<p>My son seems to struggle with any of these essays that ask him to speak about himself. He is a great writer of fiction…and has been told by teachers he should be a writer…but for some reason he can’t seem to transfer that skill onto these application essays.</p>
<p>I’m not sure how to help him. Should he actually answer the essay prompt as written (“Write an essay describing those activities that best demonstrate your creativity, self-motivation, independent work ability and passion for excellence. Explain how the Computer-Based Honors Program will help you towards the realization of your professional goals.”) or should he be more creative in his response?</p>
<p>As it is, he basically has a list of activities he has participated in…which I don’t believe will get him very far in the evaluation process.</p>
<p>Does anyone here have any words of wisdom for him or any thoughts I might be able to present to help him think outside of the box a bit? (I think much of his problem is that he doesn’t understand CBHP enough to know why he is applying for it.)</p>
<p>The first year, the student learns 2 computer programming languages. </p>
<p>The rest of the years, the student meets for one hour per week with Dr. Sharpe and 19 other students. During those years, the student is doing research with a prof on an area that interests him or her. At the end of each semester, the student does a presentation of his research. </p>
<p>Also, during each semester during years 2, 3, etc, Dr. S often assigns a little assignment for a mid-semester presentation.</p>
<p>I would encourage your son to follow the given prompts while also using his story telling ability to tell of his own personal experiences to date that will translate to success in CBHP. Focus on the key words you mentioned they asked for: creativity, self-motivation, independent work ability and passion for excellence.-give specific and personal examples. I think the key point of these essays is to individualize yourself, let the reader know where your passion is by highlighting your past experiences, current skills and strengths along with the students hopes/what they want to gain from the program and how they will apply those acquired skills to build their futures…grad school etc., and then use the cumulative gain from a program like this to make a positive contribution in their future career. </p>
<p>I would encourage your son to take the approach of going through each link on the CBHP page so he is more familiar with the program. Often understanding what a program is about, becoming familiar with the verbiage that is used within the program can be very helpful in developing an essay of this sort.</p>
<p>Specifically have him go to the drop down menu under CBHP and read through Example Project Proposals and CBHP Presentations. Within CBHP Presentations have him go into the link to find presentation by department and select what areas are of interest to him to read. This may allow him to understand the program better and understand what type of student participation is required/looked for. Summarize with enthusiasm what he will bring to CBHP and what he hopes to gain from being a part of CBHP.</p>