<p>maybe i'm completely wrong here - but I would think when you write your essays you should write on something that an admissions officer would be familiar with. (this of course goes against my general philosophy that the only thing essays do is let the admissions peeps see that you can write well...) Writing on something way "out there" like a somali rapper is just a little...well out there - admissions peeps may not connect. Of course the true challenge is finding something familiar AND something that no one else has written on!</p>
<p>if you can make the topic full enough and clearly demonstrate how it made you think it would not be that bad to choose something an admissions officer is not familiar with. they want to find you- how you write, how you think, stuff like that. while a rap may sound a little funny to write on at first, it is completly how you write the essay, not so much what you choose to write on. the main point behind this essay is HOW IT MADE YOU THINK, not the subject matter. however, these are simply personal inferences. it is almost always better to go with your gut feeling about it.</p>
<p>do y’all think sign language could be considered a form of art? I dont want to very too much from the prompt</p>
<p>Do you think writing about a court case would count? </p>
<p>Thank god schools didn’t require these kind of essays back in the mesozoic era.</p>
<p>I know the admissions folks love these things. But I find the idea of asking a 17 year old to write a revealing essay about their passions or insightful life experiences to date such a dopey exercise in Bravo Sierra.</p>
<p>If you want to know if a kid is smart or thoughtful or can write intelligently, just ask them to analyze and advocate about some current events topic. For most 17 year old boys, their true passion at that age is girls. That’s what mine was. But I doubt anyone writes a college essay about that.</p>
<p>UVA asks the question “what’s your favorite word?” If you take the tour at UVA, they invariably tell you the story about the girl whose favorite word essay was pancakes. Because her deceased grandmother always made her pancakes. The girl said if she got into UVA, she’d start an organization around pancakes in honor of grandma. Now there’s a cool fund raiser every year at UVA called “Pancakes for Parkinsons” which that girl started. It is a really nice story. </p>
<p>But to me, that is a completely dumb way to decide who gets into college. A real eye roller. It strikes me as very cynical and fake. “OK, I need to make something up that will make me look smart and serious, but also clever and interesting and different from all the other bright kids applying. What could that be, since I am basically pretty much the same as those other kids? Hmmmm. Service trip to Central America? Winning shot in a basketball game? Catch 22, Great Gatsby or Hamlet? Nah. Dead Grandma who made me pancakes when I was a kid? Ding ding ding – we have a winner!!”</p>
<p>I’m really tempted to have my last kid write their essay about how her life has been affected by the dopey college essay process.</p>
<p>^^^^ Just be thankful they don’t have to respond to essay prompts like the ones Brown College uses…take a look at those sometime!</p>
<p>^^^^^ Here’s an example of a Brown College (at UVa) application question…</p>
<p>question 3 – PROBLEM SOLVING
a. You are not and never will be King Arthur. How do you successfully remove the sword from the stone?
b. Which four dead historical figures would you want on your dodgeball team? Why?
c. Six was afraid of Seven because Seven ate Nine. What number is Forty-Seven
afraid of and why?</p>
<p>Relax. The favorite word essay is one of many choices. If someone doesn’t like it, they don’t have to answer it. </p>
<p>Essays aren’t dopey. In a process where we don’t give an advantage to those who have the time/money to travel for an interview, the essay is the part where the student actually gets to share their style and voice. We aren’t looking for smart or serious. We’re looking for authenticity. There room for all types in our first year class.</p>
<p>If anyone is still looking at this for regular recision, I wrote my on an art exhibit in the MoMA. I live in New York about 30 minutes from the city on Long Island, so i’m constantly at art exhibits in chelsea and soho and nolita. This one exhibit i went to with my mother, was based around pornography and the beauty of the human body. I wrote about the culture shock and the difference in perspective when you step out of your bubble- mine is the North Shore of Long Island. I’m pretty sheltered and prudent compared to the comfort other people in other parts of the word have towards nudity and using the body as art. </p>
<p>Private schools engage in these type of questions because the judgement of the essays is subjective, and that’s a way for them to take in hooked students by arguing those students are unique.</p>
<p>I’m surprised UVA as a public school bothers with these useless questions too. There is no correspondance between those essays and college performance or after. Even authenticity will be hard to discern when the range of possible answers is so wide that any personality can be easily faked.</p>
<p>@pastwise Wow, that’s an interesting possibility. I think it’s more just because the adcomms don’t want to be bored. </p>
<p>I was wondering if writing about a topic in anatomy class that amazed me (e.g. how a broken bone heals) could fall under “work of science”??? or is that a little off topic?</p>
<p>@DeanJ The essay is used in replace of an interview? Does UVA grant interviews? (See post #47)</p>
<p>Just a question, what is considered a work. I wrote my original essay about neuroplasticity and I am not sure if this counts as technically being a “work”. Any ideas would help!</p>