Unique Angle for essay??

Parent Cafe
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<p>I just want to say that I love the parent forum. I can't believe how much everyone knows!</p>

<p>That being said, I hope you can help us. My D is a junior and will be applying to top UG business schools next year. She has all the good stats (class rank #1(103+/100), great Leadership and ECs, good SATs etc)</p>

<p>The question is how to make my D stand out on the application. If you met her you would immediately say she's unique. She is a very cute and petite girl (ony 4'11") and because of that she was never really taken seriously. It was probably a good thing early on because secretly she was able to get to the top of her class without anyone knowing what hit them. It has affected her though with getting top student awards- some teachers have trouble giving it to the cute little girl even if she has the highest grades in the class.(They prefer the science types that continually say they want to be science teachers-lol) But she has managed to get the top Bio, Alg II, Trig awards.
My D is President of NHS, Habitat for Humanity, and Big Bros,among other things and she's running now for Student Body President(should win). Because of her size no one ever thought she would win an election. She is always underestimated. This weekend is the Youth and Gov't convention and my D is a supreme court justice. Last night was a question session and she asked each attorney if they thought she was intimidating(odd Q for most but not for her). She felt she was being harsh with the questions on the cases, but most laughed and said absolutely not. She was upset(she wants to be intimidating) but I told her that that was one of her greatest assets. She is great at public speaking and never comes off as overly aggressive. I will tell you that she is the topic of conversation with the GCs and teachers. They are always amused that this little girl has so much chutzpa! Half of her graduating class will be floored when she gives the val/sal speech next year.</p>

<p>How can you get this across to adcoms- I know that the teachers and GC will talk about how special she is in their recommendations. To them, she is probably the most unique top student yet!</p>

<p>But how does she reflect this in her essays? Do you say that there is a kind of prejudice against short people, that they are never really taken seriously, that it's harder to win elections and be a leader, that you have to work twice as hard to prove yourself? The question is how do you portray the struggle of rising to the top and overcoming prejudice against your physical limitations? or is this probably a ridiculous angle?</p>

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<p>I don't think it's ridiculous at all - it all depends on what she has to say about it and how she presents it in her essay. There will be students writing about far more profound physical limitations, and obviously the essay should focus most on her accomplishments and special talents, but the height aspect could provide an amusing/interesting opening. FWIW, my oldest d's essay was about getting a really bad haircut when she was 7 years old and being mistaken for a little boy throughout most of the summer.</p>

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<p>When using the vertically challenged concept, you think comedy is the best way?? My D is not that funny- it might make for an unusual essay.</p>

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<p>Women in business have a great deal to overcome to get to the same level of success as our male counterparts. After just being a woman, that could include hair color, being too pretty, too busty and many other things. I've seen it all.</p>

<p>I don't think a top business school will be impressed by someone overcoming yet another typical physical issue. It implies insecurity. Yes, there is a bias against many things, but those effected focus on strengths. </p>

<p>First rule in business, never let them know your weakness (or perceived weakness in this case)!</p>

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<p>Zagat-
That was what we were thinking too. Is there a way to use this without implying a weakness on my D's part? Maybe that because of her size she has been able to accomplish so much more- and that it was everyone else who underestimated her? Or should she just abandon this angle?</p>

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<p>IMO, if you're applying to the Wharton's of the world, I wouldn't talk about hight. There is some evidence that height really can act aginst you in business, ask any short man. It is lore in business that the shortest CEOs have the biggest attitudes.</p>

<p>Business schools are betting on who's going to win the game. Why tell them you need to overcome height in your own mind? Focus on strengths.</p>

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<p>You are absolutely right!!! Thanks</p>

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<p>Savvymom:</p>

<p>If your D were applying to business schools, I would agree that writing about your perceived weaknesses would not work. But she is applying to colleges. Writing about being underestimated can make for a great essay if it does not come across as "overcoming my disabilities." Such an essay should not be a list of either the times she has been underestimated or the awards she has won, but focus on a specific instance, such as the election or the Supreme Court Justice role playing.</p>

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<p>I agree about the essay not being about height and how she has "made it after all". However, I agree with Frazzled above, that depending on whatever topic or "selling point" about herself that she DOES focus on in the essay, she might be able to tie in something about her stature in the opening line, even though THAT ITSELF is NOT the topic. I'd have to hear about what her essay was going to focus on and how to tie that in would depend on the substance of the essay. </p>

<p>For instance, my younger child had an essay (wrote MANY) for college apps, that started with the line....I have a loud voice (frankly she does...she belts a song out in a very large theater, no mic needed)...but her essay had nothing truly to do with her voice (she is a singer). It opened with "I have a loud voice. All my life I have been told this. I take it as a compliment not to my volume, but to my power to be heard and to move people with what I have to say." The essay went on to describe examples of things/activities she had done where she was a leader and a creator of ideas that impacted and moved various people. So, like her opening that brought up her very loud voice, your D MIGHT be able to tie in her stature into an opening to an essay that really had to do with a different message about herself. </p>

<p>Before a kid writes these essays, he/she needs to brainstorm what characteristics or what attributes about themselves that he/she wants admissions to know. Each essay then should focus on one or two of these "points". The essay should be a narrative and when the reader is done reading the narrative, he/she should be able to infer or describe these attributes about the candidate. Your child needs to figure out just what she wants to sell about herself. She sounds accomplished. I would not focus on the height thing. But if it humorously or figuratively ties in with the theme of the essay, she could weave it in. </p>

<p>Susan</p>

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<p>Marite-
If my D does focus on a specific event, such as Supreme Court Justice or one of her elections, I'm assuming that you are also suggesting that she ony mention it being a positive experience. If you don't discuss any negatives or apprehensions, how do you come off as not being conceited, or even too overconfident?</p>

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<p>Susan-
I understand what you are saying, but I'm not sure that her attributes are much different than the majority of kids on CC. We were trying to come up with something a little bit more unique. We understand that the "short" thing would show a disability and is probably not the route to go, but is showing a couple a selling points about her self enough to get noticed?</p>

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<p>This has the potential to make a charming essay. Ideally, when her friends read her essay, they'll immediately recognize her and hear her voice. That's what you're aiming for -- it's not necessarily about being as different from the norm as possible, it's about letting the adcoms see your personality and feel that they have met you.</p>

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<p>One's attributes need not be totally unique to make the essay effective. It is their voice and pesonality that needs to come through. For instance, I can think of some attributes that various essays my kids wrote focused on.....being well rounded, taking a setback and making the most of it, leadership, creator/initiator, risk taker, passion in an area, and so forth. Those characteristics are not "unique" but were who they were as people and so they focused the stories they wrote for the essays around who they were, so the adcoms could get to know them. Again, when the reader is done the essays, he should be able to describe the kid and have learned something about the student. The quality of the essay and the message is important. The attribute or characteristic itself need not be unique but HOW it is written, THAT matters and should stand out and not be ordinary.</p>

<p>I personally don't think being short is such a disability and I would not focus so much on that. I would pick her strengths and run with those. Perhaps weaving in that she happens to be short and maybe is not taken seriously in whatever it is that the essay is about might work but I would not make it the focus. </p>

<p>That said, when writing about overcoming something, the "something" need not be major. My younger D also wrote an essay about the effect on her when her sister left for college this past fall. It is a wonderful essay. It is not what one would think of in terms of a "hardship" but it was a more "normal" event yet still had an impact on her. Often when you get that essay prompt and you have led a fairly "easy" life with no big hardships or setbacks, you can still find things in every day life that you dealt with...my other D wrote one essay about the year she was unable to be on the soccer team having played for 12 years and what she did instead. Made a great essay the way she wrote it. My younger D and I joked when she was in intensive care several weeks ago about how she NOW had a big setback she had to overcome (from injuries sustained in a terrible car crash) and how too bad her college essays were now over with! But really, often it is the "smaller" things that can sometimes make a great essay for college and most of all, have the child's personality shine through. </p>

<p>Susan</p>

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<p>My S wrote about a minor science event for which I won a prize. I'm sure zillions of students have won more prestigious awards. But, if I may say so, his personality really came through the essay. His focus was on his struggles to build the object for the event. He told the story in his trademark slightly hard-boiled self-deprecating style. Even his mention of the prize was undermined by self-deprecation. I thought it worked very well. Interestingly, it was the essay he worked the least on.</p>

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<p>Overcoming shortness or prejudice against shortness sounds unoriginal and even whiny to me. </p>

<p>I would favor something that she develops totally on her own and that reveals her personality. IMO, her essays shouldn't be obviously aimed at positioning her for college admission, but rather should just be a natural and authentic expression of who she is.</p>

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<p>Her height really has not been a major problem- In fact it's probably just a source of amusement for everyone. Someone had suggested for her to go that way on her essays.(He was very successful with it) Obviously I wan't so sure. I'm so glad that the CC parents have replied about this. ADad- I thought it could come off as whiny too.</p>

<p>I think she might go with Marite's idea and work the supreme court justice angle. For 4 days she was with over 400 kids from across the state and she had lots of interesting stories to tell. I'm sure she will be able to show in that essay exactly who she is.</p>

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<p>Oh, dear. I just re-read my post and saw the howler. What kind of egomaniac mom am I? HE does the work, I get to win the prize. * blushes*</p>

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<p>I knew that had to be a typo. :)</p>

<p>Made me think about that T-shirt I've seen: "After all I've done for that kid, is one lousy Nobel Prize too much to ask?"</p>

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<p>If your D feels the subject from her heart, it could be a good essay. That also is the case with many subjects, including subjects that seem to be about ordinary things. </p>

<p>One major factor that differentiates a remarkable essay from one that is a snoozer is how honest the student is. By this, I don't mean whether the student is telling their deepest secrets, but whether they're letting their true personality shine instead of saying what they think will impress the adcoms. Other factors are how well written the essay is (and "well written" means the essay clearly must seem to be written by a teen, not by a parent) and how insightful the student is about themselves and about life in general.</p>

<p>Thus, your D's essay could be wonderful or it could be hohum depending on whether the topic truly is meaningful to her and whether she has noncliche insights about it and takes the time to write and rewrite it until the essay sparkles.</p>

<p>It is not clear from your post how much the topic resonates with your D. It may be that you feel the topic, but she does not. </p>

<p>I remember meeting former Houston mayor Kathy Whitmire, who is a petite, attractive blond, and asking her how someone who looked so much like a cheerleader was able to obtain such a powerful positon and gain so much respect in it. </p>

<p>I can't remember how she answered the question, but it seemed clear to me that she hadn't really related to the question. While I saw her as a cute blond, she saw herself as a competent, intelligent, hard working woman with a serious agenda, and apparently that caused her to ignore the barriers that her looks and sexism raised. </p>

<p>I am sure that she must have run into the problems that your D has. Whitmire, though, would probably not have been able to write an essay about the topic because the barriers weren't important to her.</p>

<p>Thus, it will be important for you to help your D figure out a topic that resonates with her. Having a unique topic isn't as important as saying something heartfelt that shows facets of one's character that would appeal to adcoms. </p>

<p>This is different than portraying a false front in order to try to appeal to adcoms. I'm not suggesting that's what your D would be doing. I added that sentence because there probably are lurkers who are thinking about how they can write essays that look good even though those essays don't illuminate their real characters.</p>

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<p>I would steer clear of the idea of physical limitations, but writing about the size issue would be a good idea if it will give insight into her character. The intimacy of the essays really makes some stand out.</p>

<p>She might try working on the idea of perception and reality. Has realizing how others misjudge her caused her to be more cautious in assuming anything about someone else? Does she have an anecdote that she can share about looking past the obvious stereotypical response to another?</p>

<p>Or, in a lighter vein, she could work on the idea that tall is a state of mind. In her own mid she is tall, tall enough to....</p>

<p>The ideal essay is well written, interesting, self revealing, and subtly self-promoting. She wants to avoid seeming to complain or whine about the disadvantages of her size. She should not belittle herself or others.</p>