<p>Hello everyone, this is my first post, but I've been looking at some essays to help me with all these college admissions essays, and I'm getting stuck. I thought the Stanford Intellectual Vitality prompt was hard, now there's Rice's personal perspective essay! Here it is:
The quality of Rice's academic life and the Residential College System are heavily influenced by the unique life experiences and cultural traditions each student brings. What personal perspective do you feel that you will contribute to life at Rice? (500 word limit)
Honestly, I'm just brainstorming at this point, people have suggested that writing about myself and what I do would be a good idea, but I feel like I've been playing way too many video games, being nowhere near competitive enough to gain any merit, and have done so many clubs and sports that it would make me look like a quitter. I don't know how to write very well, my brothers have been helping me revise these essays for 5-10 times (they're that vague...and bad), and I feel like I wouldn't be able to convince anyone at Rice that I'd be able to contribute to life at Rice.
So, after all that, I feel like I should talk about being 1) a problem solver, 2) my fencing officer position at the school I attend, or 3) talk about an environment full of people that I've known for 5-10 years, and how they make me feel like I'm not worth anything, and now I want to be part of an environment that is full of people who are actually supportive and not...backstabby in a passive-aggressive way. Any suggestions?</p>
<p>I think if you can combine/relate 1 and 2, you’ll create a solid essay. Number 3 sounds like it would inevitably become too negative and I don’t think the admissions will look too highly of it, unless you manage to spin it into a positive direction. However, if you describe yourself as a problem solver and then relate it to a real life example, then the admissions will see how you might contribute that into the Rice environment. Good luck!</p>
<h1>1 or #2 are good if you can speak clearly about what makes you excel in those fields. Give it personal perspective and link it to some experiences/examples.</h1>
<p>Definitely don’t go with #3, because its going down the “blame game” route and its generally not perceived well.</p>
<p>The thing is about 1 and 2, is that on 1, I am at a dead end right now, my brother critiqued a variant of 3 (not about the people I know, but about my mental condition and how they treat me, and there is no way I can turn that into a positive thing), and then on 2, I haven’t done enough work in time to make that dazzle. Overall, I really don’t know how to relate these things into a contribution to Rice, since it seems that an entire paragraph I wrote was completely off-topic. I’m screwed =(</p>
<p>If you can keep #3 about YOU and how YOU work though an environment that may not be ideal and how YOU still succeed and dream big, then it could work. Do not write about the environment, the people in it as anything but a function of your perspective. </p>
<p>If your personal perspective and contribution is taking a situation that is less than ideal and still making it work and succeeding, then that reflects well. It is, however, easy to go down the route and sounding like a complaint or an excuse and usually that doesn’t reflect well in essays.</p>