Chances + International Studies question?

mlop1991
Tue, 08 Jul 2008 23:33:17 +0000

In terms of essays, my “Why Columbia?” essay would probably be about how the atmosphere at Columbia made me feel at home and at ease with myself intellectually while not being pretencious or snotty, which is what I was a bit afraid it would be. I don’t really remember what other essays there are (Columbia does common ap + supplement, right?), but I’m assuming there’s some sort of a “pick your own”/“random” one, which is the one that would showcase my personality best.

For that, I wrote one earlier this year about how I get annoyed with high school students who try really hard to be miserable, and how when I was working at my local grocery store the customers would act the same way. The real point of the essay is how much some random woman at the grocery who told me she was “simply MARVELOUS” when I asked her how she was, inspired me, and how I try to not be ashamed of being happy or, as she put it, marvelous. It’s sorta in the style of a NPR “This I Believe” essay, and its a bit more casual than the average essay, but I think it showcases me well, and it’s something that I DO believe strongly in.

In terms of rec letters, I think they’ll be good? I can think of a mix of teachers that I have pretty strong personal relations with that I had junior year, so I’ll probably get them to write me one. I’d like to get my speech coach to write one as well, but he’s not a teacher at my school, so I’m not entirely sure how that’ll go.

I have no idea how this post became so long-winded :x sorry bout that.