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Is it good to talk about my experiences living in many countries other than the US during elementary school and how it helped develop my interests and intended major? Or is that too cliché?
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Alternately, is it better to talk about being multicultural and the fact that my family comes from multiple different countries and races/ethnicities? With this option, I would describe my environment growing up (how I spoke various different languages at home other than English as well as living in other countries) and how that shaped my multicultural perspective. Is writing about this cliché?
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Also, does it seem like my previous essay options would naturally reflect my character? If not, how can I reflect my character in the personal essay?
By the way, I’m aiming for acceptance at Ivies, if that makes any difference in how I should write my essay.
The experiences better be pretty darn compelling, because most people can’t remember much from elementary school age.
It is pretty cliched to write about the process of becoming accustomed to a foreign country in elementary school Prompt #2 sounds a little more unique. However, being exposed to many different cultures, by itself, has nothing to do with your character. What do you want to show colleges about yourself?
I’ve heard a lot about colleges wanting to see your “character” through the essay, but I’m not sure what this means. Is it personality traits? If it is, is it better to convey many traits or just one?
“Character” is what you do when no one is watching…
I guess, writing about how multicultural environment influence on you is a good idea. You can show in such a way your personal traits and preferences. It’s not too cliche.
Generally speaking, you shouldn’t write about pre-college experiences. What is the actual essay prompt?
@itsgettingreal17 The actual essay prompt is asking if I have a very meaningful background or interest. I am thinking about writing about this because I would like to show that I have been interested in my intended major for over a decade. Basically, I would be tying my background to my ongoing interests, so it’s still relevant during my high school years.
Write the essay you want to write and see how it turns out.
@OnMyWay2013 I wouldn’t “write about the process of becoming accustomed to a foreign country in elementary school” but of how I started forming a passion for a particular subject while living in a foreign country; this is particularly special because I wouldn’t have learned about the same exact things at that grade level if I had been here in the States since each country’s curriculum and teaching methods tend to vary a bit sometimes. Is this still too commonly used as a topic?
@PrimeMeridian I think I didn’t explain my intentions for my first topic option very well before. Mostly, I’d like to do a bit of an autobiography, and now that I think about it, it may fit better under the additional information section of the common app. I’d be writing about my experiences in other countries as well as in the States from around 2nd grade to the present and reflecting upon how my interest/passion in a specific subject came to be by giving some anecdotes of impactful memories. As far as remembering my elementary school years, I don’t remember every detail, such as the exact month something occurred or what I ate that day or any details I found irrelevant, but I remember what fascinated me and has impacted me for years afterward.
Ad long as you think it’ll make an engaging read, then go for it. Just beware of anything that will put the reader to sleep.
To distinguish you, the essay needs to really tell the reader who you are, share deep emotions and leave the reader feeling you would be an asset to the campus. Part of that includes very humbly selling yourself, a trick that requires a lot of knowledge or planning.
The best way to do this is to choose an anecdote that tells a lot about who you really are, describes personal growth and tells about positive character traits without being boastful. Of course you also need to answer the question clearly and in an organized fashion and capture the reader’s attention with an interesting story and a great lead-in.
If it’s truly personal and meaningful and you can express that in a thoughtful and well written essay, there is no such thing as cliche, in my opinion.