"Why I want to go to --" essay and int'l kid never stepped foot on their campus..

Applying to College
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<p>Been reading some past posts about the essays and I came upon a thread about "Why I want to go to..." and whether it should be standard or creative. Some suggestions were talking about the visits. I've also read other essays/students' stories in brochures that claimed "first time I set book on <em>whatever</em> campus, I knew I wanted to go here!". I'll never have the opportunity to see any campus until I enroll.</p>

<p>I know most adcoms are understanding about int'l kids never visiting their schools, but what can you say in your essay that's personal and <em>YOU</em> without sounding like regurgitation of facts?</p>

<p>I know one primary reason for applying to the schools on my list is that they have great international financial aid. (Parents make less than US $16,000/year) Do I even mention this at all in the essay? Or would that make them think "GREEEDY! We don't want to GIVE away $42,000 (or so) a year; we prefer having someone give US that money". I'm also unsure about how many schools are ACTUALLY need-blind to international students, despite stating on their site they are.</p>

<p>Besides that, some of the other reason I want to apply to my schools are because of diverse campuses/schools, location (either rural or suburban), offers courses I want (such as biochem/Arabic) and some of them have halal/kosher dining halls/options, which is important. </p>

<p>It sounds so dry! Eh, help?</p>

<p>I also don't know if I should mention that some of the colleges I'm applying to have an unofficial Livejournal and I post on it sometimes and read what students write and stuff and I find the community REALLY friendly. Would the school find this slightly iffy, as it's not officially affiliated with the school? Or would they pleased I found some way to contact students of the colleges and know them?</p>

<p>The only thing I suppose I could contribute to the college would my international background (lived in M'sia, US, Indonesia, Vietnam, and now Romania). I'm not athletic, genius-smart, a great leader or anything really unique.</p>

<p>~<em>~</em>~<em>~</em>~*</p>

<p>And for that matter, should I mention in my essay (the Common App one) about being 2 years behind (going to college when 20 years old) due to bad decisions and attempting to live alone at a pre-u college at 16 and failing abysmally?
Should I draw upon that as my "experience" that changed me? That being 19 years old in high school where the seniors are 17 or younger made me more open-minded about how people are unique, nothing goes to plan, and more accepting, considering when I was in 10th grade (15 yrs old) I was feeling superior about being smarter and younger than a 16 yrs old classmate? (Yes, I know. I'm hypocritical. School year = age is a very Asian mindset.)</p>

<p>Thanks, anybody and everybody!</p>

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<p>I would mention the livejournal stuff. I think it is good that you used that resource to learn about the school community. Any of the points you mentioned could lead to a good essay. It all depends how you present it. In this country it isn't all that unusual for a senior in high school to be 19- a number of kids do a post-grad (PG) year of high school at a prep school, and some private schools hold kids back from the beginning to help them be a little more mature in junior high and high school. Age ranges can be anywhere from 16 (or younger) to 19, so entereing college in the US at 20 doesn't make you a freak! You seem to have learned from your experiences and can use that to sell yourself.</p>

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<p>Thank, MomofWildChild! I was a little apprehensive until I started reading around and realized a PG year ISN'T that odd. In fact, the Common Application has a column for PG year for EC's which I found rather cool. (but a little odd since Asians would be like "What? PG year? Not exist!")</p>

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<p>Sadly enough...bump...</p>

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<p>is it best to be specific about particular courses or ECs you find intriguing at a college and why? i talked about my 3 main areas of interest and how i can participate in each one at the college, and then i talked about how the "vibe" was perfect for me, and how i viewed/admired the type of students there. i also talked about a specific story that an admissions officer told us, and how this proved that the college was the type of place i wanted to be. i also had a creative intro to balance out the 3 main interests part that seemed a little "list-ish".. unfortunately the whole thing is 800-something words... is this bad??</p>

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<p>That sounds like a rather sound approach to it. Like you did a LOT of research on it. </p>

<p>How long is the essay suppose to be? 500 words? I'm unsure as to whether or not the adcoms will be put off by the length of your essay. Maybe you could ask someone to edit it? Or break it into two essays if the school requires two? Like "most significant event and how influenced you" and "why" so you could use the three main interest areas for the former and the admin story and vibe for the latter? </p>

<p>Sorry it's all guessing.</p>

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<p>I would definitely mention the LiveJournal stuff, as it shows you really did your work looking into the college in question.</p>

<p>Oh, and hey to another Malaysian on CC. :p Happy Hari Raya.</p>

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<p>Hey! Selamat (early) Hari Raya. </p>

<p>Thanks for the info. Bad thing is, not all of them have active LJ's. Grrr. Oh, well. :(</p>