<p>You can talk about whatever you want to. What really matters is how you talk about it. You could literally talk about grass growing and end up with a great essay.</p>
<p>High school ECs are less relevant than college ECs, so I wouldn’t list them as your ECs in that section if it can be avoided, but if you can tie a HS EC to something more important, I don’t think that would be an issue.</p>
<p>Nick, how can I write about anything when it says, "What is your intended major? Discuss how your interest in the subject developed and describe any experience you have had in the field — such as volunteer work, internships and employment, participation in student organizations and activities — and what you have gained from your involvement. "</p>
<p>Okay, it says “any experience”… hmm, i think childhood counts. =)</p>
<p>Most of the words of the prompt deal with practical experience–internships and the like. However, the first part asks how your interest developed. You can write about anything, making it a metaphor for how your interest developed. </p>
<p>Now, I say “anything,” but I don’t literally mean anything. You shouldn’t choose an offensive topic, or choose a topic so completely distant from your major that you can’t relate the two. But just because it asks for your experience relating to your major, doesn’t mean you have to talk about your time interning for a bank if you’re an economics major. </p>
<p>I think someone posted the Virginia page on personal statements above. The important thing is not to write a McEssay.</p>
<p>Can someone tell me how they feel after reading this: A teacher yanking her student’s ear while his ear squirted out blood from its corner is a normal thing in Vietnam. I was in 1st grade when I witnessed that horrifying scene. My friend did not have money to pay for tuition, so he was dragged by the ear to the principal’s office as a punishment. </p>
<p>I’m a philosophy major, btw. Thanks! Be brutal as possible</p>
<p>That could be a good story, but you’re telling, not showing. Try something more like this:</p>
<p>“She grabbed his ear forcefully, practically picking him up by the small nub of flesh. It tore slightly, and blood began dripping from the corner. As the teacher roughly pushed my classmate into the principal’s office, the student apologized profusely. His family had a bleak financial situation and was unable to pay the school’s tuition. The drops of blood on the floor of the classroom began to dry, and I realized how brutal schools in Vietnam could be.”</p>
<p>Wow, thank you!!!</p>
<p>Also, I won’t be copying and pasting it on. thank you for giving me a great descriptive example! =)</p>