Hey folks! I’m applying to some pre-college full emersive programs at Stanford, Yale and university of Chicago. One of the questions they ask me is…“why this college”…how am I supposed to answer it? I mean, I think highly of these colleges because the students there are very motivated and passionate regarding their chosen majors and that’s very important to me. But, this is a 1-month pre-college program. What can I possibly say about why I chose the name without it being completely chiche. Help?
talk about specific, personal reasons that pushed you to want to apply. what does yale’s pre-college program/yale, in general, have that (insert another college’s name) doesn’t? stanford? uchicago? every top university has highly motivated and passionate students, so what about the college(s) (besides the caliber of a student’s intelligence/work ethic) resonates with you?
You can also do something like “I’m attracted to this subject for this reason and I am really excited to take these specific courses at your program because…” You don’t have to TELL them you picked it because of the name. Tell them you picked it because you really like the program you’re applying to.
The thing is that the pre-college program is generalized. I’m not taking specific subjects but rather a set of broad classes.
These programs are part of the questbridge scholar program. The reason why I applied was because I ran across it as opposed to seeking it out. So besides the prestige associated with these names, I don’t really have personal connotations of them that aren’t superficial. Is there anything you can think of? Maybe having somewhere to start would help push the thoughts in motion.
You want to challenge yourself outside of your normal high school curriculum, you want to utilize your time this summer in a meaningful way, you want to get a taste of what college life is like
This is what I suggest: Look at the college website and see how they seem themselves…how they differentiate themselves. Go to the “About” page and see what they say.
For U Chicago: https://www.uchicago.edu/about/
We empower individuals to challenge conventional thinking in pursuit of original ideas. Students in the College develop critical, analytic, and writing skills in our rigorous, interdisciplinary core curriculum. Through graduate programs, students test their ideas with UChicago scholars, and become the next generation of leaders in academia, industry, nonprofits, and government.
What about that speaks to you?
Do you like interdisciplanary things? Have you done any of that already?
Have you ever challenged conventional thinking?
The University of Chicago is enriched by the city we call home. In partnership with our neighbors, we invest in Chicago’s mid-South Side across such areas as health, education, economic growth, and the arts. Together with our medical center, we are the largest private employer on the South Side.
Have you done volunteering? Community service? Would you like to continue?
Or look at their motto:
Motto
Crescat scientia; vita excolatur
Let knowledge grow from more to more; and so be human life enriched
Can you apply that to the med program? how knowledge can be applied to enriching human life?