How truly important are your essays?

OTTO_thefriendlypony
Sat, 17 Feb 2018 01:10:11 +0000

Good question that I think is best answered by current college students, after all, they just went through the college application process. Here are what some college students have to say about the essays. PM me if you want to ask them specific questions.

“In my grade of 55 people, 12 people applied to Harvard early action. Several of them were people who had higher grades and higher standardized test scores. I remembered feeling insecure because I knew that, while my grades and test scores were high, they were not the highest. Ultimately, however, Harvard ended up accepting 3 of us. We all had high, but not perfect, grades and test scores. More importantly, we all had interesting and unique passions—one was a dedicated athlete who led her teams to victory, another was an avid volunteer who was passionate about conserving the environment, and I was the talented writer and editor-in-chief who had a love of Latin and ancient Greek. After watching everyone in my grade go through the college application process, I slowly began to realize that the singularly most important thing is passion—a passion for something, absolutely anything, as long as it is so strong and so genuine that it shines through every facet of your application. “

Nian H., studying Government @ Harvard College, John Harvard Scholar, 2018

“The most difficult part of the application process for me was writing and revising the essays,
especially the ones focused on why I was interested in that school specifically. My problem was not that
I didn’t have reasons for wanting to go to those particular schools, but more that I chose schools for
similar reasons, and thus these essays felt very similar. Additionally, I found it challenging to find schools
with programs specifically for what I wanted to do in the arts that also had rigorous academics, so I
became well-versed with various college search engines.”

Deb K., studying Arts @ The University of Chicago, 2021

“The most challenging part of the application process was figuring out my most important story. The point of the college essay is to demonstrate to the university not only that you could be at the school, but that you belong at the school. The applicant is tasked with displaying which qualities they possess that the incoming class would be incomplete without. You must be interesting, but not off-putting, and not just accomplished, but distinctive. The essay is persuasive in nature, an opportunity to tell the school why your matriculation would be mutually beneficial. For me, that meant reflecting on and dissecting moments of my life to find their hidden meaning and weaving together a story that was both appealing and original.”

Leesa Q., studying Psychology and Government @ Harvard College, 2018

“The most challenging part of my application process was not settling. It’s hard to center yourself and remind yourself just how crucial those ‘4-5 months’ of the application period are. It is much easier to just submit your first draft and presume for it to be ‘good enough’. Additionally, I found that sending my essays around for revisions was hard. As the amount of criticism I was getting on work I was proud of, was hurtful. Yet in hindsight without having been pushed in the ways that I was I would not have reached the heights that I have. Thus, I would say the most challenging aspect of my college-apps were 1. not selling myself short, and 2. dealing with the fact that I had so much growth ahead of me.”

Sara A., studying Philosophy @ UCLA, 2018

“The most challenging part of the college application process was finding the time to make sure each and every application was as perfect as it could be. I wanted to make sure my essays shed light on my personality while also fitting with the values of the schools I was applying to. I wanted to make sure I chose the best people to be my recommenders who could really write about my character well. I wanted to make sure that I was giving myself time to take breaks from the application process in order to clear my thoughts; this way, I could come back with a fresh mind and more put together ideas. Unfortunately, there was never enough time to do all of this. Because this was so, I chose one school I wanted to go to the most, and spent a majority of my time putting all the effort I could into that school , which was Duke.”

Nurah K., studying Chemistry and Neuroscience on a Pre-Med track @ Duke University, 2021