<p>I'm having a bit of a crisis trying to decide which essay I want to send to colleges via Common App. Yale is my number one, and I am wondering what Yale would like most. All essays are funny, yet reveal myself as being a serious student. </p>
<p>Topics are:
-Being Tall (I'm 6'4") and how that has shaped me as a person. Seriously, like the median height at my school is at least six inches shorter than me.
-The influences of my two grandfathers upon my character (really funny). One grandfather is a quirky guy who is into politics and was college prof. The other was a chemical engineer and has insane work ethic.
-A narrative about the time I performed the Napoleon Dynamite dance at my school's talent show and later became Student Council President. Basically, I rock, but I wonder if a college would understand the depth of my achievement. I mean, my performance is now legendary in my area.
-A narrative about the time I authored a petition about my state's retarded (now defunct) diploma system. I got all the kids at Governor's School to sign it and a front page newspaper story was written about me and I got to go on a local AM talk show. (This one really isn't be that funny)</p>
<h1>4 sounds most impressive; #3 is one that no one else could write, but from reading your brief description, I don't understand the depth of your achievement either. #2 sounds interesting but is a more cliched topic than the rest. #1 has probably been done by someone before in the history of Yale applications, but it's the most offbeat.</h1>
<p>A lot depends, however, on what the essays show about you. And humor is good.</p>
<p>I'd go for either 3 or 4. Be careful with them, though. There's a risk of sounding like a show-off. Try to limit the "I'm legendary" and "I rock" proclamations...They may hurt you more than help you. Savvy?</p>
<p>1 could be really funny, and it could tell info about your life that wouldn't be in the 3rd essay, and it seems like being funny is a big part of your personality, so id go with the 1st one</p>
<p>... I agree with many of the comments above, but you should really just start writing and see how they look. If you can't decide between two, definetely look into writing them both and see which one seems to have more mmmph after the first draft.</p>
<p>number 4 sounds really braggy, which isn't really what they're looking for in essays....stick that on your activity resume. 3 could be funny, but remember that humor is really difficult to pull off, and if it relates to a movie that the adcom didn't necessarily see or like, you would be completely screwed. it also doesn't seem like it would have any point other than humor, which -- unless you're sure the essay is hilarious, even for someone who hasn't seen napoleon dynamite -- would also screw you over if the adcom doesn't find it funny. number 1 has probably been done many times. but 2 sounds good because it seems like it would be original, entertaining, and you would be able to show the adcome something about you as a person. so i would go with 2.</p>
<p>The other thing about #3 is I hate napolean dynamite, and if I read about it, I'd automatically cringe, and you don't want that kind of prejudice with the adcoms.</p>