Let your own voice come out and write about something that says something about you as an individual. Essays about how much a 5 day community service project changed your perspective on world peace and helped you find the meaning of life don’t go very far. If the article actually did inspire you, that’s really pretty cool and I’m sure it’ll show through in how you write your essay, especially if you have some material things you did as a result. Idkk… it sounds like it could be a pretty neat essay!</p>
<p>So when exactly do I start doing the common app </p>
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<p>You can start writing the essay now. The topics haven’t changed from previous years. The actually application is available at the beginning of August.</p>
<p>Link to the topics from last year?</p>
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<p>@EmilyRS
Lol, can I read your essay? It sounds fantastic.</p>
<p>@dirkslam
Please write an essay of 250 – 500 words on a topic of your choice or on one of the options listed below, and attach it to your application before submission. Please indicate your topic by checking the appropriate box. This personal essay helps us become acquainted with you as a person and student, apart from courses, grades, test scores, and other objective data. It will also demonstrate your ability to organize your thoughts and express yourself. NOTE: Your Common Application essay should be the same for all colleges. Do not customize it in any way for individual colleges. Colleges that want customized essay responses will ask for them on a supplement form.</p>
<p>1 Evaluate a significant experience, achievement, risk you have taken, or ethical dilemma you have faced and its impact on you.
2 Discuss some issue of personal, local, national, or international concern and its importance to you.
3 Indicate a person who has had a significant influence on you, and describe that influence.
4 Describeacharacterinfiction,ahistoricalfigure,oracreativework(asinart,music,science,etc.)thathashadaninfluenceonyou,andexplainthatinfluence.
5 A range of academic interests, personal perspectives, and life experiences adds much to the educational mix. Given your personal background, describe an experience that illustrates what you would bring to the diversity in a college community or an encounter that demonstrated the importance of diversity to you.
6 Topic of your choice.</p>
<p>sorry for weird formatting but I’m lazy…</p>