<p>Hi,</p>
<p>I’m writing my common application essay/short answer and I’m having some difficulty choosing a topic. I have narrowed it down to a few:</p>
<p>1)Working and teaching in the slums at Mumbai, India. (Mostly my observations, what I learned, what I did, etc.)</p>
<p>2)Teaching fencing to younger children, the blind (yes, it is possible), and recovering cancer patients. (Mostly my observations, what I learned, what I did, etc.)</p>
<p>3) Fencing accomplishments/typical schedule (I don’t think this topic is as strong as the other three, but just threw it out there).</p>
<p>4) Working in an orphanage in Rabat, Morocco, and the success we have accomplished there. (Mostly my observations, what I learned, what I did, what we have accomplished so far, etc.)</p>
<p>My background: I’m a nationally (and hopefully soon internationally) ranked fencer, I volunteer at a fencing club in boston frequently over the summer. I have been fencing for almost seven years, and fence about 20 hours a week 10 months during the year. As far as community service work, the only experience I have with that is related to fencing (volunteer work), which I have done for the past four years. I have also made a community service trip to Morocco, which was successful (we are raising funds back at our school to pay for school supplies for an orphanage, I’m leading the fundraiser), and we hope to accomplish similar goals for our trip to India. </p>
<p>I was also wondering if it would be a bad idea to include fencing related topics in both the short answer and the essay, or should I do one community service response and one fencing related response. Hopefully these topics don’t come off as cliche because they are from the heart.</p>
<p>Any help is appreciated, thanks.</p>
<p>P.S. If you want a copy of the rough essay/short answer PM me and I’ll send it over when I am finished.</p>
<p>P.P.S. I’m also worried that these topics will tell more about what I did or have done, rather than give admissions officiers an idea of who I am.</p>