<p>Lots of universities, as part of their Common App supplement or their individual application ask students a deceptively simple question: Why do you want to attend our school?</p>
<p>Now certainly there are many different ways to go about answering this question. Often, our first reaction is to spout off praise about the university or college. "X University has a really great y program!" or "The A at B university is really great." </p>
<p>But what are these schools really looking for in an applicant's answer to this type of question? Are they just fishing for compliments, or could it be that they're searching for something deeper, something about the applicant himself/herself, THEIR interests, and who THEY are? </p>
<p>I hate to say this, but the reason why answering the question “why this college” is so hard is that in many cases, there <em>is</em> no good answer. Are you choosing a place because of reputation, writing about how great the school is? Wrong reason and wrong essay. Are you going there because it’s the only place you can afford? Great reason, but a hard essay to write. Are you going because your friends are going there? Bad reason and a non-existent essay. This is a hard one to fake because so many of these essays are going to sound alike.</p>
<p>But, if you really do know why you want to go (and have a valid reason), then it will be a little easier. Did you visit the place? That makes it easier. Describe the feeling you had when you got there? Did it just “fit?” Did you feel at home? Were you excited in a way that you did not feel at other colleges? Let them know.</p>
<p>If you did not actually visit, you may have “toured” via the website. What triggered your decision to apply there (and remember that “reputation” will not generate the best essay)? You can use the website and imagine yourself there in detail and write about that (virtual) “experience.”</p>
<p>A difficult adjunct supplemental prompt is “What qualities will you bring to this campus?” Don’t be tempted to brag on yourself here. It would be much better and much more honest to say that you will bring an open mind and a readiness to grow - both intellectually and emotionally.</p>
<p>—Robert Cronk, author of Concise Advice: Jump-Starting Your College Admissions Essays</p>