<p>"moral of the story: get good grades AND write an awesome essay. but then again thats not something you guys don't already know."</p>
<p>This is what I've been trying to say all along... For those of us who already have the stats, the essay can be the distinctive portion of your app. that tips the scales in your favor. But not even the essay, there are other places on the app. where you can portray yourself in an appealing manner. Use the "additional info" area, disciplinary history (if applicable), etc. to add another aspect to your application. That's all I was saying. Take it or leave it, but I, for one, am going to personalize my application down to the very last portion of white space left flickering on my screen.</p>
<p>While I have mo evidence to support much of anything, I'd like to believe that the essay is a tool for admissions officers to get to know the applicant. Actually, I opted to seek minimal advice for fear of my essay losing my voice. Above all, I focused on trying to write an essay that portrays me, and not what I think the ideal candidate would be. I was honest, and if/when I'm rejected... Well, that is their loss. The worst thing I could conceive would be to be rejected after writing an essay that reflects others, and not me. I couldn't live with the "what if" I would have been honest.</p>
<p>How is that sloppy and misleading?? I believe I clearly state that students who don't have perfect scores sometimes get accepted over students who do. Can you explain this without acknowledging that those students who get accepted have some other aspect of their application which is distinctive and appealing, possibly (one of) their essay(s)?? I highly doubt it. If so, please enlighten me.</p>
<p>Brahnema, just forget about this thread. People are obviously not as smart to comprehend what you're trying to prove. I got it. Yes, you're right.</p>
<p>Sub-par was in reference to students who's grades are below the average for the instituitions I was referring to such as Yale, Stanford, Harvard, etc. I'm sure you are aware that even sub-PAR grades can be top notch when par is set so exceptionally high. </p>
<p>P.S. I doubt you've ever written a book... and if you have, I don't see why you would have quoted me in it anyway.</p>
<p>I find opinion can be swayed with a crisp ten dollar bill. Just slip it in with your application materials. Just to be clear, sign your name with a winking emoticon, and I'm sure they'll get the picture.</p>
<p>Jan ;)</p>
<p>PS: If you don't like the sound of this route I suggest being honest. If you use your voice, your story, and your emotion - you can't go wrong. After all, in a process where so many tell a story or paint a picture that they think the adcoms will like, an application really comes to life when some just tells the truth about themselves.</p>
<p>so i dont know how much i have to offer because i'm a prospective transfer myself but i wrote an essay that i was pretty pleased with. i love to dance, and it's a huge part of my culture (i'm indian) and wrote about how doing a really stupid, insignificant dance performance in high school fueled my interest in a whole art. after, i started exploring different forms of dance and still continue to this day. </p>
<p>one of my friends, who got accepted into MIT, said that it is important to write about something really trivial in your life and bring it up and show how it affected you. </p>