<p>Hello CC, I've been wondering what the role of being personable is in writing college supplements. I have heard those who say that it is extremely important for you to show your peronal side in your supplemental essays, but then others have told me that I am missing an opportunity to showcase one of my accomplishments. </p>
<p>What do you think? Is showing your personal side (ie importance of family, the community in which I live) important enough to put into a supplement essay? Or am I missing an opportunity to talk about an accomplishment (even if that was covered in a resume)?</p>
<p>I usually go with the personal because I think it’s good to discuss something that isn’t already in your application, I tend to think that your accomplishments speak for themselves. However, my definition of personal is somewhat different from yours. I think you should be saying something about how you think and view the world, something that will show what you will bring to the campus community. What you write about doesn’t have to be a big or important issue, sometimes ‘small’ subjects can tell readers about you in a unique and interesting way. </p>
<p>One of my kids wrote about playing Scrabble. She brought into the essay the aesthetic beauty and/or strategic value of certain words, and even related words to her interest in science.</p>
<p>In the end, you have to go with what you’re most comfortable with, it’s as much how you write it as what you write about. Do consider that adcoms will be reading many essays and you want yours to stand out and be remembered. Just my 2 cents.</p>
<p>I think being more personable and casual is the right way to go. Most students seem to think the way to get into a school is writing about overcoming adversity, or doing such and such. </p>
<p>Honestly, if you’ve already mentioned the accomplishment as an EC or on an earlier portion of the supplement, writing about something trivial or peculiar will likely stand out more so than someone writing about what they did in student council or in the green club. </p>
<p>Admissions officers want to see you written all over the paper, not some robotic laureate who eloquently writes as if he’s turning in a thesis. Be yourself and don’t conform to the usual style of essays. Be different, and essentially, I think you have more potential to get noticed and picked that way.</p>
<p>Maybe I’m wrong, but I thought that the OP used the word ‘personable’ in the title incorrectly. Based on their post, I though they really meant ‘personal’ and answered accordingly.</p>