<p>what was ur college essay topic?</p>
<p>where did you get admitted / rejected with that essay?</p>
<p>and about how long is the essay?</p>
<p>my "prospective" college essay is on economics && my future..
hopefull it will get me into Columbia</p>
<p>haha I had pretty wierd essay. I talked about my favorite shoes ( an old pair of beaten up converse sneakers) and how they reflected my personality.</p>
<p>It got me into upenn ( where I'll be going this fall), johns hopkins and colgate.</p>
<p>^ ddude, that's freaking awesome. </p>
<p>but did it get you rejected anywhere?</p>
<p>Oh man, I just read "Gatekeepers" and there was this kid who wrote his essay to Wesleyan about how his father was pushing him to go to a more prestigious Ivy League school. The admissions committee wanted to admit the kid just to screw his dad for insulting their college (this was ED, so the kid had to go if accepted). I am so going to write an essay like that now! lols.</p>
<p>I don't know if it alone got me rejected from places ( but for that case I don't know if it was the single factor that got me into those schools, but I'd assume it was since my stats were pretty average, good, but average for those schools). So here's my rejection-whatever list, hope it helps:
harvard
princeton- waitlisted, but I asked to be taken off , cause I had already gotten into UPenn
MIT
swarthmore
Stanford- deferred EA and then rejected</p>
<p>I wrote about the femicide in Juarez, Mexico and how that has influenced me and my goals (volunteering; a desire to work in public service and/or NGOs, etc.), especially since I live nearby across the border (which led to a commentary on gender inequality, corruption, and public apathy). I was accepted to every school I applied to: Bowdoin, Vassar, Grinnell, and Austin College.</p>
<p>I wrote about my Microsoft Internship.
It got me into U of Michigan, UCI, UCSD. No privates though, as my GPA was too low and sat (2140) not high enough -_-x.
The college essay is supposed to really just help discern you from other applicants who are really competitive studnets for a school. You can't have completley crappy gpa's+sat's and expect the college essay to save you. A counselor told us the college essay "can help the wounded but can't raise the dead" and its really true. </p>
<p>On that note, write about something that shows who you are. The poster who wrote about his/her sneakers a real simple topic can be a great essay choice. I wrote about my Microsoft internship because it really reflects how I grew and matured. </p>
<p>DO NOT WRITE ABOUT: Gpa, religion, SAT. And do not write something that just shows how smart you are. Write about something that shows schools who You are. What you can bring to the schools. Don't forget schools are not only trying to get the brightest students, they're trying to build communities on campus.</p>
<p>Hey flong, did you mean Microsoft's high school intership during the summer in their Redmond campus???</p>
<p>I really want to know because I'm considering applying for that internship, but have absolutely no idea what it is.</p>
<p>To the OP, I will write about my childhood and how I was raised half my life in a third world country. I will then say that my experiences in that third world country helped me succeed academically in the US, while overcoming prejudice and racism.</p>
<p>Ok, will someone give me an honest opinion of my essay topic. Is is too cliche or is this an awesome hook?</p>
<p>I think it depends on the way you treat the subject, but be careful, don't write them a sob story, thats definitely not what they want to hear, not to mention its cliche.</p>
<p>I wrote a memoir style piece about my work as a leader on my school's student lead ropes course (it was one scene showing how I convinced one boy to do a certain really scary initiative). It got me into Wesleyan University ED.</p>
<p>^sounds like an awesome topic... I was ( am...although reluctant to admit it) scared to death my rope courses. I remember once, that I went to a younglife camp ( one of those christian camps.. I'm not really religious or anything, but a couple of friends were going and it sounded like fun). There was this really tall ropes course, and I remember thinking that they probably put it up so that when people were scared and about to ·%& their pants, they would start praying hahaha...ok, that sucked, but whatever, you had to be there lol</p>
<p>I wrote mine about Model UN and how it has encouraged me to take risks and speak out... VERY over-used I'm sure, but it turned out rather nicely (according to my college counsellor) and got me into Vassar, so no complaints :D.</p>
<p>I wrote mine on why I wanted to major in math and biology.
Yes, I know, lame.
But it got me into Caltech! (Which was the only place I applied.)</p>
<p>"Had I been a man, genetics would have been my wife, and mathematics my mistress: after hours I would sneak over to the back room and <em>do</em> abstract algebra with a pen in my hand and passion in my eyes." :D</p>
<p>^^fizix2, lol That's hilarious!! Way to put a spin into the trite "I love this subject because..." essay topic.</p>
<p>1) My essay was about my love for words. Not very original, I know. But I started off the essay with direct action from my third grade spelling bee-- the first spelling bee which I actually lost, and it wasn't my fault because instead of pronouncing the word "bellowing," the moderator pronounced it "bellowin'". I went on to talk about how that experience shaped my love for words, and how my friends criticized me based on that love. Then my essay got a little complex when I actually introduced a "secret place" that I go to with my love for words--a place that comforts me--a home that I can find in no other place than my beautiful Virgin Islands.</p>
<p>2) I sent that essay to most of my schools including: American University, Brown University, Hollins University, University of Maryland at College Park, and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. I got into all of these schools except for Brown, which I was deferred ED then rejected RD.</p>
<p>3) My essay was about 490 words long, roughly about two pages. My AP Lit teacher made me cut that thing down and down until I had it about that length.</p>
<p>I guess my essay was pretty good. I used it as one of my works that I submitted into the 2007 Scholastic Arts & Writing Awards. And I won a national silver key award for my general writing portfolio.</p>
<p>For all upcoming seniors, my best advice is to write about something that you're passionate about. Words are my passion and I wrote about it. Don't feel forced to write about something that doesn't intrigue you. Trust me, that passion--even if written in a page or two--will come across to whoever who reads it. And, it will be, of course, a testament to your uniqueness.</p>
<p>Is it appropriate to write about your childhood memories or should you restrict personal narrative only to your time in high school?</p>
<p>Oh, childhood memories make GREAT essays! Especially for someone like me; I didn't really have any experiences in high school worth writing about (sure, I had experiences, but not anything that I felt <em>defined</em> me). My essays were about my relationship with my dad and learning how to ride a bike. Nothing special. I just wrote about it from my point of view.</p>
<p>Oh, and about the extracurricular essay - I would advise focusing on one activity, and creatively portraying what that activity means to you. You can include what you've done, but that essay is really where you want to show your passion and show that it isn't just some thing you did for your resume.</p>
<p>P.S. I don't think this should matter much, but those two essays got me into Yale early.</p>
<p>any more???</p>