<p>Rory Gilmore destroys Blair Waldorf.</p>
<p>wink: Amen!</p>
<p>OP: I'm all for the most clever admissions essay. You want to stand out from the pack, sure, BUT your answer is a not-terribly-exciting way to phrase a generic answer. You mention the things everyone mentions, like academics and faculty, and you put abstractions (great, suburb...okay, I don't actually recall the exact phase, but you get the idea) in front of them. If you want to use that punch line, give it a better answer to complete. Look for one or two more personal aspects of Yale--the Arabic class you sat in on, or the Medieval literature department, or the girl you met on the quad who showed you around the Yale Daily News. Make the answer not only flattering of Yale but representative of who YOU are.</p>
<p>can you guys rate my "why yale?" essay? i think it may be a little too bland.. i don't know.. anything you guys can say about it would be greatly appreciated. thanks!</p>
<p>While Yale is an Ivy, I do not want to come there because of that fact. I like Yale because I can get the perfect blend of academics and music. There is nothing better than doing homework in a practice room: it's free of distractions, besides my constant urge to play my trombone. I guess I'll get very acquainted with explaining why my chemistry homework has music notes written all over it. Glucose plus oxygen yields water plus C7sus Emi9 Gmaj7? Hmm, that is not the right equation.</p>
<p>(485 characters)</p>
<p>^ First, I wouldn't post any personal statements/short answers/the like on a public message board. It's just too easy for someone to take them.</p>
<p>I personally don't like your short answer. Referring to Yale's Ivy League status and the fact that many applicants apply just for prestige would probably turn off ad coms. The "perfect blend of academics and music" is generic. You could get that same blend at many other schools.</p>
<p>I don't agree that referring to Yale's Ivy League status is bad. But I do agree that the rest is quite generic. Why don't you refer specifically to a program in music Yale has that other schools don't have?</p>
<p>i thought it was a bit generic and bland.. totally forgot about not posting them on the message boards.. but someone else did earlier, so i just did.. oh well, i'm changing it anyway.. i'll just remember next time</p>
<p>thanks, guys, on the feedback.. i'll see what I can do with it</p>
<p>since you're limited to 500, do you think it is better to pick something really specific about you and the school, instead of mentioning multiple general reasons why you like the school?</p>
<p>^ yeah, that's what I'm going to do.. i mean 500 words is just 5-6 sentences, so I have to pretty much choose just one specific thing and go with it</p>
<p>ok somebody choose for me</p>
<ol>
<li><p>la casa thing (community stuff)</p></li>
<li><p>or about what I want to major in</p></li>
</ol>
<p>ooh.. either one is good.. hm.. i personally would do the major thing, but the community stuff could be good too (if i knew what it was, i could maybe give you a more definite answer)</p>
<p>idea: how about you write one for both of them and then decide which one displays you better</p>
<p>I talked about what I wanted to major in...so please do the community thing...lol!</p>
<p>yeah I thought yours was somewhat funny, but I wouldn't do it.</p>
<p>I really hate the 500 characters thing though...this is probably a stupid question, but it's totally fine if I focus on specific things and don't even mention givens such as great academics?</p>
<p>yeah, that's perfect.. they want you to describe something very specific that you like (they know they have great academics... it's Yale)... something that only appeals to you to make you stand out.. that's the key here (and what i failed at doing for that essay i did earlier)</p>
<p>Honestly I think "great academics" is too cliche for them. I talked about my major but talked about what specifically in that major is so in line with my desires and the fact that the specific way they approach that major is very unique as I have not seen it anywhere else.</p>
<p>I talked about how the students at Yale are all strikingly different but are alike in how passionate they are, and how I would love to be surrounded by students as passionate as I am about my activities, since my high school student body is really unmotivated in general. Is that not specific enough? I had some sentences in there about specific classes that intrigued me, but with only 500 characters, I decided to just cut right to the real reason and not try to dazzle them with the fact that I looked up some obscure facts.</p>
<p>yeah i wouldn't go with that, and I agree that 500 characters (not even words!) is enough to say why you would want to go to a school</p>
<p>yeah, i still don't know where to go with this response.. any ideas?</p>
<p>Well, why do you want to go to Yale BESIDES the great academics/people/environment/reputation?</p>
<p>Guess that'd be a good place to start.</p>
<p>i suppose mentioning yale's college system would be too generic ?</p>
<p>Speaking from experience (S), I can tell you that a good answer can be well under 100 characters. It's important that your answer speak to a quality that is uniquely Yale.</p>