Predator

I'm reading in all these Chances threads......"you have a great academic record and excellent ECs, just make sure you get stellar recommendations and an excellent essay"

Can someone PLEASE define an excellent essay?

bmwdan13

the problem is, they are completely subjective. just make sure that your essay is genuine (cliche, i know) and that it is original.

GroovyGeek

Defining an excellent essay is actually quite easy - it is about YOU. Not about your grandmother, 4 sisters, 3 brothers, or what great people mom and dad are.

Writing an excellent essay is difficult. One way to approach it is to ask yourself - if I could do anything for a while, what would it be - then write about it, explain why.

Here are a few that Tufts thought were exceptional:
http://admissions.tufts.edu/?pid=148

Some are actually quite poorly written from a stylistic and purely technical point of view, for example this one
http://admissions.tufts.edu/?pid=149

However, all of them are intensely personal, and this is what matters...

ses

The one you think is bad is actually very clever, perhaps better than the first one because of its originality.

ADad

Here is one approach, from UVa:

http://www.virginia.edu/undergradadm...gtheessay.html

moo.mike.moo

Does the essay necessarily need to be about only your good qualities?

ADad

The essay does not need to be only about your good qualities. In fact, a little self-criticism, a little honesty about oneself, is refreshing and adds to the credibility of the essay.

However, the essay should be thought of as a promotional piece designed to enhance your chances of admission to college. Therefore, its main thrust and its bottom line should be positive about you. If you suggest or give the impression that you aren't worthy of admission to college X, college X just might believe you.

lolabelle

The Tufts website has new essays up from the matriculating class of 2011.

aymyoonik

To me, an excellent essay is intelligent without being pretentious, original without being confusing. It has to make me be excited-- who is this person? Let me read more. When an essay's really good, I wanna read it 2 or 3 times afterwards, just to make sure the first time wasn't a fluke.

Hope that helps.

GroovyGeek

I never said it was bad, all I said is that from a purely technical point it's style is quite rough, as you would expect from the vast majority of 17-year olds who write those things. It is this roughness that screams "no parent meddling here" at me. I actually like it quite a lot, because it is original and personal, it tells about the human behind the writing.

Thanks for pointing this out, here they are, for those who have not seen them
http://admissions.tufts.edu/?pid=195

joecollegedad

adad said--

If you suggest or give the impression that you aren't worthy of admission to college X, college X just might believe you.


but would that at least be 'creative'?; would nt that be something they would not expect, one indicator of 'creative'?


This would be one of the those, 'maybe too risky' strategies -probably.

On the other hand, the unadulterated self promotion and institution- promotion seems to me... *nauseating*

Remember cool hand luke

....I'm writing my essay here, Boss!


Run with this -- I dare all ye applicants!

lynn4eva

what are some other links for college essays? i mean apart from like those essay sites, but from the actual unis, i was reading the ones from Tufts and they just captivated me.