My College Options

My College Options Through this experience as a leader, I have come to realize, as a community, we hope together, we dream together, we work together, and we succeed together. This is the phenomenon of interdependency, the interconnectedness of life, the pivotal reason for human existence. I know I am being idealistic and young, and that my philosophy on life is comparable to a calculus limit; I will never reach it. But I won't give up on it because, I can still get infinitely close and that is amazing. Don't reuse an answer to a similar question from another application. The hourglass of life incessantly trickles on and we are powerless to stop it. Every morning when I wake up, I want to be excited by the gift of a new day. I was born with a speech impediment that weakened my mouth muscles. I tried my best to blend in and give the impression I was silent by choice. I joined no clubs in primary school, instead preferring isolation. It took six years of tongue twisters and complicated mouth contortions in special education classes for me to produce the forty-four sounds of the English language. While pursuing research in California, I was also able to meet many similarly motivated, interesting people from across the United States and abroad. As I learned about their unique lifestyles, I also shared with them the diverse perspectives I have gained from my travel abroad and my Chinese cultural heritage. I will never forget the invaluable opportunity I had to explore California along with these bright people. Luckily, my family managed to drive me several hours away to an urban hospital, where I was treated. Yellow fever shouldn’t be fatal, but in Africa it often is. I couldn’t believe that such a solvable issue could be so severe at the timeâ€"so I began to explore. When I was thirteen and visiting Liberia, I contracted what turned out to be yellow fever. I met with the local doctor, but he couldn’t make a diagnosis simply because he didn't have access to blood tests and because symptoms such as “My skin feels like it’s on fire” matched many tropical diseases. As I sip a mug of hot chocolate on a dreary winter’s day, I am already planning in my mind what I will do the next summer. I briefly ponder the traditional routes, such as taking a job or spending most of the summer at the beach. This completely different perspective broadened my understanding of the surgical field and changed my initial perception of who and what a surgeon was. I not only want to help those who are ill and injured, but also to be entrusted with difficult decisions the occupation entails. Discovering that surgery is also a moral vocation beyond the generic application of a trained skill set encouraged me. I now understand surgeons to be much more complex practitioners of medicine, and I am certain that this is the field for me. Never before had I seen anything this gruesomeâ€"as even open surgery paled in comparison. Doctors in the operating room are calm, cool, and collected, making textbook incisions with machine-like, detached precision. It is a profession founded solely on skill and techniqueâ€"or so I thought. This grisly experience exposed an entirely different side of this profession I hope to pursue. However, I know that I want to do something unique. After sticking up my magnets on the locker door, I ran my fingers across the bottom of the bag, and I realized that one remained. The theme for relay for life is a hope for a cure.

College Essay

College Essay He has been at St. Christopher's since 1990 and was previously an admissions officer, women's basketball coach and philosophy professor at the college level. Jim is a past president of the National Association for College Admission Counseling. We would expect a nursing applicant to have had academic training and extracurricular choices that support a desire to help others. A student who highlights their love of community service but has only one or two short-term service opportunities is probably not as committed as he or she wants to claim. I responding by suggesting that he call the dean of admissions at his first-choice college and ask him the same question. It’s meant to be a deeper dive into who you are beyond the numbers and accolades. As we mentioned earlier, you don’t know who is reading your essay or how they feel about these subjects. It’s best not to offend them or make them feel uncomfortable. Sometimes, applicants write about obstacles they’ve overcome or illicit/illegal topics including arrest, sexual experiences, drugs, and alcohol. This will also make it easier to cite your sources when writing your final essay. Once you have done your brainstorming and chosen your topic, you may need to do some research to write a good essay. Go to the library or search online for information about your topic. Interview people who might be experts in the subject. Choose the best topic idea from among your list and begin moving forward on writing your essay. Make sure that you are confident in your essay and accept feedback, but don’t allow others to change your essay in any way that will cause it to lose its original message. My preference (and admissions officers’) would be that parents are minimally involved in the essay. Believe me, those admissions officers are experienced and they can definitely spot the difference between a 50 year-old businessperson’s phraseology and a 17-year-old senior’s own voice and manner of expression. In most cases, your essay isn’t the factor that determines your admission to college. However, an offensive, off-putting, or forgettable essay can hurt your chances. His reluctance to do so showed that he already knew the answer. I hammered home the point that misrepresenting himself was wrong and an honor offense, and that colleges are interested in authenticity rather than heroism. In a few cases, these topics have been addressed effectively. But for the most part, it’s better to avoid subjects that could reflect poorly on your judgment and morals. After all, you don’t want colleges to think you’re someone they’d rather not have on campus. Your thesis statement is the main point of your essay. It is essentially one sentence that says what the essay is about. You should usually state your thesis in your introductory paragraph. Keep your research organized so it will be easy for you to refer back to. Another common area of concern is quotation marks. It's important to cite your sources with accuracy and clarity. Follow these guidelines on how to use quotes in essays and speeches. Start by writing the thesis statement at the top, and then write a topic sentence for each paragraph below that. This means you should know exactly what each of your paragraphs is going to be about before you write them. I told him that any college admissions officer would detect instantly that the story was not genuine. Editing for grammatical errors and spelling mistakes is fine, but don’t change the voice of the essay. If an essay is too “polished” it may seem inauthentic, creating confusion in the reader. By avoiding the topics listed above, you’ll ensure that your essay helps â€" instead of hurts â€" your chances of admission. Make sure that your essay is more than a recitation of the accomplishments, activities, and experiences already hashed out in the application. If your essay doesn’t present any new information, it will be dull and forgettable. If you really want to make an impression, let your personality shine through. The essay is supposed to reveal information that you haven’t had a chance to discuss elsewhere in the application.

3 Steps To Writing A Winning College Essay » The College Solutionthe College Solution

3 Steps To Writing A Winning College Essay » The College Solutionthe College Solution I strive to continue improving my ability to be comfortable with disagreement in order to learn more from my peers. I may not always send up agreeing with Emily, or other people I care about, but I should at least try to understand a different perspective. The rules for writing a good essay are no different. After you brainstorm, you’ll know what you want to say, but you must decide how you’re going to say it. Create an outline that breaks down the essay into sections. Avoid sorting through your existing English class essays to see if the topics fit the bill. If I completely disagree with their opinions, I use their counterargument to articulate a more potent version of my position. The value in telling my story is just as important as hearing another. I love group projects in school, where ideas and creativity flow between people. I adore the end of a cross country race when all the girls from different schools hug and laugh with one another. I cherish being on a soccer team, where the bond between my teammates and me is essential for achieving success. When he was home, he had a parenting style something like a drill sergeant. At the age of nine, I learned how to clear burning oil from the surface of water. My Dad considered this a critical life skillâ€"you know, in case my aircraft carrier should ever get torpedoed. Let your essay sit for a while before you proofread it. Approaching the essay with a fresh perspective gives your mind a chance to focus on the actual words rather than seeing what you think you wrote. Start with your main idea and follow it from beginning to end. These pieces rarely showcase who you are as an applicant. The single most important part of your essay preparation may be simply making sure you truly understand the question or essay prompt. Appreciating uniqueness and connecting to different characters augments my own maturity and depth. Despite our differences, Emily and I have a healthy relationship in which we are able to learn from one another; the acknowledgement of our individual value allows us to avoid bitterness. When you're finished writing, you need to make sure that your essay still adheres to the prompt. Take time to understand the question or prompt being asked. The duality of the periodic tableâ€"the cold, hard numbers mixed with the reassuring, steadfast patternsâ€"has manifested itself in every aspect of my life. The world of coding presented itself to me as a way to bring the patterns I loved into the world in a way I could see them. Heavenly Essays by Janine W. Robinsonâ€"This collection from the popular blogger behind Essay Hell includes a wider range of schools, as well as helpful tips on honing your own essay. These essays are answers to past prompts from either the Common Application or the Universal Application, both of which Johns Hopkins accepts. CollegeXpress has everything you need to simplify your college search, get connected to schools, and find your perfect fit. This forces you to read each word individually and increases your chances of finding a typo. Reading aloud will also help you ensure your punctuation is correct, and it’s often easier to hear awkward sentences than see them. The more I remain nonjudgmental, the more my own beliefs develop and become nuanced. I have nothing to lose when I listen to my peers. I extract small pieces of their perspectives in order to enhance my own. Only then can I create a bridge that connects two different ideas, allowing for a more harmonious world. I grew up scaling the tallest trees I could find, desiring the highest vantage point. Growing up in the uniformly flat state of Florida, I was limited in my upward journey. Luckily, I rekindled my love for climbing in high school, and now cannot imagine life without it.

Dreading Writing Your College Application Essay? Tips From The Pros

Dreading Writing Your College Application Essay? Tips From The Pros More than anything, officers want to get to know you through your essay. You will end up sounding like every other applicant. You still need to present a well-written and carefully-considered essay, of course. If you know writing is somewhat of a weakness, have teachers, guidance counselors, friends, and family members read it and offer feedback. In smaller to mid size colleges they are certainly read, at least by two readers, and all Honors College essays are read. You can be certain that you did not spend all that time crafting the perfect essay in vain. How much weight a college puts on that portion of the application may differ. It is always worth an applicant’s while to write as strong an essay as possible, but its role in the process is a variable one. This is a tough question to answer as there is no way to know for sure. At a smaller school, it is more likely that the admissions officers will have the time to look at each essay, whereas at huge universities it would seem less likely. In terms of how many officers read each essay, that also varies from school to school. Some read regionally which means that one officer reads all the applications from all the high schools in a certain geographic region. Do you seem like someone who will fit in at the school? If you’re a renegade, then you probably won’t be happy at a more conservative campus. If you spend your essay writing about how much you love city life, you might not enjoy the slower pace of a college town. Especially if you are applying to a college that is far away from your home, the admissions officers want to see that you will be happy in both the academic environment and the location of the school. The main character is developed with depth and detail. Great essays are memorable because they distinctively portray their subjects without relying on clichés or formulaic topics. They convey on paper a sense of who the writer is as a person. After reading a great essay, I feel as if I have just had an enlivening conversation with the person even though it was entirely on paper. We haven’t all pulled babies from burning buildings or sailed around the world in a catamaran. Still not convinced that your essays are important? Let’s look deeper into the four main reasons that colleges require essays as part of the application process to see why they’re worth your time and attention. Some campuses have a pool of reviewers, while others are more specific. For a small college, there is a chance that you essay will only be read by a couple of individuals, but for a larger school it can make its way through several hands before being put down. While essays don’t weigh as much as grades or course selection, if you are applying test-optional or to a smaller school, more attention will be given to this section of the application. when admissions season started, it is not easy to read hundreds of essay during a short period of time. in the mean time, between 5-10 min is actually reasonable for a good read. there are different stages for the admissions process. normally essay does not read more than one person unless the vote must proceed and admission counselors decided to work hard for the students they like the most. I cannot make that claim, but I do believe that most of them are read. The role of the essay varies greatly from school to school. A lot of it depends upon the selectivity of the school. Tell a story from your own life that shows something unique about you. The story that your friends perk up to listen to- that’s the stuff that makes for great app essays. Just how many readers digest your words can vary as well. Still, don’t waste the opportunity to put another dimension on your application file. Usually one to two admissions officers read an essay. Some colleges will choose only to look at your GPA, Course Rigor and SAT/ACT scores. If you GPA and Test Scores are high enough, they may not feel that and essay is necessary. However, colleges will generally understand that your talents lie elsewhere. However, you should still aim to write a strong essay, especially if your dream colleges are highly-selective.

The College Essay

The College Essay In September we published a blog post that provided a basic framework for how to write a killer college essay â€" and offered tips on how to incorporate the Outward Bound experience into the application. This month, we’re giving you another nudge â€" and a slightly different perspective from yet another expert. For most students, it takes about 10 hours to write a good college essay. Many students write essays that are too clichéd or shallow, or too impersonal and uninformative. For some students, the essay itself will be cause for rejection. Even if you have had such an experience, don’t write about it. These types of pieces can come off negatively, and sometimes a teenager’s perception of a life changing event is much different than that of a college admissions reader. I once had a student who wrote about how he observed a water droplet while on vacation. This seemingly insignificant event caused him to think about why he loved art and philosophy over science and math. Quite simply, the best college essays make a personal statement and give admissions officers a window into your soul. If you’re applying to schools that request supplemental essays or do not accept the Common Application, you may have several different essays to write. Contrary to popular belief, students should not write about a horrible life event that changed their life forever. The fact is that most of us have not had such a life changing situation before the age of 18 (so don’t make one up either!). Shared by admissions staff, these essays stand out, they say, because the student voices shine, helping the school get to know them. U.S. News has compiled several college essay examples that helped students get into school. One common essay mistake is telling a particular story without answering the prompt. Since many colleges allow students to choose from a few different prompts, addressing the topic of your choice is an easy way to tell your story within the constraints of an essay. When writing, consider the admissions officer who will read your essay. Take this opportunity to expand on your application -- but remember to re-read your essay with the prompt in mind. We’re experts at helping students craft stellar college admission essays. From coming up with ideas to organizing your thoughts to drafting and revising, our writing tutors know how to help you create top college essays to boost your chance of admission at your dream school. You can help students by sharing these four college essay myths and facts before they write their essays and click send to the schools of their dreams. Evaluating a college essay, much like any piece of writing, is highly subjective. Two people might both like the same movie or song, but for totally different reasons. The problem is when a student seeks so many opinions from trusted adults. It's highly unlikely that any of these people have actually read college essays before â€" and certainly not as a member of a college admissions committee. Even if I happened to read another essay about being a drummer in the marching band, there’s no way I could confuse it with this one. These details belong only to this student, and they show us her leadership qualities rather than just telling us. With a January 1 application deadline racing toward us, now is a great time to be brainstorming, creating, polishing and revising those essays. Contact us to learn more about our college essay service. If you’re just getting started with your college essay, here is some advice on getting into the college essay mindset. “aerial view of graduates wearing hats” by Good Free Photos on UnsplashEarly admissions applications are due next month so high school seniors all over the country are writing their college essays. My niece is working on hers and that got me thinking about the college essay I wrote 33 years ago. The coronavirus has upended the lives of many students, so it's natural that some high school juniors plan to write about this topic in their college essays. But a few simple tips, some introspection and insight into what admissions officers are looking for can help ease the pressure. News has compiled several college essay examples that helped students get into school.

Crafting An Unforgettable College Essay

Crafting An Unforgettable College Essay Sometimes, a sense of humor doesn’t hurt, if it’s applicable to your subject and/or that moment in your life. A natural understanding of narrative structure â€" not the prefabricated “academic paper” structure â€" and a great story to tell. Are they essential to conveying the key messages? Doing so is unnecessarily redundant and can limit your ability to take a more expansive approach with your essay. Find creative solutions to conveying ownership of your thoughts. Don’t use the word “I” to start sentences any more than is necessary. You don’t need to remind the reader at the start of each sentence. You don’t have to solely focus on academics, although you should make them a main point of your essay. You can also include traditions, extracurricular activities, and the campus itself. Prestige and rankings are another topic to avoid. Yes, Yale is very prestigious and consistently ranks among the top three universities in U.S. Your familial connections may also factor in, but they shouldn’t be your sole reason for applying. Don’t worry so much that other people may have “better” stories than you. Everyone’s life is full of story, narrative, and it’s up to you to tell these stories in compelling ways. It can be one you’ve already written, one that responds to a different prompt, or one of your own design. Common App has announced that the essay prompts will remain the same as the 2019â€"2020 essay prompts. Finally, when you think you are finished with your essay, dare to make it great! First, attempt to reduce your word count by 10%. Doing so will force you to examine every word, thought and article of punctuation. Enter your mobile number or email address below and we'll send you a link to download the free Kindle App. Then you can start reading Kindle books on your smartphone, tablet, or computer - no Kindle device required. Find all the books, read about the author, and more. You only have 650 words for the Common App essay. Even if you are not able to reduce by 10%, making an honest attempt at it will make your essay better. Don’t worry about the word count until you have developed a complete draft. Word and character counts can be paralyzing if you allow them to dictate your approach to an essay topic. Then, take a step back in order to gain perspective. As you begin to edit and refine the idea, challenge your word choices. Done well, it can lift your presentation from the mundane and safe to the provocative and insightful. But what’s so wrong with having a wide range of interests? This is inherently not a bad, nay, it’s a good thing for a college applicant. This book gives good examples of narratives, but does not go into detail as to how to write a narrative. Finally, if you can find pretty much all the reasons you give through a cursory look at the website or brochure, that’s a sign that it’s time to dive a little deeper. The “Why this college” or “Why us” prompts are fairly common. Begin thinking about answers to the common application questions and review the pre-writing techniques. To identify the first steps to starting an essay. Demonstrate the synergy between yourself and the institution in response to the “Why do you want to come here? Reveal an awareness of instructional style and independent learning opportunities. Risk-taking is an interesting element of creative writing. Our mind is created to recall things in stories. You want to be memorable to the counselors who read your app.

The Only Four College Essay Writing Tips Youll Ever Need

The Only Four College Essay Writing Tips You'll Ever Need They turn the dial, just as they have hundreds of times before, until a soft, metallic click echoes into my eardrum and triggers their unconscious stop. I exultantly thrust open my locker door, exposing its deepest bowels candidly to the wide halls of the high school. The bright lights shine back, brashly revealing every crevice, nook, and cranny, gleaming across its scintillating, bare surfaces. On this first day of senior year, I set out upon my task. I procure an ordinary plastic grocery bag from my backpack. I could have easily chosen to spend my summer lazing about; in fact, my parents tried to persuade me into taking a break. Instead, I chose to do advanced molecular biology research at Stanford University. This challenge was so rewarding to me, while at the same time I had the most fun of my life, because I was able to live with people who shared the same kind of drive and passion as I did. My fingers know instinctively, without a thought. I strive to become fluent in Spanish; traveling the world is a dream of mine. Recently, I have discovered that I really like to code; I’m sure in the coming years I will explore things I didn’t know I was interested in. To a casual onlooker, this question may appear inconsequential in its hypothetical nature, but as they say; you are what you eat. Six months later, I step off the airplane to find myself surrounded by palm trees, with a view of the open-air airport. I chuckle to myself about the added bonus of good weather, but I know I have come to Palo Alto, California, with a much higher purpose in mind. I will spend six weeks here in my glory, not only studying and learning, but actually pursuing new knowledge to add to the repertoire of mankind. I have a fifteen-year-old sister and a two-year-old brother. We hope these essays inspire you as you prepare to compose your own personal statements. I am passionate about protecting the environment; reducing our effect on global-warming is of the utmost importance to me. I want to help those in need; people still don’t have access to clean water and I want to use my privilege to help change that. I wanted to immerse myself in my passion for biology and dip into the infinitely rich possibilities of my mind. This challenge was so rewarding to me, while at the same time I had the most fun of my life, because I was able to live with people who share the same kind of drive and passion as I do. This one shows a panoramic view of the city of Santa Barbara, California. Here, I recall spending six weeks in my glory, not only studying and learning, but actually pursuing new knowledge to add to the repertoire of mankind. My inclination towards the varied is not contained to my food habitsâ€"it is a recurring theme throughout my life. I regularly switch from my mom’s house to my dad’s. The most important thing to remember is to be original as you share your own story, thoughts, and ideas with us. I could have easily chosen to spend that summer the traditional way; in fact, my parents even tried to persuade me into taking a break. Instead, I chose to do molecular biology research at Stanford University.