I was just wondering why we have to list our first-choice college? Is it just for their information, or is it part of the competition?
And does anyone happen to know the relative weight of essays in the competition? Do past EC’s matter more, or can stellar essays make up for trite/unimpressive extracurriculars?
bump…anyone else working on this? How’s it going?
I don’t think it’s really known what criteria are the most important. I suspect that many candidates are put off by all the essays, as well as the fact that you don’t get any money and that the final selection is after college application deadlines. It was my observation when my son did this (years ago now) that ECs did matter, because they were mentioned in the general speech (i.e., how many Eagle Scouts and the like). This was a worthwhile experience for my son, but I don’t know how it may have changed in the intervening years.
@Hunt Oh OK thank you! I’m a little worried about the number of essays and how much time is going to be required to complete this application. I feel like I might not even make it to semifinals because of my lack of stellar EC’s (like Eagle Scouts). But I guess I should just try.
@JuicyMango I would think ECs would matter a lot among such a competitive application pool.
@pineapple86 Plus my gpa isn’t very good, so I feel like I’m already out of the running. But I’m just doing the essays to improve my writing skills.
“Discuss some creative work that illustrates the way you see the world and the way you see yourself in the world. The work may be a scientific theory, novel, film, poem, song, or other art form. (1600)”
Am I supposed to talk about a creative work of mine or just a creative work in general that says something about me?
@CommmonAppp I believe either one works.
Should our responses to these essay questions be college-essay style? The prompts don’t really seem like those of a college essay.
So the attending college is listed as required but I’m sure for many they don’t know. what are people putting there?
@Dolemite I believe it says first choice college. I just listed my dream school, even though I haven’t even gotten in yet.
@JemmaSimmons Thanks and good luck with that dream school. I’ve seen your post on a number of schools that my D has applied and I think any school would be lucky to get you as a student.
@Dolemite Thank you so much! That means a lot.
Does anyone know how the stages of selection work? Are semifinalists interviewed to reach finalist?
Does anyone know if the character limits on the essays are with or without spaces?
I believe it is with spaces @JemmaSimmons. Try pasting your writing into the box; it will cut it off if the text is too long.
@Jay37p Yep, it is. Thanks!
@chelys No, I think they just review every application 1 more time to select the finalists. There’s no interview, as far as I know.
Is it normal for our counselors to be interviewing us to answer the SSR questions? My counselor doesn’t know anything about me (she’s new), so she needs to interview me to get some answers. And for the AP scores, do you have to report all even if they are 2’s??
Does anyone know why the main essay’s character limit (7000) is so large? I think that is equal to about 1500 words or more which seems like a lot for an application essay.