<p>for all of you that have been accepted to college, or have a S or D that was accepted (this yr or in years past) please share what they wrote for their essays, and which colleges/universities they struck gold at. THANKS!</p>
<p>you guessed it - bump!</p>
<p>Amherst College-ED Acceptance</p>
<p>I wrote two essays:</p>
<h1>1 was about how America is a culture that cannot be defined, and how we should embrace this cultural bouillabaise.</h1>
<h1>2 was answering the question "why must I speak?". I used a personal account o explain that I speak to bring about change, that change has not come in our history by remaining silient. Basically, it was about the reasons why I speak and that unitl change comes, I will not be silenced.</h1>
<p>thanks cre8tive! anyone else wanna share?</p>
<p>i didn't have to write an essay. to get into PSU.</p>
<p>not really helpful, was I?</p>
<p>For Santa Clara, USC, Georgetown, Occidental, Brown, USD, and Franklin College Switzerland instead of an essay I wrote a poem about riding my surfboard. It was a clear metaphor for, to state bluntly, having sex with my paramour. It was very creative and well written and is my favorite poem that I have written. I also explained the meaning of the poem in an afterword. I was accepted everywhere except Gtown and Brown.</p>
<p>For Harvey Mudd Regular Decision, I wrote two essays:</p>
<h1>1 - I wrote about my relationship with my blind and half-deaf grandfather. I spoke of how he took care of me growing up, but as I grew older and he lost his vision and hearing, the roles reversed. Now, I take care of him, and as a result respect and value my elders more.</h1>
<h1>2 - I wrote about a moral dilemma I had regarding this story I wanted to write for the student newspaper. A girl had died, and her friend was on staff, and thus had the rights to the story. But a part of me wanted to write the story, even if it was not mine. I wrote about how I swallowed my desire and let the girl write the story about her friend's death, making sure to console her and help her along the way, as she was having emotional trouble.</h1>
<p>^oooh, i really like that first one. anything else?</p>
<p>I'm asked to review essays quite frequently. Here are some topics that have stood out in my mind:</p>
<ul>
<li><p>For an essay on experiences with diversity, a girl wrote about finding out that her grandfather had been a communist before he left mainland China and how she learned to overcome her shock and accept him for who he was even though she disagreed with his views.</p></li>
<li><p>A "topic of your choice" essay about growing tomatoes and the thoughts the writer had while weeding his garden.</p></li>
<li><p>A "significant experience" essay where the writer talked about standing outside after a concert, hoping to tell the rock star how she had inspired and affected his life. (In the process, the writer told a powerful story about what he had been through in his life).</p></li>
<li><p>A "significant experience" essay about how the writer learned to forgive her father for not being perfect after he was deployed to Iraq</p></li>
<li><p>An "historical figure" essay about Marilyn Monroe, drawing parallels between her life and struggles and the writer's own life.</p></li>
<li><p>A "Significant experience" essay where a girl wrote about visiting the foreign country her parents were from for the first time and meeting the family she'd never known.</p></li>
<li><p>A "most important person" essay about a crotchity horse-riding instructor who taught the rider not to be afraid of "big things" while teaching her how to ride and care for horses.</p></li>
</ul>
<p>What made these essays work: </p>
<p>(1) They told an interesting story tying every day events into a larger snapshot of what really mattered to the writer
(2) They didn't try to do too much, they were very focused.
(3) They could only have been written by the person who wrote them -- they conveyed something important about each writer's personality or out look on life
(4) You got the sense while reading that all of the writers were talking about something that mattered to THEM, not just writing an essay in hopes of impressing an admissions committee. </p>
<p>Ironically, I suspect that's just what did impress the admissions committee in the end --- these were essays that made you really feel like you knew something beyond stats and EC's about these writers. By the way, I've heard back from several of the writers, and they all have had very good results in terms of admissions so far.</p>