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defyingravity1
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Posted: Fri Mar 14th, 2008 03:49 am |
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| Does anyone have any tips on writing the Why College X essay?
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Northeastmom
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Posted: Fri Mar 14th, 2008 10:50 am |
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| My son had to write a couple of those. He read through a school's website and found something that interested in him and discussed that, and how he would participate and/or why "that thing" interested him, yada, yada. He let them know that he recognized that a particular school had something unique to offer that interested him (which also shows interest in that school, and seperates that school from other schools).
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Fireflyscout
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Posted: Fri Mar 14th, 2008 03:08 pm |
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| D went over her notes from her college visits and picked out something that seemed unique to that college, such as watching students climb the exterior of a particular building at Carleton, noticing all the great places she'd like to relax in at Hamilton, etc. Something that indicated she was familiar with the college and saw herself there.
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WestrnMom
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Posted: Fri Mar 14th, 2008 07:27 pm |
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You have to ask yourself what they are really asking? It's my interpretation that they want to know if a student is admitted, will that student attend? If so, then it should be written from the perspective that this is a school where the student already feels at home and will fit in, and is very likely to attend if given an acceptance.
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CarolynLawrence
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Posted: Sat Mar 15th, 2008 12:28 am |
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Here's my advice:
Tackling "Why This College?" Essays
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Northeastmom
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Posted: Sun Mar 16th, 2008 06:33 pm |
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| Carolyn, good advice, and exactly what my son did too. He was successful with respect to his admission results. He really used those websites and read about programs that really interested him, were unique to that school, and he showed them how he might contribute. He did pay attention to mission statements as well.
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ellenrch
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Posted: Mon Mar 17th, 2008 10:29 pm |
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| My son was midway through a "Why X College?" essay when he realized that he did not want to go there. Sometimes thinking those questions through can work in a different, but still helpful, way. Last edited on Mon Mar 17th, 2008 10:30 pm by ellenrch
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CarolynLawrence
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Posted: Tue Mar 18th, 2008 02:22 am |
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Ellenrch, same thing happened to my son. 
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InterestedDad
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Posted: Fri Jun 6th, 2008 05:00 am |
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Carolyn's advice is excellent.
Not to get next year's applicants all nervous, but I think this essay is probably the difference between getting accepted or not in many cases at Swarthmore. The Admissions Dean has twice volunteered the importance of this essay in interviews over the last several years.
Why? Because the essay reveals so much. Is the student right for the college? Is the college right for the student? Is the student interested enough to actually research what makes the college tick?
I've read quite a few of these essays. Successful ones are all over the board in terms of approach and style. But the one thing they all have in common is that they identify one or more essential characteristics defining the college culture and riff off that in some interesting way.
When my daughter sat down to think about hers, I asked her to name five people she had met on her overnight -- a couple of professors, a couple of students, a staffer, etc. Then, I asked her what was her most vivid impression of each meeting. The enthusiasm of the Chemistry chairman. The rousing debate in a literature seminar. The sense of community from an impromtu birthday celebration in the dorm. And so on and so forth. Basically, the five people she met served as an outline for the school's "pitch". So, there was her essay, pretty much writing itself.
My advice? If you really want to go to a school that asks this question, take it seriously.
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CardinalFang
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Posted: Fri Jun 6th, 2008 04:50 pm |
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When my son and I visited Macalester, while he was sitting in on a class I had a long conversation with an admissions officer. He stressed that Mac cares deeply about fit, and wants to see, in application essays, that the student has knows what Mac has to offer and wants to experience that.
The officer also said that while in previous years, Mac, being a less well known school, would get quite a few applicants who clearly had not researched the school and would not fit in, nowadays with so much information available on the net, Mac sees fewer and fewer applicants who haven't done a thorough search and don't seem like good fits for Mac. Our conversation was in April, just after acceptances had come out, and he mentioned a sad conversation he'd recently had with an applicant who had been denied. She thought she'd been rejected because Mac didn't think she was a fit. The officer had to gently explain that, no, she was a fit, but so were some more qualified applicants.
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CarolynLawrence
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Posted: Fri Jun 6th, 2008 05:35 pm |
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According to Reed's admissions, the "Why Reed" essay is one of the most important parts of the application, a true make or break. They also want to see that you understand what Reed is all about and have thought about whether Reed is right for you. My son said writing it was like proposing marriage to the girl of your dreams.
Last edited on Fri Jun 6th, 2008 05:45 pm by CarolynLawrence
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InterestedDad
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Posted: Sat Jun 7th, 2008 03:33 am |
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I think it's make or break at Swarthmore too -- at least among those who have gotten themselves into the "could be admitted" pile. The admissions Dean did an interview a few days after early decision acceptances the year my daughter was accepted. He volunteered how important the Why Swarthmore? essay was in reading applications and how a student who said "great academics, pretty campus, good location" was at a disadvantage compared to a student who rattled off specific people, places, programs, or whatever.
The acceptance rate among CC posters at Swarthmore has historically been through the roof. Double or more the overall rate. I think a big reason is that these kids are spending the time to learn the college and that permeates every line of their applications.
This is why, by the way, I think that wing n' a prayer applications to crazy reach schools can undermine a college application list faster than you can say, "uh, oh...I didn't get in anywhere". While you are off wasting your time and psychological capital applying to Harvard with a class rank barely in the top 10% and school newspaper as your big EC, somebody else is identifying attainable reaches as their top schools and putting the effort into winning applications. I figure each kid only has so many good applications in them!
If Reed is your school, put the effort into the Reed application right out of the gate.
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