Need some quick advice on these ideas

College Essays
1

<p>So I have a lot of experiences I feel like I could write about on the common app essay but I can neither decide nor figure out how to write about it. Here's my options:</p>

<p>Option #1. Evaluate a significant experience, achievement, risk you have taken, or ethical dilemma you have faced and its impact on you.</p>

<p>I wanted to write about being a boyscout and the leadership skills I've acquired but I feel like that would seem like I have no real depth and it would sound superficial.</p>

<p>or </p>

<p>I wanted to write about working for Habitat for Humanity and this other local housing organization and how it led me to simply not take things for granted; once again, cheesy/superficial/stupid.</p>

<p>or </p>

<p>Option #3. Indicate a person who has had a significant influence on you, and describe that influence.</p>

<p>I wanted to write about a guy's house I worked on and his gratefulness (he was running a transitional home through his house) and how the year following I really changed my work ethic in school and outlook in life. I think this would be good because it sort of goes along with my junior year straight As opposed to my fresh/soph straight Bs (because I didn't care)</p>

<p>Also I was considering possibly:
Option #2. Discuss some issue of personal, local, national, or international concern and its importance to you.</p>

<p>and discussing the environment since I would like to work in environmental science as a biology/biochemist so it would give a good outlook on why I want to go into these subjects although I haven't done that many EC stuff pertaining to the environment besides backpacking alot</p>

<p>IDK I have other ideas but these are the ones I feel I could write the most on. :/ i'm really bad at writing and stuff so please I need feedback :)</p>

2

<p>I like your idea for option #3, especially if it ties in with your transcript.</p>

<p>Good luck!</p>

3

<p>I would rule out option #1. Something my guidance counselor told me is that colleges read so many of those types of “when I built a house for habitat for humanity…” that they want something different. Remember, they read a lot of essays, and they want something different because that is what will make you stick out the most.</p>

<p>Best advice, personally, I would say go with option #2. Since it ties into your major, colleges will see that you are very devoted to what you plan to do with the rest of your life. The point of the essay is to let colleges know about who you are, and the person that you want to become. </p>

<p>Best of luck!!</p>

4

<p>This is what i would do. Use:</p>

<p>"Option #2. Discuss some issue of personal, local, national, or international concern and its importance to you.</p>

<p>and discussing the environment since I would like to work in environmental science as a biology/biochemist so it would give a good outlook on why I want to go into these subjects although I haven’t done that many EC stuff pertaining to the environment besides backpacking alot"</p>

<p>For commonapp and save the option 3 for a supplement essay. You’d be surprised how versatile that prompt is.</p>

5

<p>Here’s my personal opinion:</p>

<p>It looks like you’re going through all the topics and trying to find prompts that fit them. I recommend taking a different approach.</p>

<p>Instead of fitting topics to prompts, just stop and ask yourself: what’s the single most important thing about/to me that I want to tell admissions officers? For me, it was a combined passion for music and science. Once you have this question answered, write your essay about it. If it fits one of the prompts listed, then great. If not, remember, the last option for the CommonApp essay is topic of your choice.</p>

<p>In my opinion, this approach works better because you’re immediately focused on the MOST important thing about yourself. If you’re going through the prompts and looking for topics … what if the most important thing about yourself isn’t an experience or achievement? What if it has nothing to do with an influential person or a societal concern? Then you’re forcing yourself to write about something that means less to you just so you can fit one of their prompts.</p>

<p>So, once you have answered the question I mentioned above, you should have no problem picking a topic for yourself. If it’s originality you’re worried about, just be genuine and the originality will come by itself. Overused topics can be written in a refreshing manner; on the same note, original topics can be written terribly. Neither of my main essay topics were original AT ALL, but they were personal and genuine so they worked.</p>

<p>I found this quote on CC, I forgot who posted it, but here:</p>

<p>“Even in literature and art, no man who bothers about originality will ever be original: whereas if you simply try to tell the truth, without caring two pence how often it has been told before, you will, nine times out of ten, become original without ever having noticed it.”–C.S Lewis</p>

<p>P.S. If you have trouble finding ONE most important thing about you, try to limit yourself to 2 or something and use the other topic for a supplemental essay if you can :)</p>

6

<p>Well I’m trying to think about the most important thing to me and what comes to mind is my work ethic. You see, my fresh/soph years weren’t great, but the summer of my junior year I sort of matured and then got straight As junior year with a WGPA of 4.33/4.5. I just don’t know how to talk about that. I know this work ethic is going to continue and I want colleges to know I’m a hard worker and am prepared to excel at their school.</p>

<p>After that, I think about my love for science, math and nature all together. It’s perfect how the numbers fit together and flow through nature in a way, ya know what I mean? I see all this destruction to the environment and the selfishness of humans towards the environment and its awful!</p>

7

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<p>Any top school can fill their class many times over with hard-working kids. The essays are a chance to step outside of your transcript and SAT scores.</p>