I have a legitimate question…no joke…I am one of onlya very few Jewish people to be personaly blessed by Pope John Paul II. Should I list this 
If this was an important moment for you personally, I would suggest that you address it in one of your essays. If you mean to list it in your activities, honors, etc, it doesn’t really fit.
hehe
Hey i just wrote a message and i dont know where it went.
Anyway, it said the following.
I graduated froma French high shool in Quebec, Canada with excellent grades. I dont have any ECs unless sports that are part of school “ECs”. I played basketball for 2 years, played Sax in an Orchestra and played 1 year of football. then again, these werent anyhting great that changed my life.
Im now living with my father in arizona and am currently enrolled in a community college. Id like , for fall 2006, to transfer to a good school for undergrad business. Wharton, Harvard, and possibly McGill (Montreal, Canada)
I was wondering if any of you would know anything about my situation.
I have no SAT or ACT scores since im canadian, i basically skipped grade 12 and went straight to college and so far i have good grades, ( 4 A’s and 1 C)
So if anybody knows anything about how i could help myself in this transfer application, please let me know.
Also, i was wondering if the essay is very important. In my head, its the most important thing besides the grades and test scores. But as i mentionned i dont really have any crazy ECs so im thinking of making a good essay about myself, and make it stand out and show them my views on whatever… nothing to impress them, but let them know hwo i think , where im going, and where im from.
please help.
im scared
I made a Resume or “Brag Sheet” and used it for my ED school because I used the school’s own online application (Not the common app)…now I’m using the common app for my RD schools and there isn’t a place where I can upload my Resume. What should I do? I can’t copy/paste it into Additional Information because its organization in tables and formatted w/ style.
Wow this thread will definitely help me in the future! It gives more information on ECs.
Question here: Would someone consider this very important?
— I am cleaning my city (with couple other friends). I am the leader in this mini group. Every saturday we go out and clean areas that need a bit more cleaning. Received an award by the city and met the Mayor. Appeared in the city’s newspaper.
Keeping our environment clean is something i am very passionate about.
In the future, maybe I could write in my essay about my passion on environmental awareness and what i learned from cleaning my city.
definately a good thing. I also was very frank with my councellors, teachers, and optional reference about what ECs were particurly important to me and that I would be talking about in my app, so they coudl mention my passion for them also. In addition, there were a couple of ECs I could not mention to do space issues, so I had a councellor mention them in his letter
thank you for your opinion.
i recently heard that having lots and lots and lots of ECs is not that important. although you have 3-5 (=few) but you are certain you are passionate about one of them and show evidence of your passion towards the specific EC,for ex. in your essays, then you have higher chances to get admitted. am i true?
I wrote a resume and it came out to a page and a 1/2 - not many EC’s but definitely a lot of passion I showed…I showed how much $ I earned for some community service activities as well as companies I had.
However, my GC didn’t mention how much $ I earned…it shouldn’t be a problem right? She just emphasized my passion for all the activites I listed on my resume.
i’m so jealous at people that have amazing stats - with scholarships, tons of national and int’l awards, superb essays, being presidents of different things, instruments blah blah blah. i think i should do more stuff (?)
i would like to convince admissions officers with my passion toward community service (the one mentioned above_)… dunno if it will work…
amazing stats from other people make me feel im at the low bottom right now… :(:(:(:(:(:(:(:(:(:(:(:(:(
kevster ur not alone…my stats are lower than anyone on here…thats why I’m hoping my passion for business, dance, and karate will impress the adcoms and they can not put so much emphasis on my stats
well… people tell me i’m so stressed out. i’m just a sophomore but i think the earlier you know and prepare for college, the better chances to get in.
PARIKHS,
ill post my stats from what I have now.
Sophomore
instrument: violin for 4 yrs still continuing
member of habitat for humanity
volunteering at a local park
cleaning the city - received award, met mayor, apppeared in newspaepr
planning on to…
participate in my city’s annual photo contest
join OC Red Cross
still have time for more, though, no idea…
i am really interested (in the future) for cornell, carnegie mellon, NYU, UCLA, boston U.
(dunno why but just have competitive colleges in my mind.)
i should definitely start having as much APs in my junior year and excel in my SAT and SAT IIs/ …
I have a 93 average in all honors and APS yadda yadda, good SATs for the schools I want but I’m trying to seem well rounded because right now i thnik im a boring white kid with barely any ECs I have a couple of unique ideas, can anyone give me feedback?
I have a job at an ice cream store I work 15-20 hours a week->does that coutn for anything…note:im not working cuz were poor
I was thinking about studying for A+ certification…its a computer thing where you can repair computers and stuff
I was thinking about self-teaching myself digital photography (photoshop etc)…would it mean anything to adcoms if i sent in liek a little portfolio…note:ive never had an art class in my life
Start volunteering at a hospital
And lastly…can someone explain to me what is meant bya internship…and how I woudl get one in highschool
another take:
I disagree with the original poster in this this thread.
If you truly have a single passion, then I’d write about it. For instance, if Jill has played the violin with Itzhak Perlman, then that would be a good essay choice. If you’re a member of the College of Cardinals, then that would be an awesome EC to focus on.
But, it’s not the only route to take.
I’ve written several personal statements. None of them have focused on a particular ‘life-changing’ event, because I have not had that life-changing event. I can see, as a high school senior, that I have not yet made a difference in the world. I haven’t done anything particularly meaningful. I’ve won a couple international awards, but none worth devoting an entire essay to. I participate in a wide array of clubs, sports, and organizations, but no single moment/activity stands out.
So, instead, I focused on everything. My common app personal statement discussed a historical figure and tied him to at least four or five of my activities.
Too often, we’re reading books that claim that the only good essay is a narrowly focused essay. Frankly, if I were an adcom, that would get kinda boring. It might be interesting to read about your experience cleaning toilets on your youth-group trip down to Cuba, but it doesn’t reveal much about your character. Also, compact narrative essays require some sort of critical insight - most teenage writing sorely lack this key ingredient. Instead, what you get is the standard cliche epiphany essays.
You’ll get:
Poor-people-are-like-me essays
Spending-time-with-family-makes-me-happy essays
That-which-does-not-kill-me-makes-me-stronger essays
All of which reveal a dull and unimaginative mind. Not good.
You’ll get:
I-am-just-like-a-character-in-fiction essays
I-am-a-nonconformist essays
I-am-like-Holden-Caulfield essays
All of which, frankly, would also get boring after the third such one.
The standard Pity-me-some-tragic-event-happened essays probably help reveal a stressful time of one’s life, and may help to flesh-out an applicant more.
The standard I-really-like-particular-activity-for-particular-reason essays are probably the dullest. Yes, we understand that you like Debate because you’re argumentative. Yes, music gives you some special feeling. Yes, yes, reading transports you to imaginary lands. Uh huh. We get it. Yes, team sports help build a feeling of team spirit. I could predict that being the President of some club helps you gain some critical insight about leadership.
It’s all very cliche.
So what needs to stand out?
Your WRITING. Not the subject - in my opinion, that’s secondary.
Show the AdComs that you’ve put effort and passion into writing your essay. And make your subject interesting. Discuss yourself holistically, not as a single dimension. I’m not suggesting that you present yourself as a Bright Well-Rounded Kid. Find a common link. Discuss each element of your character. Psychoanalyze yourself. It’s easy to skim the surface and merely discuss a single facet. Find all of them.
Thanks for the advice!
<a href=“http://www.flocabulary.com%5B/url%5D”>www.flocabulary.com</a>
Hey Zogoto, you live in AZ. I was wondering if you heard of Tempe Youth Leader Ship. If so, is it worth while to do?
but i think most competitive applicants write good, personal essays too…
that was really helpful post, thanks
I disagree with SonataX. Yes, there are some very cliche essays about extracurriculars. But that’s not a reason to discredit the OP. One of my essays is in fact about a classical Asian dance form I studied and performed for 10 years. An essay like “Dance taught me perseverance and this also taught me about my cultural heritage” is obviously crappy and old. But it’s possible to write a really fresh essay…So don’t try to discredit the OP based on a few crappy essay writers. I’m totally taking advantage of the essay to show how the dance experience was a unique personal journey for me…not just cliche stuff like “practice makes perfect” or “arts and culture are important” but instead something a lot more unique. The more time you’ve put into the activity, the more likely it is that you have unique experiences to draw upon, not just cliche babble.
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