<p>i know brown stresses that it likes students who are ‘quirky’ and ‘individual’, and i feel that i’m odder than the average student, but do you convey that in an essay without looking like a madman? (or madwoman in my case)</p>
<p>how far does weirdness go at brown? will they love it or slowly back away?</p>
<p>What do you mean by weird? I think they look for weirdness in the sense that it will do the school good, not just weirdness in general.</p>
<p>Don't forget that your teachers may pick up on some of your quirks in their recommendations.</p>
<p>I agree with Rabo, but I also think they look at your personality in context. Do you tend to conform, or do you let your personality follow its natural course? What has influenced your personality?</p>
<p>Also, I think they like weirdness because it adds to a more profound sort of diversity. </p>
<p>And this is all speculation on my part. ;)</p>
<p>I don't think they are looking for "weirdness." They are seeking applicants who are driven by their individuality- kids who hold their own purpose strongly. Not just something weird; they won't let a kid in because he likes to eat his own boogers or something absurd or negative. It also should not be something that you need to try too hard with; it isn't difficult to tell what traits are forced or seem tacked on.</p>
<p>invisiblehand--that is exactly what I wanted to say. I was going to respond a couple of hours ago, but I couldn't figure out how to word it, and you got it. I think people who are trying too hard to seem quirky and weird will be very transparent and actually look quite foolish. When a school says they want you to be yourself, many students decide to create a ne persona which is in line with what they think the school wants. See, I can't voice my thoughts eloquently. Basically, I second what invisiblehand says</p>
<p>well im not sure that boogers are eloquent or ellegant, but i do agree to some extent, that you can't force being "quirky." Be yourself, in some cases it works out, in some cases it doesnt. My Brown app was the one i tried least on because of time concerns and becuase at the time i didnt think id get in with my senior grades, nor was it a top choice for me. I worked incredibly hard to write a very original essay for Upenn; i was sure that it was just amazing. In the end i got waitlisted, probably because i just tried too hard. I am not usually all that original and it didn't pay off. Then i tried to hard to be myself writing an essay on how much i hate the Duke basketball team. Needless to say, i got rejected... by Duke. From these experiences i noticed that in my case, trying too hard to be myself, or trying too hard to not be myself didnt pay off. I got into the schools which applications were simply ok. Not amazingly original and not bad. This in turn represented me as a person. What all of this means is that college admission is incredibly random, but if youre reasonable and dont try too hard on your applications, you should have some success with it.</p>
<p>Also dont write duke their basketball team is evil.</p>
<p>Also dont obsess or nitpick over your essays or applications. I found around 3 misspelled words, and about as many blatant gramatical or syntex mistakes in my essays/personal statements. Making it perfect even makes it fake to some extent because few people write so perfectly. Dont have more than 1 good person edit your essays, because they should not be artificial. A college application is like a beautiful breast. It is beautiful on its own, even if it is not perfect. When a plastic surgeon touches it, it makes it look a lot better and more visually, but then the breasts feel rubbery. At the same time, you dont wanna make your essays saggy and uninteresting.</p>
<p>Hahaha, I would love to know what adcoms at Duke were thinking when they read that! That takes balls.</p>
<p>Well i thought they'll be like "THIS DUDES GOT BALLS!!! ACCEPT HIM"</p>
<p>Instead it went something like this...</p>
<p>ADCOM A: HEY! This dudes got maaad balls, but he dissed my team!
ADCOM B: How can you say that... are you currently masturbating to Coach K's picture, you sicko?!
ADCOM C: Hey and youre NOT?????
ADCOM B: uhhh... im sorry?</p>
<p>[ADCOMS A + C beat ADCOM B to death with autographed basketballs and feed his dead corpse to to Coach K's pittbulls.]</p>
<p>"A college application is like a beautiful breast"</p>
<p>haha where did you come up with that??</p>
<p>id like to sound modest, but it's a tallent.</p>
<p>i LOVED the breast analogy. im currently eating a chicken breast.</p>
<p>haha, BullMooseandSqrl</p>
<p>that is the stupidest analogy i've ever heard. and i mean that with love, of course. :)</p>
<p>Do you know where you're going, ClaySoul?</p>
<p>BROWN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!</p>
<p>(but i'm not too enthusiastic or anything :P)</p>
<p>!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!</p>
<p>you? I seem to remember you also being a Brownie....or...Brunonian...or whatever we are called</p>
<p>omg i'm so excited....</p>
<p>I agree with the "be yourself and don't arbitrarily shape your personality" theme. I think the key to getting accepted to top notch schools and separating yourself from the rest of the well qualified applicants is conspicuously to be unique, not weird. Sometimes being unique does not mean sitting at home imaging ways you could be unique. It might mean taking actions to explore and build your character, and letting it shine naturally through your application essays. Looking over my Brown essays, I notice how easy-going, fun, and creative (both artistically and intellectually) I came off. Sorry that you have to endure my own ass-kissing; I'm justing trying to be helpful. My UPenn essays were intense, full of split-personality contradictions, but oriented towards finding myself in the end. And I swear that I didnot plan out the type of essays I was gonna write or what voice I would choose. So after all this babbling, I realize that the most I can help you with is not helping you at all but letting you be yourself. That's, to me, is valuable.</p>
<p>Don't try to convince them that you're a "weird" kid by writing a bizzare essay. I'm certainly concidered eccentric by my friends, but I wrote "normal" essays and it worked out for me just fine.</p>