Hi guys! I wanted to create a thread to share just ideas (not entire works) about essays that worked! I know that there are threads for sharing essay ideas, but the ideas shared here will be from those who actually were accepted to their respective colleges. A template we can use is:
College Accepted To:
- Essay 1:
- Essay 2:
- Comments:
Here is an example taken from Harvard’s 2016 EA Decisions Thread (http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/harvard-university/1253171-official-harvard-university-2016-early-action-decisions-thread-p4.html):
College Accepted To: Harvard
- Essay 1: "First was about my father who works hours as a busboy to help make our rent and can only express his feelings to me when inebriated and likewise, I can only express my gratitude for his hard work through my intense dedication to my schoolwork and Latin."
- Essay 2: "Second for supp was about my first experience at a certamen and how I initially found it hard to succeed as a one-person team but was able to overcome the atmosphere of intense intellectual apathy at my school to discover my identity as a classicist."
- Comments: Both were told in narrative form, Essay 1 made several people cry, Essay 2 might have been too long
I can add to this for the two EA schools I was accepted to.
College Accepted To: Georgetown University School of Foreign Service
Essay 1: Very detailed essay about the club I founded and my personal passion for the issue. It combined leadership with service.
Essay 2: Same as my common app essay, it was about my multicultural background and experience with a unique international project; I think it set me up really well for readers to see the connection between my cultural experience and my passion for IR.
Essay 3: For the third essay, SFS applicants had to talk about a global issue that matters to them. I discussed ISIS. I think this essay is the one that got me in, as I had a unique viewpoint based on doing far more research in this area than most of my peers, and it was a very factual essay.
College Accepted To: Lewis & Clark College
Essay 1: the “Why L&C” essay. I really captured the ethos of the school by detailing my intense passion to learn, about anything and everything. I also think I did a good job with demonstrating how I will involve myself in the community.
Essay 2: This supplement was about a time you engaged with diversity; I talked about giving a speech to my school. Written like an in-the-moment story.
@yonceonhismouth Wow, congrats! Those are definitely unique essays, and such awesome schools! Based on the creative ideas you’ve come up with for your essays, you’re sure to do well. Thanks for sharing here.