<p>Oh, istoleyournose, my comment wasn't directed towards you! It was simply in response of BNKSurfer3. </p>
<p>Speaking of, lol..."I am going to help out America!" does sound pretty dumb. Though, with everything as it is, America needs all the help it can get?</p>
<p>I'm just gonna have to give a "yes" to that question mark.</p>
<p>i dont like the essay part of the application at all. im a pretty good writer but i didnt feel that some of the questions portrayed me as a person at all. I chose "something you thought you knew for certain." and just talked about what i thought i was gunna be when i was older and how that has changed, but i dont see how they are gunna know what im like from that. i think the interview is much more important. and for PE i ended up writing about my favorite word. how does that show what i am like at all?</p>
<p>im sure letting them know how my mind has developed from thinking about being a proffesional sports player to discovering a solution to epidemic illnesses through altering chemical reactions in the human genome to adjust it to our evironment, but what kid doesnt want to solve diabetes and cancer through genomics and genetics?... the essays make me feel kinda fake. they want you to describe yourself as a super hero. the question might as well be "whats your acceptance speech for a nobel prize going to be?" hahah</p>
<p>That's okay. The essays are supposed to be your way of selling yourself to your schools. As long as you don't write too incredibly flamboyantly and as long as what you write doesn't sound too ridiculous, your essay is intended to be an advertisement.</p>
<p>As for things like your favorite word and what you thought you knew for certain - those are things that are actually relatively effective expositions of character. Someone who wrote about the word "quintessence" would probably be perceived as a more sophisticated applicant than someone who chose to write about the word "cat." And someone who, like you, aspires to work in a field such as gene therapy/manipulation might sound a little more ambitious than someone who wrote that they aspire to be a plumber (not that there's anything at all wrong with plumbers).</p>
<p>But yes, like you said, it can be tough to write these kinds of essays without seeming arrogant and full of oneself, but I think that the questions were made the way they were specifically for that purpose. The more modest yet assertive someone seems through their writing of one of these essays, the better grasp of the language (or at least the more modest) the candidate has/is. It's the same concept as the Exeter essays; sometimes the challenge is not in the composition, but in the way the fabric of the essay is woven. Andover is after moderate modesty (or so I would assume) and Exeter, with the requirement to write two essays on one sheet of paper, is after conciseness.</p>
<p>RingTingTing, thank you for your awesome post! I just don't really agree with this part:</p>
<p>"Someone who wrote about the word "quintessence" would probably be perceived as a more sophisticated applicant than someone who chose to write about the word "cat." And someone who, like you, aspires to work in a field such as gene therapy/manipulation might sound a little more ambitious than someone who wrote that they aspire to be a plumber."</p>
<p>Let's take the favorite word essay for example. For sure the word 'quintessence' is an impressive one compared to 'cat', and it looks as if 'quintessence' will do a better job revealing the writer's sophistication in his own perspective. But personally I think that doesn't make sense. How can we be sure 'cat' is not impressive at all? If someone takes 'cat' and gives an extraordinarily unique reason for it, I think he makes the point of standing out among thousands of people who pick very sophisticated words, but which reveal their true meanings at first glance. So to me, it's not the 'what' that matters, it's the 'how'.</p>
<p>Anyway, you did a great job posting it! Thanks for the insight.</p>
<p>Sure, but you'd have to do a pretty damn good job at convincing the officer why "cat" was your favorite word. I think such an impressive essay would be rare (at least among such simple words) but you're definitely right that there are exceptions.</p>
<p>I agree with binhnguyen on this one.</p>
<p>I was thinking the exact same thing that picking a big, pretentious word (not saying quintessence is pretentious) would almost be a little cliche - not literally, but just... "expected".</p>
<p>mmoynan... how... could you...</p>
<p>I think it's better to write about a word that has significant meaning to the writer. Like binhnuguyen2907 said, it IS about 'how', but I do believe it is also about 'what'. Although it is hard to write an essay about a simple word like 'cat', it is just as hard to write an essay about a word like "quintessence" without seeming like a pretentious ass. Not that it can't be done, but it's significantly more difficult than the other topics, and it doesn't show as much about a person's character as the other topics do. Personally, I didn't choose this topic precisely for that reason.</p>
<p>Also, RingTingTing, ever thought about becoming a lawyer? It seems as if you like to debate. :D</p>
<p>yeh, you could write about "cat" or "dog" if they have grown up with you or been with you in tough times. theres alot more meaning behind a "dog" that has been with you for as long as you can remember then how you feel about genomic alterations haha.</p>
<p>i chose the word "why"... everything comes from the word why. everything invented and everythign that will be invented or discovered can be found by just asking "why". and when asking "why" just ask yourself why not. i think this choice was rather philisophical. i think that it shows my ability to think laterally and solve problems in a unique manner.</p>
<p>but arrogance or being extremely cliche... well i just dont know.</p>
<p>Yeah, you guys are totally right. No debating against it anymore :-)</p>
<p>Ahaha, RingTingTing. I did, I know, it was awful… </p>
<p>I just had to say. :D:D:D:D:D</p>
<p>hahah, so what did any of you guys do the word one for exeter?</p>