<p>I am applying for Yale SCEA. For the common applic essay, I am planning to write about my experience as an ESL student (I came from China to Canada in grade 9), how I overcame obstacles, persevered and eventually received the honor for awards in English, placed top in my classes, as well as attained leadership position in my school teams/clubs. Is this too cliche a topic? I now have a feeling that people are pursuing too much creativity, that writing some common topics may actually put one in advantage.
Also, should a student ever overlap what has been said in the teacher rec in the essay (I mean I always give the teacher a resume about myself)
Thanks for reading, appreciate any replies and willing to discuss this in detail (=</p>
<p>I still maintain that no topic is cliche - but do your best to be inventive within that construct.</p>
<p>As long as you are not repeating stuff that is already on the common application.</p>
<p>I wouldn't use phrases like 'overcame obstacles' and 'persevered'. They are trite-- can be used by anyone. Try to show what happened without casting your writing this way: LOOK WHAT I'VE DONE!</p>
<p>I hope it's not too cliche, that's what I'm writing about too (Only coming from the US to France) </p>
<p>Honestly I don't think it can sound overdone if it really happened to you. If it's genuine any topic will seem fresh, so long as it has details that hare really pertinent to your character. </p>
<p>good luck! I've started the essay, and personally, I don't have a ton to write. I always thought that the essay should be longer, but it's only 600-ish words. </p>
<p>Good luck in your applications, I'm sure your essay will be great!</p>
<p>Thanks for your reply eldie! I think our problem is just to narrow a 3-year experience into a single story that reflects our personalities. I think diversity might be a good topic to write about
What do you think about the teacher recommendations? My teachers usually ask for resumes, but it can be very bad if they base their recs on the resume because that means they will all write about the same stuff. Does that mean I need different resumes for different teachers?
Again thanks for your encouragement! I hope you the best of luck!</p>
<p>I think i trealy depends on the teachers that you ask. That being said, I think you should just ask your teachers to describe what/how well you contribute to class discussions, how active you are, your analytical qualities, how well you handle heavy workloads, etc. If they want to they can include their surprise (admiration, etc.) at how well you handle working in a language that isn't your mother tongue. </p>
<p>I've always thought that handing your Latin teacher (or whatever) a list of all the sports you've played in high school just a little backwards. I mean, a teacher really shouldn't be asked to know what every one of their students does after class, that's ridiculous. I wouldn't give them a resume. If they really insist on having one just write a note that says something like : "I like Latin because..., and I study every night for X hours, and I like to go to the national museum to see the Roman artwork..." because at least something like that seems more realistic for a Latin teacher to know about you. (Obviously change the note in function of the teacher giving the rec. haha)</p>
<p>lol true...so I suppose different teachers different resumes lol must work hard now !!!</p>