<p>I did a 3 week outward bound in Alaska the summer going into my junior year and it was a really great experience. How good will this look for colleges? Also, I am 95% sure it will be the basis of my essay.</p>
<p>It's a good essay topic, definitely. </p>
<p>But I wouldn't rely on it to make a huge difference in admissions.</p>
<p>I did the same kind of thing, except it was in Nepal and Tibet for 6 weeks. I plan on using it in my essay's and maybe even connecting with the interviewer about it. I think it also can show that you're not afraid of taking risks and arn't going to run back home if you apply out of state.</p>
<p>in the book "A is For Admisssions" it says adcoms have seen a few essay topics so many times they have become trivialized. hey even call them by name. One of the ones listed is the Outward Bound essay. I think they have in mind ones that follow a well-worn formula: there were tough challenges, I didn't think I could do all them but practically to my surprise I did, I learned that I can overcome big obstacles -- college look out!!</p>
<p>I don't mean to demean Outward Bound, BTW. Even if the formula above is what they take away from OB, that's ok because it's the learning experience its designed to deliver. From what I hear, it does a great job of it. But you're caught in a bind. While the essay prompts tell you to write about a meaningful experience to you and the OB trip clearly is to most participants, there is another side to an great essay. The best essays make the interviewer want to meet you. It's unique, memorable, the kind they want to pass around the office and say "you got to read this one". The standard OB essay isn't going to do it; it won't hurt, but its unlikely to make you stand out from the other applicants overall and the other 100 kids submitting that same formulaic essay.</p>
<p>To be honest, at 17 or 18 most people haven't had that many memorable or life-changing experiences. So I'll be the first to agree its unfair that if OB is one of your most memorable experiences that it's not a great topic. There is a way to use it, though. You have to figure out a novel angle. There are dozens of novel approaches if you give your experiences some thought. </p>
<p>I'll make one up, with the theme "OB taught me a greater lesson by failing to deliver what I thought I wanted". Suppose there was some guy (Billy) on your trip who was outstanding at every activity and just fearless. And you wanted to be Billy, well aware of how you weren't as fast or as agile, and how your stomach churned before rappelling or other tough activities, how you wanted to sit and rest when Billy was still cracking jokes and moving along. After a few days on the trip and you realized that's what you were there for, what the program was supposed to teach you. You wanted OB to turn you into Billy, wanted it more than anything. So you watched him -- what he said, how he acted, tried to learn how he thought. OB had brought you together, and you were going to take away everything you could. Then came your 3-day solo. Alone with your thoughts you had time to think it over and on solo day 1 realized you had it wrong. You weren't Billy, weren't ever going to be. Pulled and prodded you did more than you thought you could but the butterflies were always there. OB had failed you. But you had 2 more days left with your thoughts. And gradually you realized you want those butterflies. They're what keep you from crazy impulsive stuff. And unlike those to whom things come easily, you can take real pride in your accomplishments because you know the struggle (both mental and sometimes physical) it took to achieve them. And even more suddenly a sense of humility hit you. Like having a bucket of water poured over your head you realized that a lot of what YOU took for granted -- health, your good grades in school, your comfortable family circumstances -- were objects of desire to those around you back home, as out of reach for some of them as this guy's performance was to you. You go on to tell how this really changed your life and how you treat people, giving specific examples to drive home the point.</p>
<p>This is just an example I made up. I'm not suggesting you make something up, but that if you write about your OB experience you do it in a way that doesn't sound like the other 100 essays they'll get your app year from kids who went on an OB trip.</p>