<p>Be sure you don't just hand then a list of things they already know about their school. Like it so obvious that NYU got so many essays about New York, they have to specifically instruct people not to mention it. You really should give some insight into your thinking and what things you are drawn to.</p>
<p>haha, this is lame, but i'm feeling rather proud of starting a featured discussion. Lol, maybe i'll mention that on my college apps! ;)
anyways, for my emory app, i mentioned a childhood experience i had in emory, and incorporated some stuff i knew about the school. So it wasnt just the average answer, also about "sentimental" reasons.
That said, lets see how that all worked once decisions come out in april - eek!</p>
<p>I think this is a great question because if you truly put your work into developing your list, each school should come with a reason(s) to want to be there. While I normally support truth, I would not put down thoughts like: my girlfriend/boyfriend go there; its my safety; or "My mother said I had to pick one more college and yours didn't charge for applying."</p>
<p>When I was asked that question a thousand years ago, I told the adcom, because I want to study this and this and your school offers the best education in this area. I wanted a large library and your library has the largest collection of this type of research outside of the Library of Congress. ect. I let him know that I wasn't just guessing at a school, I knew what I wanted and I knew what they had. It was my interview that got me into the school and anyone who doesn't research this question before they put a school on their list is foolish.
Any salesman will tell you, you got to know the territory.</p>
<p>"I'm applying to Columbia and may have fallen a bit into the New York trap. I started out with Brian Greene and the impressiveness of their physics program, then spoke about how NYC is the perfect extension of the learning and growth and intellectual freedom of college.</p>
<p>I smoothly worked in the word 'macrocosm' as well... "</p>
<p>YEAHH!!!! The main reason I would want to go to Columbia at all is because of Brian Greene. You ROCK.</p>
<p>I actually had a lot of fun with my Why Chicago essay:</p>
<p>When I was much younger, I had only a few vague notions about college that could easily be summed up in a simple statement: it was the place one went, after graduating from high school, to learn more. Then I grew up, entered that once-awing phase of high school, and found out that college wasnt supposed to be so simple. Like other second-semester high school juniors attempting to discover where they wanted to spend their college years, I was assaulted by teacher-student ratios, school-year-abroad opportunities, internship possibilities, and glossy view books displaying happy students having class on the perpetually green grass, until I wondered whether there it even mattered which Top 25 College a student attended; after all, they sounded practically identical. But when I returned to my childhood definition of college, I realized that my fundamental objective in attending college remained the same: to learn more. I yearned for an undergraduate, not a pre-professional, education. With this in mind, I revisited my Fiske Guide to discover and be excited by a handful of colleges whose educational philosophy matched mine with uncanny precision, and at the very top of that list was the University of Chicago.<br>
I want to attend school where my peers who recognize the value inherent in useless knowledge, where a core curriculum is embraced rather than not shunned, where Evil and Moments in Atheism are offered as elective courses, where political science was first recognized as a scholarly discipline, where intellectualism is never a dirty word, where drinking is not a social necessity, where fun and learning are not exclusionary spheres, where education is never a passive act, where professors never impose static truths, where the pursuit of scholarship is a precious daily endeavor. To quote Robert Pippins The Aims of Education address in 2000, I hope that my college tenure will be an experience in learning for its own liberating sake. I see myself happiest with classmates for whom college is not considered merely as a stepping stone to their first million, but a stepping stone to the grandeur of understanding.<br>
Furthermore, while a liberal arts education such as the University of Chicago offers is often dismissed as an impractical privilege, I expect the Core to serve me a very utilitarian purpose. Currently, I am undecided in both major and profession. It is a position that can be unnerving, especially as I stand on the brink of college in a society that places increasing pressure on young adults to begin their one-way route to job success as early as possible. However, my absolute dread of having a midlife crisis because of an unfulfilling career far outweighs my reluctance to be mistaken as a directionless dilettante. The Core will not only give me the breadth of knowledge I desire, but also exposure to a number of different areas, allowing me to make an educated, informed decision about my choice of concentration. Regardless of what I do ultimately pursue, Im eager (and impatient!) to take advantage of the interdisciplinary offerings in the University of Chicagos vast curriculum, especially its Human Rights program.</p>
<p>UVa requires one, and they are a top 25 school as well. </p>
<p>For me, the "Why UVA" essay was a cinch. I had gone hiking in the Shenandoah valley near Charlottesville, so I could really push my interest in hiking and the "Outdoors at UVA" club.</p>
<p>Haha, wondrlst, nice... it is a big draw. Even though he probably never gets within 10 feet of undergrads, it's still a cool thought that you could walk into his office and say hi or send him an email about a physics question you've got and have him reply with an answer at midnight (that incident's in one of the shiny pamphlets Columbia mails out).</p>
<p>what are u talking about... there was no why UVA essay.. was there?</p>
<p>sweetdreams87, didn't Chicago only ask for 1-2 paragraphs? Mine was Way shorter than yours...O.o.</p>
<p>haha i know they only asked for 1-2 paragraphs...but I know plenty don't follow that rule and (thank god!) Chicago is one of the rare schools not obssessed with the word count.</p>
<p>Vandy is not a second-rate school. They are top 25</p>
<p>the Engineering school has a Why UVA essay, sorry for not being clear.</p>
<p>my subject was why i liked engineering espeically, but not much about UVA's program. is that ok? uh what the heck. heres the essay plz tell me if it was ok.
School of Engineering: Discuss experiences that led you to choose
an engineering education at U.Va. and the role that scientific curiosity
plays in your life.</p>
<pre><code> Choosing a career is a hard decision that everyone has to tackle at some point in life. But it wasn't as tough for me. I hail from a family of successful engineers, and I have observed the profession carefully since my childhood. From an early age, I possessed a creative instinct and desire to work with computers. Simultaneously, my schooling revealed my keen interest for science and my consistent academic performances instilled confidence about my capabilities.
My interest in computers blossomed at the tender age of seven when I used to play video games. As time progressed, I became more interested in the graphics and the technical aspects of the game; eventually, I dreamt of making my own game someday. My pursuit for learning programming languages started in 7th grade, when I built my personal webpage using basic HTML. Ever since, I have enhanced my programming skills by learning Java and other languages independently. Currently, I have six computers at home, two of which I have built. These achievements were noticed by several people in the neighborhood and ever since, I have been the cheapest person to offer technical help in computers. Since my sophomore year, I have been actively involved in my school's robotics team. In retrospect, engineering was a natural career choice for me.
Discovering and choosing a university that fulfilled all my needs was a rigorous yet exciting task. I was lucky to find a college that had everything that I could possibly want in UVA. During my junior year, I attended the engineering open house at University of Virginia. After visiting all the various exhibits, I was certain that UVA was the suitable school for me.
</code></pre>
<p>If that wasnt ok, i will probably revise it and send another one?I dont care much if its good, but just tell me if it correlates to the topic</p>
<p>for these "why" essays, i'd try to find someone you know who is an alum and interview them about what they liked about so and so and use that as building block for your essay</p>
<p>My Uchicago...</p>
<p>During my high school career, I have taken a broad range of subjects and I hope to continue this in college. I am a believer in the interrelation of many disciplines. For example, the logical method of thinking encompassed in calculus can help when analyzing a philosophers argument. Man does not live by bread alone and the same applies for math, history, or other subjects. Overall, a broader education would be more satisfying because Id be stimulating all parts of the mind. The University of Chicagos core curriculum would provide me with background in all disciplines and consequently will allow me to develop a more widespread perspective. Without an extensive perspective, how can one honestly make good decisions? My decisions are determined by how much I know and my context. A far-reaching education greatens my context, and Ill be able to make more informed decisions.<br>
Simply put, I have a passion for learning. At the University of Chicago, there will be students and teachers with similar enthusiasm. Id be able to learn best among these kinds of students because everyone cares about what they are learning. Other students and I would have the common goal of trying to attain as much as we can from whatever subject we are studying. We want to be challenged and provoked to think which is why we wanted to come to the University of Chicago. Essentially, we want to become Renaissance men and women. This is the kind of community I believe the University of Chicago has, and it thrills me to know that I could be around these people all the time. Ive heard about language discussion groups at U of C that meet in the library and speak only in a different language. This implies a kind people who desire to go outside their expectations, and fervently learn something. I dont just learn about a subject when I go to a school; everything Im taught becomes a part of me. Its something I can take with me and helps build a strong foundation for the future.</p>
<p>Wouldn't that sound a little bit like you are sucking up, or saying those things on purpose. I think they ask you those questions to get an honest answer and in an interview I would feel uncomfortable answering that way.</p>
<p>Why not tell the real reason for wanting to attend the school...after that is the point...</p>
<p>When I went to the information session given by a college that asked that question for an essay, she hinted at what they were looking for in that essay!
I took one of the points that she talked about (in my case for engineering) and wrote a creative essay with a little bit of humor to boot.
I did get accepted.....essay helped???</p>
<p>my why Reed essay was 3-4 pages long.. heres my why chicago paragraphs (mercifully shorter)
Why Chicago
A friend of mine in his third year at Chicago described the academic experience their to me like this: Youve got to have the mentality of a naked sex maniac walking through the south side after midnight: youre in for trouble
but you really like that. From that point, Ive become increasingly enamored with the strength and vigor of the U. Chicago academic experience. College is, for everyone, a time of wonderful opportunity. Im sure everyone has taken advantage of opportunities offered by college in their own unique way. At this point, I am confident that whatever it is I end up doing after college will require that I have spent my undergrad years doing absolutely everything possible to prepare academically for the future. The only feasible way for me to spend four years doing anything is to spend it learning. In my life reading the newspaper, watching Jeopardy and reading the New Yorker, Im repeatedly fascinated by how much there is to know. I wish to spend my four years learning everything I can, as fast as I can, so I never have to look back and say I wish I had known about this earlier.
My college experience would not be complete if I were to pursue this kind of study in an environment where my peers were less concerned with academics. That is why the University of Chicago is the perfect place for me, because I am sure that I will meet other people there that share my love of learning. Although I do not know what I intend to study in college, much less what I plan for a career, I know that I dont want to stop learning about it whenever I exit through the classroom doors. Chicagos intense learning environment assures me that it is a place not for those whose sole obsession is good grades and a degree, but a place where I can meet friends who are more interested in art, literature and science than they are with reality TV and drunken shenanigans. If asking for all this is asking for trouble, so be it. I would rather be troubled and challenged every day while studying in college than be challenged everyday for the rest of my life for not having studied during college.</p>
<p>Im a little concerned that Ive now found some minor grammar errors in it, oh well.</p>
<p>I'm wondering... Do the "why" essay rules apply to a summer camp? My dream school is Medill at Northwestern University, and they are having a summer camp. We are required to write a "why" essay, but I am unsure of whether I should mention wanting to attend the school, previous experience??? I'm thinking of telling the story of how I found Northwestern (it's a funny fate type story) and how I really think I could benefit from the journalism camp.</p>
<p>If anyone could help me out to make sure I don't shoot off in the complete wrong direction, that would be wonderful.</p>