<p>Edit: The people who read your essay will be reading all of your essays.</p>
<p>Biggest problem with asking to read other peoples essays (aida ;-])...</p>
<p>I must say that Aida might as well be a factotum at TASP. She's just so willing to help out us prospective TASPers. And her essays are definitely hot items. Haha.</p>
<p>p45510n, I'm assuming you live in the East Bay as well? Which school do you go to?</p>
<p>Gah, teacher recommendations. My teacher is making me write another short essay just for him about why I deserve to go to TASP. :/ I would hope that my essays for TASP itself would be good enough to demonstrate my passion. Meh.</p>
<p>This board just makes me CRACK UP. Oh jeebus. XD</p>
<p>And for the record: YES. I would love to be a factotum. ^^</p>
<ol>
<li>TASP is definitely worth it.</li>
<li>A bunch of TASPers reuse/recycle their essays, or at least parts of them, for scholarships and college apps, so they do come in handy.</li>
</ol>
<p>It is frightening how many people want my essays, ahaha.
I promise I'll get back to those who asked me to proofread later, I'm still working on some stuff for college, sooooo chill out! The deadline isn't til' late January. :P</p>
<p>And SERIOUSLY, what butcherer said = words of wisdom. Don't try to emulate my style. The point of TASP is finding your own voice. Speak with YOUR words, not mine. However, I do think it is helpful to see an example, though it is NOT necessary. I never saw one that wasn't frighteningly convoluted online, so I just made up my own. </p>
<p>Anyway, for poetry, you can give an overall analysis or just zoom in on something more specific. Personally, I did a general thing, touching on the themes and how the author achieved them. Here's a random excerpt from the middle of the essay:</p>
<p>"Plath's indifferent and practically positive connotations concerning her deaths suggest that the narrator sees death as an indicator of her great ability to survive anything, even the worst of conditions and the most horrible suffering, be it mental or otherwise. Sometimes, the aforementioned pride even takes a threatening tone; it first pops up in the eleventh line of the poem, where she asks "Do I terrify?" and then reappears near the end, where she threatens both God and Lucifer (“Herr God, Herr Lucifer / Beware / Beware.” – lines 79-81). This threat goes out to both good and evil: to both sides of the spectrum and everything that lies in between, thus effectively warning everything in existence to beware her potency and might. It also warns God and Satan that she’s headed their way; she must warn both because she doesn’t know if she’ll wind up in heaven or in hell. This menacing tone is also evident in the final stanza when the narrator declares that she will "eat men like air." This verse concludes the poem and emphasizes the woman’s capacity as well as her willingness to take control over her life and affairs, even if that means dealing with (and possibly stepping over) men in the process. </p>
<p>Through dramatic images, Plath expresses her thoughts on death and accurately portrays bits and pieces of her own life through the character of ‘Lady Lazarus’. The poem’s title is the first image encountered, which refers to the Biblical story in which Jesus brought Lazarus back to life, making the themes of rebirth and death clearly evident. However, Plath gives the title an extra dimension by making it Lady Lazarus, plainly defining the character as a woman. However, this is juxtaposed with Holocaust imagery that serves as a contrast to the Biblical allusion in the poem’s opening stanzas. In the fifth line, the narrator depicts her skin as being "bright as a Nazi lampshade," which is a direct reference to the lampshades made out of human skin collected from the corpses in concentration camps during the Holocaust in Europe."</p>
<p>Oh, and --hopefully a good number of us will get accepted this year as well! that'll be so weird though, if we actually meet each other at TASP. "hey, are somethingsomethingusername? OMG IM somethingsomethingotherusername!"---</p>
<p>Trust me. It happens. SOME people <em>coughchaoticandotherscough</em> found out the names of the TASPers and GOOGLED THEM. Bahaha, seriously, that was hilarious. At TASP, the first day, some people were like "OH! You are so and so? Wow, you sound so different online." "OH GOD, I THOUGHT YOU WERE A -GIRL-!!!" "Oh, you don't know me, but I saw your myspace!"</p>
<p>Seriously. They googled me and got my myspace. [Good work, guys. I would've done the same thing. ;)]</p>
<p>^^</p>
<p>i go to some school in dublin/pleasanton
im a secret spanish spy so i cant reveal my identity B-)</p>
<p>yet.</p>
<p>:D</p>
<p>i felt normal when i got the letter from tasp
then after reading this thread.. i got intimidated -.-
now im starting to a lil better about my essays..</p>
<p>Wait for real you live in dublin. I always wanted to go to Ireland.</p>
<p>^^^^Haha. I dont actually think the east bay is celtic. What school you go to...Oh yeah I forgot i cant ask that</p>
<p>aida! go work on your apps! stop helping us, LOL. </p>
<p>and i must reiterate that i didn't save the only aida essay i had, so there's no need to bombard my pm box. someone else (i won't name the username, to avoid plugging that person's inbox) sent me one, but i deleted the email soon afterwards. </p>
<p>anyways, i must say that butcherer is right. i will concentrate on my own essays. it's probably best, because even if all you do is read someone else's, you could very easily remember certain ideas or phrasing and subconsciously use them in your own essays. that's why i make sure not to keep anyone else's essays that i read, to avoid possibly plagiarizing without meaning to. </p>
<p>anyways, guys, the deadline is in weeks. we're all going to be fine.</p>
<p>and good luck to all of you. =)</p>
<p>why is yours due in weekS TASS is due in days. 10 to be exact, not to mention I have finals the week it is due. X-(</p>
<p>AIM with Aida (a.k.a musechick)!!!</p>
<p>Giantredlobster: like all these people popping out of the woodwork. Hi im so and so I just got the app today, oh and yeah can i see musechick's essays
Musechick: yeah! ***
Giantredlobster: Like ***. you have some underground colt following you. Your essays have become the doctrine to a new religion which will one day over throw christianity
Musechick: I KNOW
Musechick: Im the new messiah</p>
<p>Does applying on paper make a better impression to the readers than applying online (or vice versa)? Can any previous TASPers elaborate on which medium they think is better, and which one they applied through? Thanks.</p>
<p>i'm not a previous tasper, but you really shouldn't worry about that. people have gotten in just fine with either medium, but the online one gives you four extra days while the paper version lets you play around with fonts and sizes and stuff.</p>
<p>NOTE*** If you apply online you have to send rec letter and transcript before the mail in date. That is one of those fine print details that is easy to overlook. </p>
<p>As far as medium goes it doesnt make a difference, the readers dont even get the originals they get copies so its not even like they know they really know the difference. Im mailing in but thats jsut because i have already done all the physical paperwork and i wont have my rec letter by the 9th. Online is so streamlined though.</p>
<p>the teacher who I asked to give me a rec is confused on the format and some details of the rec. I guess he has never given one before, hes a new teacher. He knows that he needs to type it and have 3 total copies of the rec, but is confused on such things as title,headers, and just the overall scheme of a rec. </p>
<p>uhhh</p>
<p>I'm yet another newcomer to the board...in all honesty, I've been lurking and reading EVERY SINGLE POST on this board in lieu of my essays...lol that's 38 pages of stuff to distract me. :) Just wanted to say thanks to everyone for giving their input and help. </p>
<p>As for rankings so far, this is a vague and probably extremely tentative ranking list:</p>
<p>1-2. Cornell II (yay!) or UT Austin (it's so hard to decide!)
3. Cornell I
4. Michigan
5. WashU</p>
<p>Gah...now to get back to my essays... I have the least willpower and the shortest attention span ever, I swear. "I guess I should get started now...but let's check CC first, just to see what they say." :) </p>
<p>Oh, and one question, which has been asked but perhaps not fully answered: for the ranking question, should it be in essay or detailed paragraph format, or should we numerically list and briefly explain our reasons for each program? Thanks again guys!</p>
<p>Ummm... idk if i would want him to write my letter. lol</p>
<p>Dont worry Im sure its fine. Just tell him to write it as a formal business letter. Or you could also talk to your councler and see if he has a basic template he could provide for that teacher. </p>
<p>In the end if it isnt perfect dont worry, its all about the ESSAYS!!! w00t :-P</p>
<p>My parents have forbidden me from working my essays for the next two days. Something about "obsessing" and it not being "mentally healthy." LAWL!</p>
<p>Personally, I'm more worried about my new shoulder problem.</p>
<p>And Jason, I don't think the format really matters. As long as it doesn't look a mess and contains some flattering stuff about you, you should be fine.</p>
<p>Rich Baby: Got to love the lurkers :-D</p>
<p>People have been leaning towards essay form. Some people have reported theres at over 2 pages (dont worry, let em scare ya)</p>
<p>You dont have to be all uptight and be like pros: blahblahblah cons:blahblahblah
Talk about how the seminars relate to you and how you really feel. Dont feel bad about being negative as good as it is to be openminded being assertive is just as good</p>
<p>Personally Mine is about a page long but Im applying to the sophomore program so there are less seminars (3). Good luck, I know what you mean willpower is a ****<em>, i should unplug my internet then I can attempt to be productive. But then I play minesweeper, *gah</em> atleast im on a mac right now :-P</p>
<p>Haha you Lieing you lieing :-P</p>
<p>What you do to yourself hardcore typing will get you carpal tunnel but Idk about shoulder problems.</p>
<p>Just submitted my application online. Phew! Now I just have to wait until March to hear if I'm getting interviewed…</p>
<p>FEWER seminars! LYING!</p>
<p>Sorry. I'm really sorry.</p>
<p>Haha. The shoulder has nothing to do with the essays. A little more to do with 4 hours of swimming a day for the past week or so...aka the only thing that has been keeping me off this thread!!</p>
<p>Haha...now I have nothing to dooo...no. I'll make photocopies so I can get my rec and my transcript! Wheee!</p>
<p>I'm lame. I appologize.</p>
<p>Guys! Gah! You don't have to make the ranking list super long! Just rank them numerically and explain why. A paragraph or two is totally perfect. You don't have to write 10 paragraphs for each seminar. :)</p>
<p>Online = more days, but there's a deadline for the recs
Paper = less days, but you choose your font and size, etc</p>
<p>Ah, Miss Decemberists, being mentally healthy is vastly overrated. ;P</p>
<p>As for a rec letter, you should give the person a list of your accomplishments JUST in case they don't know them. Tell them to talk about you, how you are in school, how involved you are in your community, why you are a good candidate, personal qualities, blah blah. Stuff like that.</p>
<p>It's basically the body, the "To Whom It May Concern:", the signature, date, etc. A nice little letter. ^^</p>