<p>What kind of essay would get me into an Ivy League? I am attending community college for my freshman year and looking to transfer. I am going to major in Computer Science. Any advice would be appreciated. </p>
<p>GPA? SAT? ACT? EC’s? Volunteering?</p>
<p>The truth is that an essay alone will not help you get into any Ivy League school. You need to be a great student already. Upon that, they have an extremely low acceptance rate for transfer students. </p>
<p>However, assuming that you are a great student, the answer is still unclear. There are few examples of essays that, alone, got a student into an Ivy League.</p>
<p>Write about what you like - those are the subjects you can write the best about. I myself never actually submitted a college app (still in high school), however I do know a lot about the process. </p>
<p>I can tell you, from my own experience in summer program apps, that one should always write about what one truly loves. I tried to write about literature, but I hate literature, and could barely form a coherent idea. In a different essay, I wrote about my love for differential equations - that turned out to be one of the best essays i ever wrote, because i already loved the subject and could therefore explain it better.</p>
<p>Write about something you love. A subject you love. A sport you love.
Other CC guys will tell you not to write about your ‘Mission trip to ____ (insert 3rd world country name here), where you built houses for poor people’, however, if you truly love to help people in such a way, it is the subject you should write about.</p>
<p>I volunteered to help a student on CC with her essay. She was applying to several elite schools, including several Ivies. Her essay was on quite a mundane topic: meeting a great guy and their first hours together. But it was the best essay I’ve ever read - by far - and I advised her NOT to edit it. It was perfect as it was, and any “polishing” would have destroyed her voice. She was an excellent student, but not really a standout for the level of schools to which she applied. Results: Not only acceptances at elite schools, including two of the three Ivies where she applied), but some great scholarship money offers, including a full-ride at a fantastic school. </p>
<p>dbtw, there was no financial need.</p>
<p>I am convinced her essay was the deciding factor. I could not imagine an admissions officer reading that and NOT saying, “We need this person at our school.”</p>