essays Index
November 24, 2008
Dean Andrew Flagel examines recent questions on the Admissions.com Ask the Expert section, and gives his take. Is lying on an application okay? Is competitive admissions just media hype? And more.
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November 14, 2008
And now, some simple suggestions to round out my series on your admissions essay. 1) Do write multiple drafts, get help with reviewing your document, and proofread. Allow TIME for revisions and reflection. 2) Be especially careful of how your document cuts and pastes into online applications. 3) Keep the length UNDER the listed maximum. There are no points in this game for volume. 4) Use all the classic techniques of good writing: good organization, strong opening statement, strong conclusion.
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November 12, 2008
When the question is open ended ("Tell us about yourself"), stress levels seem to increase. Bear in mind that no one knows for sure what any individual reader will want or get from an essay. That being said, I suggest you try to include two main points: Why the school wants to have you there, and why you want to go there.
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November 10, 2008
Essays seem to cause a lot of stress. It seems strange to me, but the stress seems to increase when the topic is broader. When they ask about specific books youve read or people that influenced you, somehow that seems easier than the tell us about yourself questions. This seems especially odd since most applicants I met spend much of the day talking (texting, twittering) about themselves. It appears the transition from blog/facebook/phone to application is, to put it mildly, challenging.
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November 07, 2008
After all the stuff I shared about how college admissions committees function, you begin to get the idea that the essay isn't getting NEARLY as much attention as the stress levels on the subject would lead you to believe. That's mostly true, but the truth is you never know how much your essay might influence the decision, positively or negatively, so it's worth maybe a reasonable amount of stress.
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November 05, 2008
Once you're a senior, you start to get the feeling that most of the stuff that will be considered in your college application is increasingly out of your control. Your junior grades are already there for the world (the admissions world at least) to see. You've probably already taken the standardized tests at least once (if not several times), and you've settled on which extracurricular/community service/work/habits you're going to have.
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October 10, 2008
I've been answering questions that seem to be wildly misled about who actually reads your application. One site refers regularly to the ADCOMM -- admissions committee -- like it's some alien entity that always acts the same way, and not thousands of individuals. Questions like "how do admissions committees look at essays about my trip to Antarctica?" are almost as nutty as the answers: "ADCOMM's don't want to hear about your trips. They hear too many of those. Write about something else." Oh PLEASE. There is absolutely no way to predict how any one subject will be read.
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