<p>Hi folks,
1. What exactly does Yale ask for in its Application Essay/Statement of Purpose?
2. What all exactly makes a Good Essay/Statement of Purpose?
3. What are the Do's and Don'ts of writing a Good Essay/Statement of Purpose?</p>
<p>You are asking very broad questions.You’ll find many threads on CC that answer them, but I suggest that you read a book to familiarize yourself with the college admissions process in America. A really good general one is Admission Matters by Springer, Reider, and Franck.</p>
<p>Hi wjb,
Can you please provide me with the links to those threads on CC that answer those questions that I have posted?</p>
<ol>
<li><p>For the Yale Supplement, they ask for a SHORT answer to why you want to go to Yale, and their essay topic is to write about whatever you want.</p></li>
<li><p>Good essay is personal - it portrays your persona to the admissions officer and allows them to envision a living person with thoughts, emotions, and complexities behind the application. </p></li>
<li><p>Do NOT write what you think the admissions officer wants to hear. It won’t work. Write about something that has truly impacted or had an effect on you. For example, don’t say how visiting a third world country made you realize how lucky you are if a) it’s not true, b) you can’t vividly or accurately portray those emotions and thoughts in an essay, and/or c) the rest of your application (i.e. ECs, course selections, other essay, teacher recs, etc.) does not show that you actually care about the plights of “third-world” citizens. Be consistent.</p></li>
</ol>
<p>There is an entire CC sub-forum devoted to college essays. [College</a> Essays - College Confidential](<a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/college-essays/]College”>College Essays - College Confidential Forums)</p>
<p>For the short answer on why Yale, be sure to talk about what Yale offers that other elite schools don’t. “Great academics” and “great professors” won’t cut it, and “top tier ____ department” won’t either.</p>