Who's read "A is for Admissions" book?

Parents Forum
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You do not need to start with a laundry of lists of awards, accolades, or other state fair ribbons to discover a bit of yourself to write about.

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<p>I never said anything about starting with a list of awards, accolades, or state fair ribbons. In general, I would not consider external recognitions such as those to be particularly effective essay topics, although the underlying internally-motivated activities could be. [Of course, you do have to make such a list so that you can decide which are and are not even worth listing on the application, period.]</p>

<p>I think the proper starting point is to make a list of the things about you that make you unique or interesting.</p>

<p>For example, three things that were on my D's early list were our weekly family movie night, cooking ethnic foods from around the world, and being the peacemaker/glue in her group of friends. Although she ended up not using those, any of the three could have made an effective college essay revealing some slice of her personality. Viewed against the context of the entire list, all of those would have been poor essay choices for her, because it would have meant not writing about something else that was obviously a better "selling feature". The choice is not a case of "good" or "bad, but rather "better than".</p>

<p>The reason I recommend starting with a list is that a lot of kids overlook qualities or topics that could make fantastic college essays, because they just don't seem "important" enough. Spend a month with the whole family adding suggestions, good or bad, to the list and who knows what "winners" might emerge.</p>

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<p>Well that's great, Xiggi. Too bad I made the mistake of buying a house in the burbs the year my daughter was born and providing my kids with 2 sets of grandparents who lived in modern houses. Probably not too much essay fodder in recounting an afternoon spent with Grandpa and the remote control. ("Grandfather," I asked, "why does the number 12 blinking on and off so constantly". "The power died," he said, "and I know not how to reset the clock..")</p>

<p>I don't mean to attack you, but you've provided one of these Hallmark moment "slice-of-life" essays that stand out because it is so different than the typical experience of a middle class kid growing up in America. Actually, that essay is a little maudlin for my tastes... but the point is that it isn't a very helpful suggestion to most kids who lead lives more ordinary. </p>

<p>I mean, my son once had to write one of those "challenge you've overcome" type of essays, and informed me that I had raised him badly by providing him with too easy a lifestyle. </p>

<p>I understand where you and others are coming from with this idea, but I don't think its going to get the idea across to kids to give them an example that draws on highly unusual experiences. The problem isn't how to write the essay -- it's the reality that a well-written slice-of-life essay can backfire if the experience or incident related is too mundane.</p>

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<p>Does "challenge you've overcome" have anything to do with your socio-economic background? Can it be that d is not good in sport, no matter how hard she's try? same with math? I know my daugther can develop these topics and write the essay to show how she's overcome them(well sort of).</p>

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<p>Calmom:</p>

<p>I appreciated the essay that Xiggi posted because it is so different from the typical immigrant story: ""Two years I was playing in my little village. Then we got to the airport. I stood on the tarmac, full of apprehension... But I've learned to rise to the challenges that life throws at me, and I have become the stronger for it." I don't know how many of those I've read on CC over the past few years.<br>
A very effective essay (no doubt in response to a Chicago prompt) was about how a particular food evoked memories of going to grandma's house and learning about life and love from grandma. I bet that can happen anywhere, even in suburbs.
Raspberrysmoothie's essay was about running, not for competition, but for fun. Again, an ordinary kind of activity. Search the archives for her essay.</p>

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<p>One of my favorite essays here was piman's essay about his accident and how he helped his recovery by memorizing the digits of pi. The story was told in a straightforward manner, wasn't a bit maudlin and showed the proper amount of humility. Most of the essays I see on CC are, um... dreadful. </p>

<p>Of course, I'm a bit like a basketball coach who can tell his players how to play but isn't a particularly good player himself. I know a bad essay when I see one and can often point out errors or good parts, but probably couldn't write a better one myself.</p>

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<p>The problem is that Xiggi keeps misrepresenting what I said. When I used the word "packaging", I was refering to the application as a whole. In other words, you have a list of "things" that you want to present and a list of places on the app you can put those "things". At some point, you have to sit down and prioritize those "things" and decide where to put them in the application, i.e. "package" what you want to tell the adcoms. It's not some sinister, cynical term.</p>

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Even though Interesteddad was responding to a poster's concern that adcoms might not fully appreciate the significance of an applicant's record in math and science, it does not necessarily follow that the essay is the best place to convey that significance.

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<p>If you have an activity or interest that you feel is vitally important that the adcoms know, then what better way to accomplish that then using an essay to bring the activity to life? I believe that, more than any other part of the app, the essays provide the best opportunity to establish an identity in the mind of the adcom. Establishing an "identity" is really important because, for most applicants, getting accepted hinges on the regional adcom's desire and ability to present the applicant in committtee.</p>

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Well, my daughter's GC would agree with you, and so would many other people. I'm still skeptical, though. Marilee Jones of MIT says, "About one-third of [applicants] write [that] the thing they do for fun is the thing is that's No. 1 on their extracurricular list. That's fine." The other two thirds, presumably, do not; and some of those essays were the ones that stuck in Ms. Jones' mind. </p>

<p>I personally believe that "the kid who wrote the great essay about the smoothies that was like nothing I'd ever seen" can be every bit as appealing and memorable to adcoms as the umpteenth kid who wrote about his research epiphany or the moment when he stepped out of his comfort zone to reach out to an underprivileged kid. Maybe more. But that's what makes horse races--and besides, the freshness and authenticity of the actual writing is probably much more important than the topic.</p>

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<p>Are we talking about MIT applications or applications in general? I've never laid eyes on an MIT application and, frankly, would offer zero advice on writing an application for MIT other than a hunch that writing about science or math would probably not be the way to stand out from the crowd in a very atypical applicant pool.</p>

<p>Virtually all of the apps I've seen have three essay "slots". A personal statement essay -- basically an essay on anything, or nothing at all (for the Seinfeld fans). A short essay bringing one extracurricular activity or interest to life. And, a "Why Podunk U?" essay.</p>

<p>IMO, the specific choice of topics for these essays depends entirely on the individual applicant and what options emerge from the scribbling on the yellow legal pad. Is there a desirable "hook" type activity or interest? If so, then emphasizing that could make sense. Does the application as a whole just scream "academic nose to the grindstone"? If so, then a whimisical, let your hair down essay could go a long way towards dispelling that image. Are there things about the student that can't be communicated anywhere else? Then an essay provides the solution.</p>

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<p>Sorry for all the MIT quotes: I happened to have the article handy, and was struck by the apparent similarities between the essays that both Marilee Jones and Michele Hernandez cited as being particularly memorable.</p>

<p>Anyway, I was thinking of what I consider to be the main essay--a personal statement of about 500 words. Certainly a candidate may use this statement to emphasize--usually re-emphasize--"a desirable 'hook' type activity or interest." Speaking for myself, I have to say that most of the essays of this kind that I've read have been pretty obvious or heavy-handed, but some kids clearly pull it off. (My own daughter's personal statement was about an EC that she truly loved--but that could not be described as a particularly "desirable hook.") In the end, I believe that, as Chuck Hughes puts it in What It Really Takes to Get Into Ivy League and Other Highly Selective Colleges, "the best essays come from the heart and not the head."</p>

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<p>I-Dad, I'm sorry to read that you feel I am deliberately misquoting you. If I keep arguing about something that was not said, the dialogue should be quite short! </p>

<p>Rather than rehashing some of the discussion, allow me to plant a thought:</p>

<p>Imagine the first day of school after a long summer. Since the students have not seen one another for a while, the conversations are animated and flow freely. The teacher, rather than starting on time, let the students yap and cackle for fifteen minutes in the classroom. Then, he enters the room and announces the first assignment of the year: he asks everyone to spend the next five minutes to think about anything worthwhile the students did in the summer, write two or three key points, and then spend twenty minutes to write 200 to 500 words. </p>

<p>If you were there, you would see how little activity takes place. Most students will stare blindly at the walls or look at their friends for inspiration. Yet, there are the same students who were almost fighting one another to tell THEIR story. </p>

<p>This is the issue. Most kids and teenagers ARE natural story tellers. The problem starts when adults ask them to write about activities that SEEM important to adults. The entire process of summarizing and organizing thoughts might work in an academic environment, but it is also stifling the creativity and spontaneity that is so critical for a good essay. </p>

<p>The application is indeed composed of several distinct parts. There is a place to LIST what a student accomplished. The letters of recommendation should give a glimpse how the students acts in class, and maybe how he thinks. However, the place where a student can express WHO he is as a person is the essay. And that is why I do not like the elements that belong in the sterile part of the application or in the outsiders' recommendation to influence the essays by reintroducing similar concepts. </p>

<p>The question that prompted this debate was about finding ways to "explain" parts of the "r</p>

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<p>Xiggi:</p>

<p>Then, we have a fundamental disagreement on several issues. </p>

<p>First, I do not believe that a student should rely on the list portions of the application to effectively communicate who he or she is. I believe that anything listed, but not brought to life in other ways, should be expected to be viewed for what it is: one of the items on a laundry-list, buried in a mind-numbing mountain of similar laundry lists. IMO, over-reliance on a laundry lists of awards, APs, SAT scores, and ECs is the single biggest mistake that applicants make. It's why the "here are my stats, what are my chances" threads here on CC drive me up the wall. Evaluating a college app is a qualitative process. You don't add up the items on a list and get a score.</p>

<p>Second, I do not view a college application as an exercise in cathartic self-expression. It is a document with a very specific purpose. Most kids are far more complex than could ever be presented on an application, so some culling, prioritizing, and purposeful emphasis is essential to effective communication.</p>

<p>We do not necessarily disagree about essays. Trust me, I am not recommending, and never have, recommended writing essays that read like research project report or an academic paper. In fact, my advice to students, once they have decided on a topic, is to sit down and just write a stream of consciousness story. Just pour it onto the paper. In all likelihood, that essay will bear little resemblence to the final draft (for one thing, it will probably be about 1500 words), but it will probably be productive in terms of providing the feelings, imagery, personality, etc. that will form the core of the essay.</p>

<p>Where I think your advice needs some tempering is that it can be misinterpreted. Following your advice often leads to some of the worst essays I've ever read -- the essays about family maritial problems, overbearing Chinese parents, and assorted tragic "woe is me" tales. These are "written from the heart", but they just make the reader cringe. To the extent that someone follows your advice to write from the heart about the joy of something that makes them happy, I'm all for it. But, the college app is not a psychiatrist's couch. Therefore, the "write from the heart" advice needs be tempered by not losing sight of the purpose of the document.</p>

<p>BTW, I don't believe I ever suggested using an essay to "explain" items from the laundry list. I believe I suggested using the essay to "bring things to life". There's a major distinction there. Personally, I think that a good college essay should do as little "explaining" as possible. Preferably none, although it is sometimes necessary to work a little explaining in just so the reader knows what in the heck you are talking about!</p>

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<p>I-dad, I do not think that I have ever advocated to write without rhyme or reason or be oblivious to the rules of common sense. </p>

<p>The concept of writing from the heart does not come with a free-for-all card. The long list of subjects that are taboo or very risky remains in place.</p>

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<p>Sometimes a student can get an inspiration from a question or prompt from a college application essay question. I think it can be valuable for kids to look at several college application essay promts - even for schools they may not apply to - in case one may present a perfect backdrop for their personal story.</p>

<p>My D was inspired by Amherst's app a couple of years ago when they asked a question about what role imagination had played in the student's life. I still love reading her essay, as it brings back such memories of the fun she had growing up. It's hard for a kid who wants to be a writer to write about being a writer, but I think she pulled it off pretty well, moving from the imagination of her childhood (the first two paragraphs, which I will post here) to her belief that imagination and vision is power, and her hope that through writing, she can make a difference in the world.</p>

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I don't think I fully acknowledged that I was human until I was in third grade. From the time I was two, I was always pretending to be some imaginary character. I created such elaborate identities as "Winnie the Pooh pretending to be Minnie Mouse," and assigned complementary roles to the people around me. My family members grew accustomed to my constantly changing persona, but in the public world it caused a great deal of confusion and embarrassment. Even in preschool I made my teacher guess who I was each day. Answers varied from the Little Mermaid to a pterodactyl. On my family vacation to Colorado, I took on the role of a cheeka, a forest animal I had invented, and tried to convince fellow tourists that they were not talking to a seven-year-old girl, but a wild, pin-furred omnivore.</p>

<pre><code> My brother, who is three years younger than I am, was always the incredulous one. As he grew older I eagerly attempted to share with him the secrets I had learned about the magic in our house. To my frustration, Jack never believed my assertions that the dust motes swirling in our living room were really fairies. Nor did I convince him that the Borrowers, the tiny people of Mary Norton's novels, lived under a dresser in our closet. Even when I slipped the dollhouse furniture through the dresser's carved-out opening as a gift to them, Jack refused to believe until there was proof, which, of course, never materialized. Despite my brother's stubborn realism, part of me truly did believe in my fantasies. At the time I might have said that reality is boring. In retrospect, though, I think I felt deep down that a world where nobody believes in magic woiuld be a world where no one could hope for change.

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<p>The point of the essay is to give the reader a glimpse of your personality. It doesn't have to be about a unique experience to accomplish that.</p>

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<p>Thank you, A.S.A.P.--that's my idea of a wonderful essay. I only wish I could read the whole thing....</p>

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<p>Let me check with the author and I'll send it via PM if you like.</p>

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<p>That would be great, A.S.A.P., if your daughter approves. </p>

<p>And Interesteddad, is there any way you could post a sample or two of the kind of essay you find particularly effective? That would be incredibly helpful, as general statements can be open to varying interpretations--e.g., one man's idea of a heartfelt and moving statement may strike someone else as inappropriate catharsis.</p>

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<p>Take a look at the thread I started: Best CC essays. It has three; I'd be happy to add A.S.A.P's D's essay. Its beginning sounds wonderful.</p>

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<p>Thanks, Marite--I missed that thread this morning, though I do remember reading and liking the essays from both Hhboyji and Raspberry Smoothie when they were originally posted. I agree that these are terrific examples of vivid, memorable essays; as Michele Hernandez says, they make you want to drop everything and meet the kids who wrote them.</p>

<p>Here's the link for others who might want to take a look--or add more great essays: <a href="http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/showthread.php?t=56846%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/showthread.php?t=56846&lt;/a&gt;.&lt;/p>

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<p>Question for aisforadmission</p>

<p>Michele, thank you for posting responses here on CC! I have a few questions about the Academic Index:</p>

<ul>
<li><p>How do you see the AI changing due to the new SATs? Do you expect that the AI will take the 3 SATs, add them up, divide by 3 and divide by 10 for the first component, then use 2 SAT IIs, add them up, divide by 2 and divide by 10 for the second component. Or do you expect that the AI will still require 3 SAT IIs going forward.</p></li>
<li><p>Regarding the SAT IIs, if a student is interested in Math is it best to take both Math sections Level 1 and Level 2 or a different subject?</p></li>
<li><p>How are ACTs used in the AI equation? Are they converted to an SAT score and then plugged in? Further, if a student has better ACT scores than SAT scores, do they use the best between the 2?</p></li>
</ul>

<p>Thanks for your response!</p>

<p>PS I am hoping you come out with an updated version of A is for Admission with the changes once it is all settled down. I found the original version of the book quite a good read.</p>