<p>Feel Free To Add
1) The BIG RACE or BIG GAME
2) Talking about your room
3) Talking About What You Like/Dislike
4) Describing Yourself Physically
5) The 'I went on a mission/service' trip and learned...
6)Sympathy Pleas for: death, divorce, disease OUCH the 3 D's</p>
<p>no more essays?</p>
<p>The "moving to a new country and adapting" essay. It can be done very, very well... but so many people do it!!!</p>
<p>Can you explain "1) The BIG RACE or BIG GAME"?</p>
<p>^It's pretty self-explanatory... writing about an important game or race (as in sports) in your life, and how you scored the game-winning goal/pushed yourself during those last 400m and won the race/learned how to be a team player... etc.</p>
<p>An admissions officer told me the biggest mistake is to talk about the death of a grandparent. They said about every fourth essay they read is along those lines.</p>
<p>Something I read in a college admissions books sometime somewhere:</p>
<p>If you talk about death, love, or God, it &$%@ well better be funny.</p>
<p>I totally agree with 1MX</p>
<p>The 6 D's of what to generally not write your college essay about</p>
<p>Drugs
Death
Dating
Disability
Drinking</p>
<p>forgot the other two</p>
<p>Moving to a new country is a good topic.. if it actually pertains to your current situation/is truly a significant even in your life.</p>
<p>If one moved to America 3 years ago and is now applying to college, then it definitely is something he had to overcome.
If one moved to America 10 years ago and is now applying to college, then it's a totally different story..</p>
<p>However, I really think that any topic you choose can be done well. It all depends on the quality of writing. College admission officers are not going to judge a person on what he/she deams to be significant. I mean.. we're only 17 years old.. maybe we haven't experienced a life changing moment yet?</p>
<p>Do try to be creative though.. it's a plus.</p>
<p>read "on writing the college application essay". best what not to writes EVER. "as i watched button's life ebb away, i came to value" "i had to adjust to a whole new way of life"</p>
<p>I've read excellent essays on death, disability, service projects/trips, and moving to a new country. </p>
<p>It's not the topic, it's what you do with the topic.</p>
<p>With grandparents, death is expected. Many people go through that experience.</p>
<p>What about the death of a younger sibling? It's not as common, for one thing. I think there definitely are exceptions to the death/disease essays. Plus, everyone has a different story to tell. All in all, it's about ending on a positive note, isn't it?</p>
<p>yeah there should be...</p>
<p>and the disease one has exceptions too....</p>
<p>From essays I have read, "I love my family" stories are losers. If you love your family that much, stay home. </p>
<p>"Immigrant dreams and hopes" - overdone.</p>
<p>"My instrument/hobby/sport" - too common."</p>
<p>But any topic has the potential to be a great essay if it is presented in engaging language. Likewise, the most inventive topic will be a detriment if written in muddy prose.</p>
<p>1) The BIG RACE or BIG GAME
2) Talking about your room
3) Talking About What You Like/Dislike
4) Describing Yourself Physically
5) The 'I went on a mission/service' trip and learned...
6)Sympathy Pleas for: death, divorce, disease OUCH the 3 D's
7) immigration - overdone.
8) "I love my family."
9) "I want to know why." (any science/research student will say something along those lines.)
10) your family pet/ pet death
11) autobiography essays (i.e. "hello, my name is Jane Doe, and....")</p>
<p>At Williams info session they spoofed the "big mountain" essay-how the writer faced adversity, worked hard, and reached the top-triumphant. They warned students to avoid this cliche in their essay.</p>
<p>but what's a story without a conflict?</p>
<p>These are only suggestions and remember: any topic can be creative and well-written, but most people lack the ability to separate themselves from the crowd when discussing the following ideas....</p>
<p>1) The BIG RACE or BIG GAME (I was only 10 feet from the finish line when I decided I had to push myself as hard as I could)
2) Talking about your room (My room is a lovely color of blue, which is exactly how I see life.)
3) Talking About What You Like/Dislike (I love the taste of ice cream but I hate ice cream without friends)
4) Describing Yourself Physically (Running has made me stronger. It has taught me discipline)
5) The 'I went on a mission/service' trip and learned... (I traveled to Africa and saved people's lives, which taught me that everyone deserves to live)
6) Sympathy Pleas for: death, divorce, disease OUCH the 3 D's (My eyes teared up as I stared at the sickly old man in his bed)
7) Immigration (Immigration has been hard on a family of four who moved here from overseas years ago. I found myself trapped in an unfamiliar setting with nothing to hold on to but my voice and my native language.)
8) "I love my family." (My family brings out the best in me. They are the ones who teach me the meaning of life)
9) "I want to know why." (I've always questioned the reason why dolphins swim. Perhaps it is because of their nature to be free, boundless in the waters.)
10) Your family pet/ pet death (I felt I could not live after the moment Sparky died. My heart was torn in pieces.)
11) Autobiography essays (I am Jane Doe, senior at Central High school, and devoted musician. My life consists of these aspects: ....)</p>
<ul>
<li></li>
</ul>
<p>12) The Outwards Bound Essay (Scaling a mountain, I found myself stuck in the middle of a storm. Never had I felt so frightened, but I learned in the end what persistence and courage truly mean.)
13) The "Ready for College" ending essay (I may have done all these things, but I have not yet gone to college.)
14) The Hospital Essay (Traveling to a hospital in Britain, I found myself among the sick. I was shocked by how weak they were and how strongly I wanted to help them.)
15) The "I have nothing to write about" Essay (I find myself at the lack of words. What could I tell you that would "reveal" who I am? Maybe I could say that I am a soccer player, or that I own a business....)
16) The Building a Project Essay (Over the years, I have constructed many houses for the poor. Each house has been a painstaking effort on my part, something I discovered truly reveals who I am.)
17) The Instrument Essay (Playing this instrument over the years, I have found tranquility in my heart. Nothing takes more dedication than the piano.)
18) The Dreadful Cancer Essay (Cancer struck at the worst moment. It took away the life of one of the most influential individuals in my life.)
19) <strong>Depends on how you write it</strong> The Object Essay (I find myself the epitome of a nutcracker: hard, durable, and able to incite others to open their shells.)
20) The Mirror/Picture Essay (Sometimes, I am shocked by my reflection. It was only yesterday that the eyes of a young boy stared back at me from the flat, reflective surface.)</p>
<p>As a word of advice to all essay writers for the 2007-2008 admissions year, find a theme to your essay that only you and maybe a few others can write about. Stop writing about how you love to help the weak (surprise, surprise!) or learned the value of hard work (if you didn't, you wouldn't be writing this essay right now).</p>
<p>I'd say that the disease/disability essays are tricky but you can write one if YOU suffered from the disease and have something to say about it.</p>
<p>Most of the death/disease/disability essays are about OTHER people. Writing about how great your dead grandmother was only makes adcoms want to admit her. Not you.</p>