Passion or run-of-the-mill ?

Colleges and Universities A-Z Columbia University
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<p>I'm a junior from NY, and will be applying Early Decision to Columbia University next year.</p>

<p>My questions is..</p>

<p>Obviously everyone who applies to Columbia-calibur schools are straight A students, w/ great SAT scores (or at least most are.. I suppose some just apply for the heck of it).</p>

<p>I'm a 97/98 student, top 5% of my class, and mid 2200 SATs.
I think that all of that seems pretty average in terms of the Columbia applicant pool.</p>

<p>I don't have any extraordinary talents, or have won any state or national awards (aside from National Merit semifinalist). I'm a member of several clubs @ school which I hold leadership positions in (president, editor, secretary)</p>

<p>However, I was wondering if developing my essay along the following guidelines would show maturity, uniqueness, or passion; or if it would just be another run-of-the-mill essay:</p>

<p>It may seem obscure, but I hope to pursue Anthropology in college.</p>

<p>I dabble in art, and have taken a studio art course to create many of my own pieces.. I write for the Culture Corner of my school newspaper as a Feature Editor.. And I absolutely love the Museum of Natural History (yeah, I'm a loser.. I'm thinking of revisiting there for my birthday this coming weekend.)</p>

<p>What really made me sure of my drive for anthropology was a summer course I took @ Brown. (This is what my essay would probably focus mainly on. I think I would mention the others in the beginning/intro, just to show jointed-ness, but then expand on my experience with the course @ Brown.)
It was only two weeks in length, but I loved the subject matter, I learned to be independent (I had never been away from home before for more than a day or two), and I came away having learned so much about anthropology & varying world cultures.</p>

<p>I think these activities all mesh well with what I hope to pursue.. I like to believe that they show an interest and appreciation for things outside of what I know.</p>

<p>Thank you to anyone who read my rambling post, and I appreciate any opinions on whether this seems to show a type of uniqueness, or is rather ordinary. What kind of a shot do you think I have @ Columbia?
Thanks.</p>

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<p>Personally, even a run-of-the-mill essay, if written eloquently and passionately, can still convey your personality. The essay really is a chance to showcase who you are as a person opposed to a single sheet of paper of the many applications the adcom have to go through. I personally see nothing wrong with your subject matter; so long as it screams "with<em>one</em>voice", I really wouldn't be too concerned. Just know that once you've finished it, polished it, and sent it, bear no regrets in knowing that that essay was one in which you put time, effort, and most importantly, passion, into, resulting in what you could only say for yourself to be a flawless essay. </p>

<p>If you want to ask me, I wrote about my almost surreal experience where out of the whim I decided to take the stage one day at assembly to discuss my sentiments for Pope John Paul II. And as the powers that be, I got in. Really, it could be anything! And for the record, I personally think your stats place you as a competitive applicant, so just work hard, write well, and don't do anything stupid. I can say that you have a good shot, but as with any of the elite schools, it's tough and uncertain on the whole. Nevertheless, have hope, you certainly have a chance.</p>

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<p>If you are truly passionate about anthropology (as I assume you are), you can make any ordinary topic SEEM extraordinay with your passion. Don't worry about subject matter, worry, as Shimmy said, about polishing it and having no doubt that it was the best essay you could have ever submitted. Even trite subjects like divorce, recovering from an injury, travelling to a foreign country, etc. can be amazing with good writing. And really interesting subjects can be incredibly boring with bad writing. (It's like teaching -- good teachers can make the most boring subjects seem interesting, while bad teachers can make the most interesting subjects seem boring.)</p>

<p>Your numerical stats do put you, as you said, about average with the rest of the competitive applicants. But you can make yourself shine with a great essay. And I agree with Shimmy, it can be about anything -- I was planning on majoring in industrial engineering and I wrote about auditioning for All-State chorus. While I never got into All-State, I did get into Columbia.</p>

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<p>Yeah, to be honest, write from the heart. Oddly trite as that may sound, I agree with aesthete, you can make just about anything ordinary extraordinary. It's not necessarily about the experience, it's about how you viewed it and how it affected you. (Make it good :-D)</p>

<p>From your stats, I notice that I'm also a very similar student to yourself. Top percent of my class, decent SAT scores, leadership positions...while it's good to have such things, but its not entirely about that. You defintely have to sell yourself and your passion(s).</p>

<p>What was my essay about? Princeton Model Congress....and breakdancing.</p>

<p>...And I got in. Be unique, creative, etc. You'd be surprised at what you can do.</p>

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<p>my essay was about cheerleading.</p>

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<p>Just to add to what everyone has been saying. Like you, I was at the top of my class, my ECs were decent, but my SATs were in the 1900's. However, if you ask me, my essay(<a href="http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/showthread.php?t=157299&page=2%5B/url%5D)(its"&gt;http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/showthread.php?t=157299&page=2)(its&lt;/a> about half way down) was very passionate and is what I believed greatly aided my acceptance.(its long if you care to read it feel free)
Good luck with your essay and your application process.</p>