<p>The Common App is officially out! Who started working on it? I know I did!</p>
<p>I saw on the Harvard EA thread they had an idea of each applicant posting their stats if they chose. I don’t know if that is an idea or not. On one hand it’s not a good idea because some applicants would feel self-conscious after seeing other’s stats, and there’s nothing that can be done to change other’s stats so why look? On the other hand, it’s nice to see who you’re applying with. If you guys consider this a good idea, we should create a separate thread specifically for that purpose so other’s don’t have to look if they don’t want.</p>
<p>As a current student, I recommend against this. Feeling self-conscious if you have lower scores is not helpful at this stage of the game, and if you have good scores, you probably already know that they are good. Scores are not everything and plenty of people with lower scores are accepted (plenty with high scores are rejected as well). You need as much confidence as you can get to really write stellar essays and pursue your EC’s with conviction in your last year of high school. </p>
<p>Please don’t post your stats, chances are you’ll end up freaking each other out
and possibly scaring off other people who are considering applying. Obviously you need some base line stats to be competitive, but after that you’re all unique so trying to compare subjective stats to those of others will be pointless. My advice, as somebody who regrets having spent Senior year freaking out about apps and the “competition”, is to please focus on school work, extra curriculars and just every day life. Enjoy your last year of high school and don’t try to measure yourself against anybody else.</p>
<p>Does anyone have an opinion on whether writing the “arch-nemesis” essay about the town that I live in would work since it isn’t an actual person.</p>
<p>@RonBurg: I think that would be a cool spin on the question. Think of it this way: the admissions officer is reading thousands of essays on how X character is Y character’s nemesis or whatever and then he/she gets to your essay and BAM it’s about an inanimate object but an object that can also be seen as alive (how many times have cities been described as “buzzing with life”? Many times.). Beyond that, recall the classic conflicts students are taught in their English classes: man vs. man, man vs. nature, man vs. himself, and man vs. society. I don’t know how exactly your town has been your arch-nemesis (maybe it’s the people/community or maybe it’s the architecture/layout) but it is a type of conflict and thus, a neat take on the question. So, go for it!</p>
<p>Thanks amityandco, and I’m planning on writing about how my town has been holding me back and its lack of… well everything (opportunities, diversity, people, paved roads etc.). The graduates from my school have been very unimaginative in their college choices; half go to a local community college, half go to a small local university and I don’t want to be like either of them.</p>
<p>Hey guys, do you think that uchicago would value wittiness in the supplemental essays or something more seriously intellectual? I’m having trouble deciding which one because a witty essay seems more natural for me (I always joke around) but it seems like many people are writing serious essays</p>
<p>Write the witty one that’s more you. The essays aren’t meant for you to show off your intellect, they’re meant to express who you are. I wrote about the Play-Doh to Plato prompt and talked about baking cookies with my family, staining my table from Play-Doh, and how Plato got the nickname Plato from his wrestling coach. The only time I talked about philosophy was when I said Plato played with his words like Play-Doh. Just have fun, be yourself, and write!</p>
<p>@texvic: Maybe consider incorporating both? Being witty is nice, but it is always good to come up with a higher message in your essay, and that of course involves intellect. Does that make sense?</p>
<p>I wrote about pizza under the pose your own question prompt. Specifically, how I like my pizza (extra cheese please). My essay didn’t have any hint of intellect, unless you can somehow count comparing a bad pizza to a Transformers movie and a good pizza to the Godfather. Just write in the style that comes the most naturally to you, if that means a heavy emphasis on wit then so be it. It could even work in your favor, sometimes these people need a breather from existential essays about the meaning of life and the cosmos.</p>
<p>Sometimes silly things that are a waste of time are valuable and cherished later on. Like the imaginations we all had as children, or the simplicity of making our own creations out of Play-Doh. The essay prompts aren’t meant to cause you stress, they’re meant to do the opposite. They give you a chance to write about anything, and everything, and the prompts are just simply supposed to be a part of your inspiration.</p>
<p>Sorry if this is obvious, but what are the requirements for the essays? As in, type font, size, double spaced or no double spaced? Or are there no requirements?</p>