<p>MQD: My essay was a little over two pages and around 600 words. It was, in my opinion, a really good essay, but I think my better essay was the "Why do you want to go to Scripps?" essay. I really talked about what I wanted to get out of an education and how I've learned what I've wanted through my past educational experiences and how I think Scripps' philosophy will facilitate the way I learn.</p>
<p>for my common app essay, i used homer simpson as my most influential person
and my short essays i wrote about my obsession with march madness and carolina bball</p>
<p>Being from the most hated place in the area the university is located in. =]</p>
<p>(And got in.)</p>
<p>I wrote about getting hit in the face by a football and got into Swarthmore ED</p>
<p>My essay is almost 900 words, is that too long?</p>
<p>for a common app essay, YES</p>
<p>Admissions officers don't want to spend >5 or so minutes reading each essay, so I would put a limit on it. Don't make it longer than 2 pages double spaced, or you will drive the admissions people crazy. Try to keep it interesting at all times and delete unimportant details.</p>
<p>Hmm, I read somewhere that 500-900 words is the goal for the personal statement.</p>
<p>i wrote about crossword puzzles for one
and a club i wasn't a part of for another.</p>
<p>Look through my post history and find a thread entitled "Clam Fart." Nuff said.</p>
<p>The Val wrote about how Stephen Colbert changed her outlook on life/humanity. She got into Duke, JHU, Brown, UChi, and a few state schools. HYS didn't take her.</p>
<p>an essay isn't going to be a winner simply because it is funny or original..if you're trying hard to make it look that way, then it's not going to work..it has to BE you, otherwise:
a. the essay won't leap off the page
b. the adcoms will see that
i'm positive that all these people who wrote about hamburgers, zelda, fake snow machines or golf carts really had that personal color to them</p>
<p>essay about cleaning my desk. got into columbia, UCB Regents, USC Trustee etc.etc.</p>
<p>somewhat stolen from Uchicago, but I completely misread the prompt (it was supposed to be about your "table" of friends)</p>
<p>i wrote about being a karaoke queen, haha. i got into all my schools (though, tbh, my only reach school was NYU).</p>
<p>"My essay is almost 900 words, is that too long?"</p>
<p>My Common App essay clocked in at 1,147 words (3.5-4 pages double spaced). Accepted everywhere I applied (Duke, Harvey Mudd, Haverford, Davidson). It was a pretty quick read, in my opinion.</p>
<p>By the way, I thought it necessary to comment since one of my friends assured me that the Adcoms "wouldn't even read it" since it was too long :) Unless you're the Adcom of every single college/uni, you can't really say for sure if something is too short/too long. There's a reason CommonApp doesn't give a word length for the main essay.</p>
<p>I wrote about my childhood attempts to become a Disney princess.</p>
<p>My D sent in her obituary as an alum of the school under school newspaper banner/letterhead for her Optional page. The irony is our family owns funeral homes. She got in - and her obit listed her as a large benefactress of the University!</p>
<p>haha thanks es.mi.vida</p>
<p>The obituary theme is one of the most unique I've heard.</p>
<p>The essays should show something about you not otherwise obvious in other parts of the applications; they should not include a list of accomplishments, awards, etc. Show how you went out on a limb. Talk about one trait in depth.</p>
<p>My son (salutatorian) wrote one long essay about how he entered a talent show and played the "Sonata Abassoonata" (playing piano and bassoon simultaneously) in a field of popular singers and dancers; he didn't win but gained a tremendous amount of self-confidence. He wrote another essay about how his piano is his friend, there to help him think, relax, etc. The UChicago essay was the most fun, using required elements to write something very unique (about stolen #2 pencils, hidden in the tallest tower on campus).</p>
<p>He was accepted at MIT, Duke, UChicago, UNC-Chapel Hill, Northwestern, and Florida. He starts MIT in 13 days, four hours, and six minutes by his own (repeated) estimation.</p>
<p>S's UChicago main essay (he made up his own prompt) was 1,492 words. Given his topic, and that it was a series of vignettes, it didn't feel that long. He tried a shorter version of it for another app and it did not hang together well at all.</p>
<p>"Why Chicago" was 811; his "books under the bed" essay was 667. These three, plus a passionate essay about his research experience, were the ones he put heart and soul into. They were pointed straight at the schools he really wanted -- Chicago, Mudd and MIT. </p>
<p>Accepted at Chicago, MIT, Mudd and state flagship, with merit money at three of them. He accidentally listed DH's job as "faceless bureaucrat" on one application and got a full ride from them, which goes to show that admissions folks can use a good laugh sometimes.</p>
<p>I wrote about the color of the roofs at Emory and got in with a very generous scholarship. All it takes is a little flair and tact in your writing.</p>