What Is Princeton Asking?

College Essays
1

<p>I just want to make sure I am understanding this right. Princeton’s essay topic is:
"In addition to the essay you have written for the Common Application, please write an essay of about 500 words (no more than 650 words and no less than 250 words). Using one of the themes below as a starting point, write about a person, event, or experience that helped you define one of your values or in some way changed how you approach the world. Please do not repeat, in full or in part, the essay you wrote for the Common Application.

  1. Tell us about a person who has influenced you in a significant way.
  2. “One of the great challenges of our time is that the disparities we face today have more complex causes and point less straightforwardly to solutions.” Omar Wasow, Assistant Professor, Politics; Founder, Blackplanet.com This quote is taken from Professor Wasow’s January 2014 speech at the Martin Luther King Day celebration at Princeton University.
  3. “Princeton in the Nation’s Service” was the title of a speech given by Woodrow Wilson on the 150th anniversary of the University. It became the unofficial Princeton motto and was expanded for the University’s 250th anniversary to “Princeton in the nation’s service and in the service of all nations.” Woodrow Wilson, Princeton Class of 1879, served on the faculty and was Princeton’s president from 1902–1910.
  4. “Culture is what presents us with the kinds of valuable things that can fill a life. And insofar as we can recognize the value in those things and make them part of our lives, our lives are meaningful.” Gideon Rosen, Stuart Professor of Philosophy, chair of the Council of the Humanities and director of the Program in Humanistic Studies, Princeton University.
  5. Using a favorite quotation from an essay or book you have read in the last three years as a starting point, tell us about an event or experience that helped you define one of your values or changed how you approach the world. Please write the quotation, title and author at the beginning of your essay."
    So they want me to take one of the five themes and talk about how a person, event, or experience made me look at the world in the way the theme does?</p>
2

<p>basically ya </p>

3

<p>Read prompt #5.
The other prompts (2-4) are giving you a quote to work from, you can use one of those or choose your own and answer as outlined in promt 5.
If you would rather choose a person than a quote (prompt #1), describe the person at the top of the essay and proceed from there.</p>

4

<h1>1) You would want to talk about a person who has been a positive role model in your life and has influenced you into contributing to your community. Picking someone who isn’t one of your parents would be a good idea.</h1>

<h1>2) In plain English: Modern day problems are complex. So you would need to talk about how you are involved in some type of group, club or organization that is working to solve a complex issue.</h1>

<h1>3) This one is really hard IMO. It’s similar to #2 expect now the issue is of national or global importance. You could go with patriotism such as training toward the olympics. The point is your issue and your contribution would have to be of nation significance and I don’t think most people are really doing stuff that important.</h1>

<h1>4) Again it is kind of like question #2 except this time related to culture.</h1>

<h1>5) The trick to this prompt is you need to pick the right quote. By right quote I mean a quote that showcases a trait or quality universities are looking for in students. If you picked something like resolving an issue it would be the same as #2, if you picked one relating to culture it would be like #4. For this reason you would be best choosing a theme that isn’t related to the other topics. Good choices would be a passion for learning, persevering through failure, and teamwork. To reemphasize the trap here is your topic has to be able something universities are looking for in students.</h1>