<p>Hey, I'm thinking about starting my Penn supplement, (I'll be applying ED in just a couple of months!) and I'm wondering how you guys are interpreting the essay question?</p>
<p>If you haven't already seen it... this is pretty much it:
Which academic communities and social communities that are now at Penn are most interesting to you and how will you contribute to them and to the larger Penn community?</p>
<p>I want to be playful with it and have fun with it but I'm not sure if the prompt calls for it or not. I'm assuming I should cite certain clubs/organizations I'd like to get involved with... but I feel like it could easily turn into a boring formulaic essay. I don't just want to say, "I'll be an excited student" and "I'd love to get involved in X club" or "I'm excited to be a part of greek life at Penn" or whatever... I guess I'm just a little lost and not sure how I want to even begin this essay.</p>
<p>How are you all planning to approach this?</p>
<p>I was wondering about that too…I guess while it’s always a bonus to be fun and creative with it, it’s also fine to be straightforward and honest, as long as you’re thorough with why you want to be involved in certain clubs and stuff. I think I’m just responding to it candidly, and if a fun and amusing response emerges, then yay!</p>
<p>Anyone else have any thoughts?</p>
<p>I actually talked to one of the admissions officers who came to town and asked her which essay (the supplemental or common app) weighed more heavily and she said to me that they look at the common app essay first, and only use the supplemental to verify your thought process/personality. </p>
<p>This is not saying neglect your supplemental, but it doesn’t have to be some godlike piece of writing… just honest</p>
<p>The best of luck to you! I’m also going for ED UPenn.</p>
<p>Thanks for the info! Good luck to you too!</p>
<p>i also talked to an admissions officer, and he said that the question is basically why penn?</p>
<p>so go for it that way</p>