piglet0821

So... basically i came here like last august
my english is pretty good because I lived in Washington
for about a year when I was like 8 or something and picked
up some english back then..

I was going to write about coming here
as a 16 year old instead of as a young kid or a baby
and how everything was different and how it changed me,
but the more i wrote about it the more typical my essay became..
if i were an admission officer i would definitly be like
'omg this is the 100th time an asian kid wrote about coming to the us.'

but i mean it really is a big deal you know
but at the same time, i don't want to be too typical or
boring or whinny..

any ideas? thanks.

ps. it's so sad how me and my friends were like all sitting and
trying to find someone close who died... and we are like
god i can't believe no one died!!!
this whole "significant" event thing is driving me crazy

Taggart

>.<

Fail. Utterly.

rmadden15

Write about something ordinary and make it extraordinary. Describe your room, your locker, something that indirectly reflexs who you are.

But, if you can make a "coming into the U.S." story unique, then go fo it!

Anonymous91

^ uh.. i wouldn't right about your room, extremely cliche.

asdfjkl1

If you do something well, it doesn't matter how clique it is. But, overestimate how clique you are--always.

CDN_dancer

I'd say try to focus on one specific event. If you're writing about coming to the US, focus on one event (maybe during your travel? Or something that happened after you arrived?) Topics like immigration are just so broad, that unless you narrow it down, it is very difficult to go indepth and "reveal something about yourself." It's better to pick a narrow topic and discuss in depth, than to skim the surface of a broad topic.

Junine

I think you could incorporate the idea about coming to the U.S., but not exactly about it. For example, you could talk about a certain community service event or dance or whatever event that happened while you were in the U.S. Then you could take that event and incorporate how it changed your personality, etc. since you came to the U.S. and what you learned from it.

Just try not to give the same generic "I struggled because I came to the U.S. last year and this is how I got over it". Your essay may have that touch, but you want to reveal more than that. They will already know that you have immigrated to the U.S. a year ago. Now you need to talk about yourself.

sexycani

If you like politics at all, why don't you write about a cause that interests you? The best way to avoid a typical "Asian" essay is to avoid "Asian topics" entirely. Or if you are going to write about coming into the US, try to make your essay as concrete as possible with examples of your life in the US unique to you.

a778999

By Washington do you mean DC?

If you're a Redskins fan, you can write about the 2007 season--the death of Sean Taylor, Todd Collins leading us to a playoff run, and in the long run, how Joe Gibbs's second coaching tenure turned the team around in terms of morale, chemistry, and philosophy.

this would've been the perfect essay for me as a die-hard Skins fan, but I'm already in college

jkterrapin

a778999- i really don't think that essay would work at all. Because seriously, how are any of us directly related to Sean Taylor. We weren't part of the experience, although we enjoyed it. But it really doesn't reveal anything about a person's personality other than that they like the skins.

And as junine stated, talk about something else, a small experience, maybe how it is a microcosm of your whole journey to the U.S. and how it made you who you are.

lexmex1546

hmmm you're right in wanting to appear less cliche cause that is pretty much what it will seem like

i got into HYPSM, so I like to think I have an idea of how the essay should sound

however, I used *********.com and they literally sit w/ you on the phone for about 40 min and pick your brain until they find something that would work as an essay for you

I highly suggest them... i get into every school i applied to and am glad to say that i will be attending stanford this fall

cuapplecider9

Write about your experience of coming to the U.S. as if there is an insect or a fly on the wall that constantly follows yourself around. Add dialogue and make it interesting. the insect is telling your tale and how important the experience is to you. Use your imagination

trewsaz

address the typical asian essay. say stuff like "i could tell you how hard it was for an asian like myself to adjust to american society, but that would be too cliche. instead i will talk about......."