<p>Bonjour everyone!</p>
<p>I am back</p>
<p>Sorry for the absence of about a month…college has been absolutely amazing, and I definitely look forward to start replying to people who messaged me and wrote on my profile’s wall.</p>
<p>check back very soon for some more tips</p>
<p>Some new tips</p>
<p>This one is regarding the essay, since it seems A LOT of people have inquired about the essay to me via private messages.</p>
<p>I can’t tell you what is a good topic for you to write about, but I will stand by my guns and say ANYTHING can be a good essay topic.</p>
<p>I will move into some specifics about the essay, however, to help people who have already decided on a topic.</p>
<p>My biggest piece of advice would be: do NOT be too abstract. The admissions offices will be reading thousands of essays, and can not take the time to recognize deep rooted symbolism, metaphors, and correlations.</p>
<p>Example 
My very first essay was an EXCELLENT piece of literary writing. It was, at the same time, a HORRIBLE college essay. Basically, I used the song Pumped Up Kids to explain that, while my life has had some difficult times (nothing like a shooting, lol), I still recognize the good, and keep myself upbeat - much like how the lyrics of the song serve as an antithesis to the cheerful melody.</p>
<p>I have to say - it was a DAMN GOOD, incredibly deep/thought provoking essay. However, many people, including myself eventually, realized that the job of a college essay is not to be so metaphorical that the reader has to think intensively to figure out what you’re trying to say. My advice is to be as clear as possible, and lay it out like a map. Don’t be too elementary, but just get to the facts. Don’t let the reader decide if you’re a (insert adjective here) person, but instead, TELL HIM/HER. </p>
<p>Next, while I said that anything can be a good essay topic, there are certainly overused cliche formats that are just a big no no in a college essay. </p>
<p>Example - you begin your essay talking about the characteristics of onions - how they have a tough exterior, but soft interior, and about midway through your essay (SHOCKER) you inform the reader the entire time you were using onions as a representation of yourself. Thousands and thousands and thousands…and thousands…of students submit essays to colleges per year. The admission’s board has seen it all. I can assure you (well, almost assure you), that if you think you have a unique structural idea, it has done before.</p>
<p>My advice, just like last time, is to be clear and lay everything out in black and white. Don’t try to be cute and fancy, creating complex ways to explain yourself. Just throw what you’re writing about out there. Don’t be afraid to say “Hey, I’m (insert name), and I’m one confident s.o.b.” lol…obviously, rephrase that a little; but don’t think of unique and tiring ways to imply that you’re confident. </p>
<p>…will continue later…</p>
<p>Hi everyone! I’m from South Florida and I JUST finished my essay for FSU, and it came out great, or at least I think/hope so, haha. It’s almost 2 in the morning here in SoFlo on October 15, which happens to be the priority deadline for this uni. If I finished my app prior to this date, I would be in the pool of applications that did theirs early and would either be accepted or deferred, in which case I would apply once more before the second deadline for another shot at acceptance. I procrastinated awfully with this particular essay so my app is sitting here waiting to be sent in. (the close admissions on Mondays from 1AM to 7AM)
My question is what time of day does the college mean when they say October 15? 12:00 AM or 11:59 PM? If I get my app/essay in before the end of this day will I still make it in time for the October 15 deadline?</p>
<p>Thank you for the amazing post Sidthekidc87!</p>
<p>good thread.</p>
<p>Hi Anti,</p>
<p>I do not believe that you need to worry about your extracurriculars, as you are already doing sports and student government. The colleges are not looking for number of extracurriculars; rather, they prefer one or two activities that the student is passionate about. The key is to make sure that your application and your essay(s) in particular show passion. Write about your passion. My son had similar scores as you and got into his top choice because he wrote about what his passions during high school. Also, check out some of the top school’s websites, as they will tell you explicitly what they are looking for in their applicants. For example, Tufts U’s website provides the essays of students they accepted over the years. Good luck and I hope you tell us whether Vassar accepts you!</p>
<p>Tip: don’t post your essay online for everyone to see. It’s better to send them as a private message</p>
<p>any tips for the additional info/how to describe extracurriculars? It’s so ambiguous!</p>
<p>Great post and terrific advice!</p>
<p>All of the tips were really helpful!</p>
<p>I shed a tear.</p>
<p>the college confidential community is like OHMAYGAD SHE GOT INTO WHARTON AND TURNED IT DOWN OMG OMG OMG. What most people do not realize is that college is more about what you do there as opposed to where you go. You can be an amazing student at BU and still go further than being unhappy for four years at UPenn. College is an experience not an overnight thing, you got to get into your zone to be the best that you can be.</p>
<p>sidthekid, I really enjoyed reading your post. I am a parent just now revisiting the college app scene with my two teenaged kids, but I myself went through the process over 30 years ago, and the same was true then, as now. It wasn’t quite as competitive, but the top tier (ivies/mit/stanford) was still very difficult to reach. My story was very similar to yours, especially regarding sat prep, and I got in from a mediocre public school that typically sent less than 1% of its graduates to these schools.</p>
<p>Back then, the sat prep industry was just beginning to take root, and many people still contended preparation would not boost a score significantly, because it is an aptitude test. Nonsense. My “before” and “after” scores were very similar to yours – I watched my scores climb as I studied vocab and took practice tests.</p>
<p>Your point about fit is also well taken. After graduating from the hallowed halls of a top tier school, then a highly regarded grad program, and much more recently from a less than famous grad program, chosen for fit and convenience (I now have family responsibilities and did not have the option to move), I can say that that final experience was far and away the best for me. Once you reduce reputation to one of many criteria, as opposed to the major criterion, you’ll begin to see other aspects of a school that are more important to your day to day experience, happiness, and sanity. Good luck, kids!</p>
<p>sid, at no point after you applied did you play out a scenario like:
<p>I’d guess you had around a 5% chance of not being admitted anywhere if those were your only schools. I’d have had a lot of sleepless nights pondering that possibility…</p>
<p>MIT Ruined Chances?
Hi everyone! My name is Nagela, and I absolutely love Boston! Lol aside from that, I also love MIT, and I was very concerned about my scores, since I am applying RD there. I know this may look very redundant on a CC Post, but I was actually very worried and just wanted to get a few other points of view. For my regular SAT’s, I got a 1960 superscored (670 Math, 670 Writing, 620 Reading). I also took the subject tests, and received pretty bad scores the first time (630 Math2, and 590 Bio). I retook Math2 and Bio, and I think I raised Math up to around a very high 600 or low 700. However, I retook Bio, and I am still worried. Having never taken the AP, I found it pretty difficult even after studying the Princeton Review. I am hoping being involved in a Computer/ Science internship and many many EC’s (figure skating, tutoring Math and a short CS summer class, helping a school in Africa, H4H, loads of Church involvement, and starting a workout program in my area, quite involved in my African culture) along with very good essays will help. My GPA is a 3.8 currently, and I have had difficult course loads all four years of high school. However, I am still not sure if this may help them overlook my low scores. Does attending a Math/ Science focused Charter school help? I am not sure, since half of my grade is applying to MIT. Additionally, does being a URM help (I’m not from a poorer neighborhood though, so idk). I also have my interview on Monday. Any tips or information on this post would help help greatly. Thank you, I really appreciate it!</p>
<p>OMG What an information!!!
it is a wonderful thunder
Great rules for every body
who wish to go higher
studies any where Once again Great Effort
Congratulations - Expecting much more from you to in future too
all the juniors</p>
<p>Sidthekid,</p>
<p>Thanks for posting, and you were very wise to consider fit and think about where you would be the happiest. I suspect being happy at BU will lead to better grades/activities/opportunities than being unhappy at Penn.</p>
<p>Mom of a 10th grader. Your insight will be very informative when it is our time. Thank you</p>
<p>Thanks everyone for the support on this thread. Now a sophomore at BU i hold everything I just stated as truth still.</p>
<p>I’ll try to update this post more now that it’s been a while and have some more thoughts after a full year</p>
<p>Regarding EC’s</p>
<p>Let’s say you play a sport and you have won some titles like sectional championship. </p>
<p>In the Comm APP, under EC field where it says details, accomplishment, honors:</p>
<p>would you mention the titles or talk about your experience, what you learnt, what impact it had on you instead of mentioning the certificates, awards, titles. As you know there is only so much space. </p>
<p>Also it gives you option to check mark grades you were involved in a activity, How about extra curricular activity you were involved prior to high school?</p>
<p>You can list upto 10 ECs, is that correct?</p>