Help on picking an essay topic

Colleges and Universities A-Z Cornell University
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<p>I was hoping people could help me out here. Like honestly, nothing out-of-the ordinary has happened to me. I havn't had a life changing moment etc. so I don't know what 'writing a killer essay' means.</p>

<p>I'm interested applying to either Cornell or CMU early for Information Systems(ISST at Cornell).</p>

<p>Things I've thought of so far(stupid I know):
1. I've been researching a big facility over the summer. I could write about my experiences and how it shaped me(better work ethic etc.).
2. Tieing in with my interests(IS/business), I could talk about how I noticed that at my research facility there is not a lot of collaboration between projects and that there is huge organizational problems in the organization. Gettign an IS degree could help me fix those problems as this is a problem with a majority of the research facilities and can be fixed by effective technological solutions.
3. Maturing through high school. Understanding that motivation can only get you so far and that you need fundamental skills(tools) to help you reach your dreams.
4. National concern essay on affirmative action(Very risky idea). Although its a temporary solution, America is currently ignoring the real problem and we're helping these children at the wrong stage of their life.</p>

<p>I just reread my post and it sounds confusing, but I'm too lazy to make it clear. So, helpful comments please!</p>

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<p>Writing about really basic life skills is probably going to be a boring essay. No offense, but the adcom. is not going to be like, "ooOOOOooo, listen to this kid's empassioned story about how he developed time management skills." Perhaps you can do something good with it, but it seems like a dry topic to me.</p>

<p>essay 2 looks more promising, it could kind of be a "where I want to go in life" kind of essay, perhaps, tying in your research job with your prospective major at cornell, and showing how you can apply it to a real world situation, and best of all one involving yourself. This is an essay more about you, your interests, and your thoughts, all relating to YOU, not someone else (like the AA essay idea).</p>

<p>Everyone matures in high school. It's called hormones, puberty, rebellion, independence and learning through trial and error, etc.. This is nothing special. IMO it's a horrible essay idea that will not make you stand out at all unless you were to discuss how, god forbid it, your mother or parents died in some tragic accident during your early high school years and it taught you to cope with loss, to stay optimistic, to be independent, etc.</p>

<p>i think your affirmative action idea is cliche, i've heard a bunch of people write on that, but that alone wouldn't rule it out for me. However, you also want them to learn about you, not about your opinion on an external and disconnected subject: affirmative action. In my opinion your essay should be introspective rather than expository. Unless you stand to benefit or be affected by AA and it affects your life directly, it's probably gonna sound like some white kid (excuse the generalization, perhaps you're not white--even if you're black you're still talking about AA rather than yourself) whining about it, even if you raise valid points. It doesn't talk about you.</p>

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<p>I think i'm a fairly interesting person, but my essay wasn't about anything out of the ordinary. I just wrote about the development of my love and appreciation for music from preschool years through senior year HS. I wrote about ME. I got to brag a little, and it's obvious from reading the essay that I'm rather proficient at trumpet, but I didn't list awards or discuss accomplishments in that sense. I discussed music from a more personal, philisophical, and emotional point of view. It was sort of describing the one-on-one relationship music and I have.</p>

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<p>I say look within for something you are empassioned about. Writing on something you love or feel strongly about helps the thoughts and words flow.</p>

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<p>thanks a lot for your advice sparticus. u continue to be a valuable asset to CC. </p>

<p>I'll try to come up with some more personal ideas and then ill post em up here for more advice. thanks guys.</p>

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<p>just remember, while i have kind of refined my application philosophy over the past year and a half, I, nor anybody else on here (as far as I know), is any kind of licensed official advisor yadda yadda yadda. So while what any one of us says might make alot of sense, most of it is opinion. Unless it's an explicit fact we're stating, take the advice with a grain of salt. None of us is an expert really. And no matter what anybody tells you, they don't know exactly how much this or that counts in your app.</p>

<p>But thanks, for the compliment. It's replies like that that make me feel like i'm not totally wasing my time giving advice on this site.</p>

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<p>I've heard that the best topic is something that only you could write about.</p>