I am a new member of this space. I wanted a few opinions on things.
Context:
I think my overall profile is at least competitive for most colleges:
3.88/4.25 GPA (unweighted/weighted)
1540 SAT
EC: 1) Founder of a club of parallel interest to major
2) Win at major hackathon
3) Some cool projects with users (approx 1000 users)
4) Created a free initiative for young students to learn to code (volunteering)
Intended Major: CS + Entrepreneurship/Business
I feel that my ECs aren’t amazing but decent. I came from a different country in my sophomore year, and adapting to the new environment and level of academics (it was a very competitive high school) meant that it took me a while to start on ECs. I tried doing things that I actually liked.
Question:
I have been told that essays are going to be a make-or-break factor for my profile (this is true for most people, but it is more so for me as a high school transfer?).
I want to write the best essays possible. The problem is that my writing style is very bland sadly. Writing is definitely my weakest attribute. From what I have been told, my somewhat standard profile doesn’t help either. I have been researching ways to improve the essays to convey my points better and make them brighter. The recommendations/resources I have found:
Grammarly (really helpful for grammar)
Peer Review (it’s ok, trying to find people who can do this better cause I know will be really helpful)
Cogssay (Small platform I saw on Reddit but actually really helpful for ideation and feedback)
College Confidential (Here I am )
Q1) What do you think about my profile and my chances at Stanford, Northwestern, CMU, UCB, and Gatech (my target/dream schools )
Q2) How should I make my writing better? Any other recommendations for tools/resources? Anyone who faced the same issue of having boring/blunt essays? How did you overcome them?
Q3) Anyone willing to help here? Sorry, if this was not the right way to ask.
Thanks a lot for any help or suggestions.
Hope we get through this process together and get into what we want.
What you view as bland might be perceived as being forthright, honest, or even refreshing. You don’t have to write like a novelist to have a good essay. Don’t put unrealsitic pressure on yourself and assume you need plenty of adjectives and adverbs.
It’s helpful to start with a topic rather than trying to write creatively at this point.
I’m a stranger. What should I know about you? What can you show me that helps me understand you? For example, are you curious? Tell us about a time your curiosity took over. Or find another characteristic about yourself and a time you showed it.
@nag2024 you’re here on CC. Is there a reason to focus on another website? It’s ok to mention, but don’t link it and don’t promote.
I don’t think an essay is make or break for everyone. You can aim for neutral: in other words do no harm. The main thing to avoid in that regard, in my view, is bragging.
A few essays are outstanding and a few essays are sub-par but the vast majority are in the middle .
By all means use the volunteer readers here on CC . Be careful not to get input from too many sources!
That is interesting. Once my essays are a little more ready, I’ll definitely be getting community feedback on them. I found the same resource while going through the website. Thanks.
I have a few topics in mind and have dumped words on the idea and topic. Will formulate it a bit and then go from there.
As for the focus on other websites, I won’t post any links or promote them. I don’t want to share other websites actively, either. But if I found something useful, I thought a forum to help students would like that.
Thanks a lot for your advice. I think I will get a lot of use out of CC.
I think the people who mentioned that said it was because:
I joined US high school as a transfer, and sharing my experience adapting might impress while also justifying my lack of phenomenal extracurricular activities.
I have stats that are on par with most of the elite candidates. What remains is showing my EC’s and experiences in the best light.
At the top universities, people care a LOT about the essays.
Being STEM doesn’t mean people care much less about essays. At least according to some seniors (now college students) and online resources.
That’s an interesting perspective. I will make sure that I don’t harm my applications. Since I have time and not much can be done to improve them now besides essays, I am trying to find ways to improve them as much as I can.
Also, I appreciate you pointing out that I shouldn’t be bragging, and I will take that into account. Need to talk about my achievements but also not overdo it. Some input online will definitely help with that.
CC is awesome for its volunteer essay readers. It is a good resource that, as I have said multiple times now, I will definitely use.
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