How wack can my essays be?

Colleges and Universities A-Z Colorado College
1

Hello all,
I am a high school senior looking to give applying to Colorado College my best shot this fall. From what I understand, the essays are one of the most important parts of the application, and will be especially important for me because my GPA is admittedly pretty low. (UW 3.28) I tend to take on more classes than I can handle and then struggle through with what I have, which is not an ideal strategy but also one of the reasons I think CC’s block plan would be ideal for me. I will graduate having taken 8 AP classes. I took the ACT last year and got a 30, and am taking it again this month after pretty extensive studying. I am on the Constitutional Law team and run varsity XC and track. I am vice president of the earth club, and do a ton of extracurricular activities and volunteering.

Given this information, is it even worth it to apply? If no, what schools have similar environments and schedules?

SO, essays: I have written a few different drafts for the “Why Colorado College?” and “Design a Block Plan!” prompts, and given them to my AP lang teacher to read over. She had a pretty positive reaction to them but noted that a few of the essays were “kind of weird.” I’m guessing she was referring to my block plan design, “Anthropology and Human Survival,” that basically consisted of being in a week-long survival scenario and analysing your peers, or the “Why CC?” essay in which I used the behaviour of squirrels as an analogy for how I learn. I understand why my teacher would think the essays were odd, but my thought process was that they need to be unique and interesting. The squirrel and survival scenario essays were not jokey, just way out of the box. Is this okay? Or should I tone it down a little? Is there anything you think they are specifically looking for in an essay?

Thanks!

2

I’m applying to CC too! I don’t think your create my own block is weird at all. It actually seems like an interesting class. In terms of the squirrels I’m not sure if that’s weird or not. I guess it depends on how you talked about it. Like how do squirrels relation to your learning make you think CC is best for you? I wouldn’t worry about the first one and the second one is probably fine as long as you connect it to why CC fits you. A little weird is good, but you don’t want to get too far out there where they don’t really get your analogy.

3

Hey! I’m a current CC student. It is totally worth applying with your stats. CC is truly holistic in how it looks at applications. Definetly stress in your ‘Why CC’ essay why you think it would be a better academic environment for you than your current one. Your block plan essay actually sounds very CC and like a great idea. Most of the ‘design your own block’ essays I’ve heard from other students have been pretty weird-- I mean, mine was all about looking at how we can murder and rationalizing crime and comic books? Something like that…But, in short, your essays can be super wack. They want you to have fun with it.

4

I am a current sophomore. I agree that the Admissions Department makes it clear that essays outside of the standard guidance counselor template are welcomed. On a completely unrelated note, we have rather remarkable squirrels on campus.