DD is seeking admission to top engineering schools. I believe she has written a very good essay and she has run it by her school’s college counselor. Her essay is personal and shows an element of her personality and character that can’t be seen from her resume. My concern is that it is not engineering focused and does talk about her engineering/math/science related accomplishments in high school. Is that OK? Any insights or suggestions on essay topics/focus for top engineering schools? Thank you!
As long as she has the activities and accomplishments she should be fine. That said, their may be other shorter essays or the “Why ___ College” question where she can talk about something more STEM related. We tend to focus on the main essay, but it’s a total package that the admissions officer reads. For my younger son I actually think his more compelling essay was one about an EC that was related to his academic interests, while the main essay showed a more light-hearted side of himself. He got into much better colleges than his grade warranted so we like to think that his essays might have helped.
S19’s common app essay was not engineering related at all. It was about show choir and how he helped ease some racial tensions to bring the group together and win a grand championship. Like mathmom suggested, he saved the STEM related stuff for the more specific questions. He was accepted to multiple top engineering programs.