Question about Essays

Applying to College
1

<p>Ok I was filling out my lehigh application, and I finally am at the essay section. The application has 5 topics you can choose between</p>

<p>A. What (who) is your favorite color/word/celebrity and why?
B. Step out the front door of your home and tell us what you would change about what you see
C. In choosing a college, you are making one of the biggest decisions of your life. Tell us what you have learned about yourself or other people in the process.
D. What specific form of discrimination concerns you?
E. In reading your file, we try to get to know you as much as possible through what you submit to us. Please provide a statement in any topical area that will increase our understanding of your unique experiences. </p>

<p>I have written a personal statement that I can send to every college I am applying to, because all of them for the 500 word essay are requiring a personal statement. </p>

<p>My question was should I submit my personal statement (which is very strong) to Lehigh, or should I write using one of their other four prompts. Will it increase my chances any if i submit one of the other four essays expressing an interest in their topics. Or would it seem like a cop-out/being lazy/not wanting to write another essay if i submitted prompt "E" my personal statement. I was just wondering this becuase if I don't need to write this essay, I could focus my attention on the other 5 essays I have to write and make them stronger. Also, Lehigh is a slight reach for me.</p>

<p>Let me know...</p>

<p>Thanks</p>

2

<p>B. Step out the front door of your home and tell us what you would change about what you see</p>

<p>sounds very interesting and would be fun to write...</p>

<p>but choosing your own topic won't make a difference..there is no preference</p>

3

<p>Yeah, it really doesn't matter. All of those prompts are really general. I bet if you really wanted, you could fit your essay to one of the other four. They are there to help students who have not or do not know how to write a personal statement. In fact, Michele Hernandez says that choosing the most open one helps stay away from the clich</p>

4

<p>zogoto--that was exactly the perspective that I was looking at it from... but you don't think that if I choose E the admissions officers will be like: "This kid must of chosen E becuase he was too lazy to write on one of the prompts that we have offered"? I'm probably just overanalyzing this though...</p>

5

<p>No, they won't think that. The most important thing is that they see YOU. I definitely think that is true after seeing those prompts, which are all very open and even overlap. It would be stupid to write another one that wouldn't be as good as the one you already have.</p>

<p>By the way, what kind of college is Lehigh? If it is a small liberal arts college, then there is no doubt you should use the essay you already have. They tend to be more personal with admissions.</p>