<p>Congrats! Tis a very big accomplishment indeed, and I acutally had a question a ask about essay topics. </p>
<p>I’m applying to Harvard RD, and I have been racking my brain for the past week staring at the common app blankly. The idea either falls through as too cliche, too bland, or too “creative.” If you don’t mind, could some of you give me an idea about what topic you wrote about for your essay so that it could perhaps spur a tinge of inspiration? </p>
<p>Thanks VERY much</p>
<p>What do you like doing the most? I wrote my supplemental essay about my favorite hobby. Just write about something you love (if it is unique), but then again, don't write about something very common (like reading).</p>
<p>Well, I sort of discussed my hobby in the 150 word common app "write about an important EC" bit already and my hobby is relatively common (playing an instrument). I'm really having trouble with the personal statement... but thx for replying</p>
<p>So are you having trouble with what to write about, or more about how to write it?</p>
<p>What to write about</p>
<p>My common app essay was kind of boring. I wrote it originally as my NMSF essay, and it was kind of a last-minute thing for that. I edited it, and used it for Harvard because better ideas didn't come to me until after the deadline. In it, I basically talked about being well rounded, and the different parts of my personality. I used metaphor to make it a little more interesting. </p>
<p>I also sent a supplemental essay that was a column I'd written for the school newspaper about going to a concert with my dad. Much better (in my opinion).</p>
<p>I wrote an essay for other schools that I liked a lot, about being an editor of the school paper and how crazy it was.</p>
<p>The cliche is "write the story only you can tell." I think my essays were all successful in that they were unique to me.</p>
<p>I think you should be a little creative. SInce you can write two essays, you can write one that is more creative & risky and one that is not so risky. For my main one I wrote about a political issue in Vietnam and how I love Vietnam (I'm an immigrant). That essay was somewhat... more common, although it was pretty emotional and serious. THen for the supplement one I personified Latin as a girl whom I love and the story of our lives. It was kind of risque at some points because my English teacher saw a lot of sexual innuendos, but at the same time, she said it was humorous. So I guess, I showed both sides of myself.. a more serious one and a lighter one. I think they should balance eachother and show different aspects of you. Hope that helps. Good luck =]</p>
<p>Same here (minus the sexual innuendos). *wink. I must say, haiiiiiii, that I admire you greatly. </p>
<p>One essay was on my sexual health activism and my fight against abstinence-only sex education programs in American high schools.</p>
<p>The other was about how music prepared me for the arduous task of becoming a writer, how I attribute my sense of rhythm and my knack for creative phrasing to my training as a classical/jazz saxophonist--and how, in turn, writing has prepared me to face my cultural identity. </p>
<p>(As a supplement, not an essay, I sent a copy of an article I wrote for MTV.com's Fight for your Rights campaign against teen pregnancy and STI unawareness.)</p>