<p>I’ve seen a lot of people say “approach the application” correctly on these threads, but what does that really mean?</p>
<p>I might just be ignorant about this, but I can’t see that many variations on the image students want to present through the application. </p>
<p>Or does Columbia like something specific?</p>
<p>I think I said that twice on this board recently. Maybe it was all me lol.</p>
<p>Well, some books on college app essays are definitely more useful than others. Depending on who you speak to, you may get different answers. To get into the top schools, not only do you need to have great scores, grades, accomplishments, you also need to stand out from the pool. A lot of people who apply to top schools will have those “stats” that you have, so the best schools won’t take someone else instead of you b/c he has slightly higher stats. Colleges have institutional needs, meaning they need diversity and a student body that is interesting and where every student has something to offer. Therefore, it pays to be special (such as extraordinary accomplishments in one area, traveled around the world all your life, you went through a tragedy in childhood and how it shaped you). As smart as the Bill Gates of the world are, an institution filled with them wouldn’t be an interesting one right?</p>
<p>So show that through your essays. Write well, be creative but don’t just tell a pointless story just to show how creative you can be. Tell it to make a point about your character. </p>
<p>Schools may look for applicants that are a “fit.” In Columbia’s example, they may look for people who can handle the hustle and bustle of NYC through the application. You can research for those characteristics of the school and show them through your app.</p>
<p>Hope that helps</p>