<p>Bagrationi: that sounds OK to me.</p>
<p>I did mine on The Communist Manifesto by Karl Marx. I said how it opened my eyes and inspired me.</p>
<p>can i write about an extracuriccular activity? is it considered as "academic'?</p>
<p>I think mine is kind of a gamble. mine is kind of like Machiavelli12's. I wrote about a book and how it changed my perceptions, but it's not so much a book really as an anthology of essays on anarchism taken from zines... I thought they might appreciate it being different but it might just make me come off in a bad light. I dunno.</p>
<p>and yeah that second short response was kind of hard to gauge. but I wrote about how when I did the summer@brown program, I loved the campus and knew I could see myself there for four years.</p>
<p>Hahah my essay is all about the eventual triumph of the workers. It isn't as radical as my common app essay. I did the "whats a problem of international importance that you feel strongly about" (something along those lines) and I wrote about how western nations use loans and debt as a tool to control 3rd world countries and I threw in a call to action which was revolution. It showed true passion. It couldn't have been too radical because everyone who reviewed it (including a coach from Brown) said it was wonderful and shows true zeal.</p>
<p>haha OK, I think mine is fine then. I'm sure the Brown adcom will take an open mind... I hope</p>
<p>cherry: Only if extracurricular is academic in nature, like scientific research or debate.</p>
<p>if it is publishing a school bulletin?</p>
<p>I have already written an essay that I really love about my experiences volunteering in classrooms at my local science museum and how that inspired me to become a teacher. It is something I am very passionate about, and I want to include in my Brown application, but I think that considering it as academic is stretching it... What do you think? Please help!</p>
<p>does it HAVE to be 500 words? can i leave it at around 200-250? is that wise?</p>
<p>cherry and oddlittleemily: I'm going to repeat what I wrote earlier in this thread, about my guess of what admissions is looking for in this essay:</p>
<p>
[quote]
[Brown] wants to see how you became revved up about an intellectual experience. They want to see evidence that you have a sincere love of learning, that you will contribute to the academic environment at Brown. ...</p>
<p>Brown wants its classrooms filled with intellectually curious people. It wants students willing to take risks. It wants engaged learners, independent learners. This essay is your chance to show them that school means a lot more to you than grades. Convince them that you will make a vital contribution in the classroom.
[/quote]
</p>
<p>So, if publishing a school bulletin or volunteering at a museum convinces them of the above, go for it. But remember that your essay will be compared to ones that talk about the joy of learning string theory or translating Plato or analyzing James Joyce or debunking JFK conspiracy theories. Ask yourself if publishing a school bulletin demonstrates your intellectual curiosity. </p>
<p>collegen: If you can say it in 200 words, do it.</p>
<p>is 500 the max or can we go +/- like fifty words?</p>
<p>what do u think of the essay topic on being in paris in the language school (european applicant)?</p>
<p>i wrote my intellectual experience essay about a book i read for an ap history class, but in my application i told them that I was really math and science oriented. do you think this will hurt me by showing a lack of passion for one area of study? or do you think it will help because it shows that i am interested in many topics? help</p>
<p>luluzg: Not enough information to give you an answer. But see post 51 above.
bbut514: I doubt it matters, but I'm not an admissions person who reads applications and makes judgments. If it's well written and does what I suggest in post 51, then it should be OK.</p>
<p>One of my kids is applying RD, and she became concerned when she read this thread because she had thought the word "academic" referred only to experience, not to project, book, etc.--so she wrote about a book that had influenced her but was NOT related to academics in any way. She asked me to call admissions for clarification this morning.</p>
<p>When I called, the woman who answered the phone put me through to an admissions officer who clarified that the book, project, etc does NOT have to be related to academics....</p>
<p>Hope that helps some of you!</p>
<p>@ fireandrain ok so im coming from a small european country (4.5 million is population) and its my first time that im going by myself to so big city to learn french. so i was thinking to write regarding my experience there, new city, culture, 16 years old gilr alone in the city which has bigger population than her country, how it enriched me, etc</p>
<p>When I originally wrote the important academic experience essay, it was about my experience at the Pennsylvania Governor's School of Excellence for International Studies (a highly selective summer program). It was one of the best essays I've ever written, and it talked about specific anecdotes about gov school and how they made me reevaluate the way I approached academic issues and how it made me appreciate the opinions of others (trite, I know, but I pulled it off in an interesting and engaging way). However, it ended up being around 1000 words and removing anything more from it would start to detract from the value of my essay, so I ended up using it as my common application essay.
I then ended up writing my essay for that prompt on a book (Atlas Shrugged, by Ayn Rand). It didn't have as much to do with sheer academics as it did to do with my approach to community service and why economic development trumps any other kind of civic engagement. I think the strength of the essay was the way in which I discussed why I agreed with Rand's premises but disagreed with her conclusions.
Essentially, I think that focusing on just the academic experience part can trip you up. The other topics, such as influential teachers or books, are much easier to develop into complete essays, and they'll probably turn out much better than if you force yourself to write about an academic experience that didn't readily come to mind in the first place.</p>
<p>sleepingbeauty: I ended up submitted my application in paper because every one of my 5 writing pieces (the 2 common apps and 3 supplementary questions) were 10-20% longer than the maximum length, and the common app website would cut off the end of all my essays. Brown admissions obviously didn't mind because I got in early decision, but I think it comes down to the same advice all the admissions counselors gave during my college visits. If your essays are long or if you attach supplementary material, it will help you in the long run as long as its well written or conveys an important aspect of you as an applicant and potential student. If its poor or even just mediocre, it will hurt your application because the admissions counselors feel as though they're wasting their time reading material that doesn't add to the value of the application.</p>
<p>I'm going to repeat something else that I said earlier -- this is the first year Brown has required this academic influence essay, so really the only people who know what they are looking for are the admissions officers. What they want hasn't been conveyed to alumni volunteers. My guess, based on my knowledge of Brown, is they want to learn from that essay your love of learning, your approach to learning, etc., -- but I could be wrong. I think the office will know better themselves what they want after they read this year's batch. Because this is the first year, I imagine they will be open to many interpretations. What they must want is something different than the common ap essay, or else they wouldn't ask for this. </p>
<p>I'll see if I can dig up any more specific answers, although my guess is that I won't learn anything until after the holidays, which will come too late for most of you.</p>