<p>I really like the question we use to select frosh to our dorm, but I don’t know how useful it is for college admissions - it’s more of a “fun” question than anything else.</p>
<p>“Which animal (or cartoon character) best describes your personality, and why?”</p>
<p>My one other idea is an adaptation of the Stanford “photograph” prompt, which I really, really liked. I can’t remember the actual prompt but I think this could work:</p>
<p>“Describe or attach a copy of a photograph that has a significant meaning to you and explain why.”</p>
<p>Well, OK - now that there are a bunch of responses, I’ll express one of my strong opinions on the essays. I really think essays primarily intended to “look into the applicant’s true self” are silly. I think it takes tons and tons of interaction with someone to make an educated statement on things like that. </p>
<p>I like the questions MITChris put up, which are direct and informational - things one has actually <em>done</em> to be creative, ways one has actually been involved in the community, academic things one enjoys thinking about [plus reasons for these choices, etc] are all great ways of knowing what the applicant might have to offer. To get to know them as people further, I think one has to befriend them in college once they get there, and spend plenty of time on them.</p>
<p>I’m fairly sure there are colleges who include less direct essay questions, and frankly I don’t really think much of the choice to do so - it seems to be forgetting the role and limitation of admissions.</p>
<p>Suppose you won $1 million in a lottery. What would you do with it?</p>
<p>It helps kill two birds with one stone. You’ll get creative answers and you get to see (indirectly) what people think is important. One downside though is this prompt might invite a lot of platitudes.</p>
<p>Mathboy, I would disagree. Even if you DO ask for ways someone has been creative, you still aren’t getting the whole picture. It’s not the type of question that’s the problem, its the college admissions system. Besides, a person COULD write about a time they’ve been creative on an indirect question. That’s the point.</p>
<p>I like pfaocltd’s suggestion of couple REALLY short answers less than 25 or 50 words. They’re simple to write but the answers could help explain a person.</p>
<p>Huh? Of course you aren’t getting the complete picture with the current questions.</p>
<p>I say the current questions are good while acknowledging the <em>limitations</em> of the college admissions system. I think some more open-ended question would be good too. </p>
<p>Things that relate to activities and engagements pursued over the long term are what I think need to be expanded upon in the essay component, so the subtleties aren’t overlooked. Direct questions relating to the school’s mission/motto are great too [how someone’s been creative is sort of directly something MIT seems to value].</p>
<p>I don’t like the “random fact that you should make meaningful” type question so much. It tends to force you to respond to a prompt, which is an interesting skill, but not particularly relevant-seeming in a college admissions process, and I simply thing there are better ways to spend the space. If there’s anything I’d comment, I’d want a small bit of more open-ended stuff on any application for any school in addition to what’s there.</p>
<p>They could, but are you telling me asking them to respond to a more random, indirect prompt increases the chances clean, relevant information will be posted?</p>
<p>Remember, they’re trying to admit you to a school and see how your interests and the way you spend your time convey a fit for their university, hopefully not analyzing your psychology through a couple hundred words response to a strange question that not everyone has something meaningful to say stuff about. </p>
<p>Like I said, if you want to analyze their psychology, get to know them for 3 years and ask them lots of odd questions and analyze to your heart’s content. Don’t expect to get anywhere non-frilly if you’re not fairly direct in a short application statement, though. </p>
<p>All this leads me to again state I like the <em>current</em> questions MITChris put up, and would be sad to see things become less direct.</p>
<p>By actually SHOWING how you’re creative, you’re giving more direct information as to how you think, behave, talk, etc, than if you just responded to a time in which you showed those characteristics.</p>
<p>Besides, you could talk about times you were creative if you wanted to, and it would be just as easy as if the question actually asked you in a direct way.</p>
<p>Junhugie - I understand what you’re saying, and I would be OK as long as there are tons of direct questions. Let me make it clear:</p>
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<p>Yes, you’re right. In fact, indirect prompts may even be BETTER than direct prompts at measuring these things - I’d never deny that.</p>
<p>Subtly different point I’m making though. It’s that I think the very things you’re measuring can’t be very well measured in a small application. You’re getting into “how you think” and “how you behave” - that would be deeper sociology, psychology, etc. These are to a degree relevant, but I think they’re not things you can effectively gather in any absolute sense in an application. I don’t think the current questions make a claim to be able to do so either - I think they have more modest goals, which they state directly.</p>
<p>If you have an indirect question that truly ** appeals to the same breadth of audience**, which truly captures the essence of one of the current questions, and is not immodest in its claims as to what sort of info reasonably can be gathered, I’m not objecting at all.</p>