Which side of me should I paint in my essays? Does it matter that I am going into CS?

College Essays
1

I am having difficulty choosing what to put down for my applications essays. I am going into CS and I am wondering if it would be advisable to write about that. I am trying to get direct admissions into CS at schools that offer it (like UW).

I have a couple projects I have worked on that I could easily write a good essay on but while it is about programming it would just make me seem like another smart kid. But, these things will also be on my resume and hopefully I will find some way to submit the best one/s in portfolio format.

I am also an artist with a romantic view of nature and music. I could also write a very good essay about writing music and how it has related to my development… However, this has nothing to do with CS. Although it would print a better more unique aspect of me I worry that it is too off topic.

What do you think? Should I write about my programming/mathematics side or my more artistic/romantic side?

*Disclaimer: I mean romantic not in a love sense but just that I enjoy the beauty of things rather then wanting to break them down into components.

2

I think you should write your essay about something that really excites you. Write about your passion, or an experience that made a difference in your life. It doesn’t need to be about CS. You can email in a quick blurb (short!) to the adcoms that declares your love for CS. There’s a 90% chance your correspondence will reach your file. But keep that short and sweet and meaningful.

3

Combine them! Write about your love of CS, then compare it to your artistic/romantic side. It would make you sound smart, but it would be a really interesting, unexpected twist. Plus, colleges love unexpected analogies.
As for how they’re too ‘unalike’, I think that makes it all the more unique. The contrast will highlight you as a unique individual. If you can find and sort of common ground both of your interests share, then I would try to put them together.