<p>My son is applying to 8 universities and is down to his two last essays that are both of the “What are your reasons for choosing…” type. Sure I know that he can show that he is informed about the programs and that they match his interests, etc. But, I feel like this will result in an essay that is kind of predictable. Of course the programs in question and the people who read those essays are more knowledgable about their offerings than a high school senior could ever be. So what are some other ways to approach this prompt? How can my son take control of his response? Thanks in advance.</p>
<p>momfromtexas,</p>
<p>In the Swarthmore college section, Interesteddad has made a very good suggestion - to go through the FAQ section for the college, before writing the essay. If he can talk to some current or ex-students that would be great.</p>
<p>Also individual college discussions here in the CC might help. The current site is new, therefore not many discussions available, and for some colleges they are yet to even begin any. The old CC discussion archives however have lots of discussions on very many colleges. You can access the old site here:
<a href=“http://www.collegeconfidential.com/cgi-bin/discus/show.cgi?70/41651[/url]”>http://www.collegeconfidential.com/cgi-bin/discus/show.cgi?70/41651</a></p>
<p>Has he visited either of these schools? DD used small incidents from her visit to capture the aspects of the college that appealed to her (Swarthmore, too, in this case). I actually think that many of the essays from accepted students sound very similar, and wouldn’t worry too much about that. I think the readers are looking for people who haven’t done their homework at all, or who want to go to a school solely because of location or prestige, AND for the truly exceptional essay, someone with unusual or very program specific reasons for attending a particular school, that might push a borderline application over. Swarthmore for example - most kids want to go there for about 5-6 specific reasons (academic challenge, liberal atmosphere, Quaker/community service bent, diverse student body) most essays are going to be variations on those themes.</p>
<p>I agree with Cangel’s comments above. My daughter applied to Kenyon ED, and this school is very big on admitting students who really want to attend. Kenyon has 3 questions in its supplements asking how you learned of the school, to describe your visit (if you visited), and how your goals etc. match with the school. My daughter included some specifics about academic programs and ECs she is interested in, but also some personal details from her visit that helped her decide that Kenyon was the school for her. Even if the student hasn’t visited, they can probably find some specific details from the website and viewbook that apply to something unusual of interest to them. I agree that most essays will probably be variations of common themes, and you shouldn’t fret about it being totally orignial too much.</p>
<p>You need to remember the “Why [College]” essays are about the applicant, not the school…the admissions officers know all about the school…they need to know about the applicant…tie the two together…</p>
<p>you know, my D wrote about why she really wanted to attend u of C and CMU…she didn’t look into the catalogues, per se. She just went to visit prior to applications, her interests being sparked by the flood of neverending mail that came to the door and two bros who had friends or knew of friends who went there and had some positive remarks. She did not get into U of C…she was a little miffed…but really seemed to have a handle on the type of kid that went to CMU and portrayed that in her essays…somewhere…she knew this was an environment she could be happy in…and surprisingly, so did they. She has not second-guessed herself for a second. I still believe that water seeks its own level. I feel like a broken record. If you have to research why you want to go to a particular school…I question.</p>
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<p>I think that depends on where the particular college is on the student’s pecking order. After all, if there were more “passion” about the sixth choice, it probably wouldn’t be the sixth choice.</p>
<p>My children used very specific examples from visits, viewbooks, discussions with professors/interviewers. I think this is probably one of those “tip” essays, and that is why I like them - they can truly indicate whether a student has a sincere interest in attending the school.</p>
<p>I would definitely agree with futureadcom. Say something regarding why this particular school would be a great fit for you using examples that are unique to the school. Many schools can give you the opportunity to “learn and grow” but what specific programs or aspects of this school make it so that you’d like to attend.</p>