when supplemental essays ask about your favorite book or favorite movie or favorite music or something along those lines, what are some approaches in order to increase your chances of admission into the college and/or to show interest in a particular field?
bunp
If you think that someone can hand you a formula to increase chances you are mistaken. If I had that formula I’d be selling it for starters. However as soon as something becomes a formulaic it becomes cliche and common. Try to think for yourself. You want your essays to show you and your interests and how your mind works. And your essays about a book don’t need to show interest in a particular field.
Take a loot at the essay forum, there are some tips pinned at the top.
@BrownParent I understand there’s no formula and I’m not the most acclimated with the admissions process in the realm of essays… I just wanted to know if there were any “do” (ex. relate it to your major) or “do nots”…
thannks
I think relating it to your major can get a bit contrived. Also colleges know that kids change their majors. If you already have ECs that points to interest in a certain area, that speaks for itself. You don’t need to keep hammering it in, You can show other dimensions, or something related.
@BrownParent I dont really have my ECs pointing towards a certain area, so thanks for the advice. i really appreciate that.
Do give an honest answer. Not the answer that will make you seem the most intelligent, or cultured, or passionate about a certain topic. The major-related works may be contrived, but if that’s your favorite book, movie, etc., I still say you should at least try it out. Especially because I think the arts relate to people on a deeper level than just surface interests, so there might be 100 movies about the brain, but only one resonates with the experiences you’ve had.
I think the only exception I can think of is very inappropriate / controversial stuff (e.g. Fifty Shades of Grey, Human Centipede). I can only imagine what that would convey to adcoms, lol. A half-exception might be movies meant for younger children, although I’m sure if you articulate it the right way (not just “I like this movie because I love dogs, and this was really funny”), you could still write about it without sounding immature. I myself wrote one supplement about Kung Fu Panda 2, haha.