Yale, Class of 2009

ThisIsCrazy
Thu, 12 May 2005 01:56:37 +0000

You know how the admissions officers add little handwritten notes to acceptance letters at many colleges, as a way to woo admitted students? All of my schools’ notes had to do with my essay. But I guess it’s not just a matter of form, although that was a very, very tricky part, it was also very much a matter of content. I like to think I got into Yale because I worked my ass off despite facing the kind of adversity from early childhood that most of my peers in the U.S. have never dreamed of, and I made myself one of those shiny, perfect applicants even with extenuating circumstances. I just had to convey the magnitude of the sheer hard work and the passion I put into making something of myself, and it was pretty hard putting that into an essay. Guess it worked.

That doesn’t mean you’re screwed if you were lucky enough to be born into a regular, middle class, suburban etc. American family. Work your ass off and work TOWARDS something, towards some kind of distant life goal or just to be someone, to be able to change things… and then TELL the admissions committee. Let them know how much you care, put your soul into it. Make yourself a real person, not a statistic, so they can envision you, so they want to meet you.