<p>My commonapp essay is about my struggle with reconciling the two different cultures I belong to. I submitted it to all my schools, scrolled down the Rice supplement, and found… oops, this is a cultural essay too! “unique life experiences” and “cultural traditions”. I already talked about those!</p>
<p>So, what approach should I take? Should I simply elaborate on what I’ve already talked about? Should I go for more eclectic things like intellectual diversity and my personality? Are they looking for a straightforward approach or something more creative and a little less information-dense?</p>
<p>What approach did you guys take?</p>
<p>Mine is about my experiences with racism–I guess the interest there is that I’m a white person living in Texas. It’s a unique look at things, I guess.</p>
<p>I ended up writing mine in a pretty straightforward way about my culture and political/philosophical leanings, mostly focusing on culture. I kept it light hearted and kind of humorous, and then I explained in my Why Rice that I’m applying because I want to go somewhere diverse and completely different from my hometown and yet still welcoming and warm. I’m a Washington State girl… maybe that’ll give me a regional boost? I don’t how many Pacific Northwest applicants Rice gets.</p>