<p>Most people may recommend that essay should NOT be controversy, except for one who is a very very good writer.</p>
<p>I am not a good writer. so, my essay was not debatable until yesterday.</p>
<p>However, because of a sudden revelation about one person who I referred to be served as an example of my point, my essay became extremely controversy.</p>
<p>Surely, my main point is not related to this revelation, but I feel anxious.</p>
<p>I am writing a explanation letter and a new essay, but I cannot sure that I should send them.</p>
<p>What is your opinion? Should I send them or just wish this revelation to be waned?</p>
<p>Is your explanation that it was an unintentional faux pas, not really your fault becuase without the revelation - which you could not have predicted - no harm would have been done.</p>
<p>A 2nd essay? It does not seem that you can "unring the bell."</p>
<p>If you are not a good writer, you're chances at Harvard are extremely low. Writing is an integral part of a liberal arts education. In this post, you have incorrect word usage, grammar errors, and general wordiness. Have you sent your essay yet? What is the topic? Please give us additional information. I think what you really need to do is sit down with the best english teacher in your school and go over the essay sentence by sentence. Keep it simple and concise, and talk with the teacher about sentence structure and word choice/use.</p>
<p>And yeah, fine, point taken. But don't they (Harvard, that is) have a TOEFL or something anyway so they can tell whether or not your English is good enough? And then ESL classes for some?</p>
<p>Oooo, I should catch up! I don't have school this week, so maybe I'll be able to.</p>
<p>Yeah, I'm sure they require the TOEFL. But, I would also assume that they do not depend wholly on the results of a test that they do not administer themselves in detemining whether a student's english meets their requirements (I wouldn't!). They probably also look at the student's grades in English classes, scores on related SAT I and SAT II tests (such as the SAT II Literature and the writing and reading SAT I sections), and--most importantly--the applicant's essay.</p>
<p>I'm sure that the best international students can get in with mediocre English skills. However, for the majority of applicants, a poorly written essay will certainly not help in admissions. I would say that it is vital for a non-native speaker to have an essay that sounds, if not natural, then at least formal and correct.</p>
<p>Hmmm....you're probably right. Luckily for me the only foreign school I applied to (Cambridge) is in England, and I'm pretty sure they speak English there, too.</p>
<p>Their admissions is much more scores-based, as opposed to our American fascination with ECs and the like. They especially look for passion and committment to a chosen subject because that's the way they are. From 16-18 you're taking JUST courses in your chosen field, and the trend continues into university. If I go to Cambridge, my course schedule will look like this:</p>
<p>First year:
Physics
Math
Chemistry
Geology</p>
<p>Second year:
Physics
Math
Advanced Physics</p>
<p>Third year:
Astrophysics</p>
<p>Fourth year (optional, masters):
Astrophysics</p>
<p>lol I mean I'll be honest, the prospect of a year of JUST astrophysics classes is really enticing, but I want my undergrad years to allow me to experiment with lots of different things, because from grad school on it'll be all astro for me! Which is one of the principal reasons why Harvard = top choice ;) Although honestly, if I don't somehow end up at Cambridge then after I get my BA/BS from Harvard or wherever I go, I might consider applying to Cambridge as a transfer student, doing the fourth year and getting my masters and then either do the Ph.D. there or elsewhere.</p>
<p>That's really an unbeatable plan. Not for me, though. I'm rather attracted to a solid liberal arts education, making Columbia my very loose first choice. There's also the fact that I have a couple very diverse intersts/talents. </p>
<p>That schedule scares me a little. Ok... A lot. </p>
<p>No problem. And, I don't need anything in depth. Feel free to just give me a thumbs up / thumbs down. :)</p>
<p>Yeah. Most people seem to be stuck on the idea of going to one place undergrad, one for grad school, but since you get two degrees in the latter (which is split into two distinct segments--classes and research--anyway), I figure it might not be a bad idea to do each degree at a different school. John Bahcall did that, I think that's where I first got the idea from...I mean, there are so many amazing schools out there, not just in terms of academics but in terms of atmosphere, how could you not want to go to all of them?? lol</p>
<p>
[quote]
I mean, there are so many amazing schools out there, not just in terms of academics but in terms of atmosphere, how could you not want to go to all of them?? lol
[/quote]
What a great attitude. I hate when I see my friends get so stuck on one school because it's horrible when they get rejected and deferred. There are tons of fantastic schools out there, and people need to stop limiting themselves to only seeing one which they have deemed to be "the best." Any person could thrive at any number of schools; they just have to be open to it.</p>
<p>And that's the end of my little inspirational speech. :)</p>
<p>With that kind of grammar, I seriously doubt if you can survive in American colleges.
Take TOEFL and see where you stand on your English ability.
I don't mean to be harsh, but I just want to give you my sincere suggestion.</p>