Dear Sky3d,
College entry essays scare a lot of people. After all, acceptance to
college might determine the rest of your future, right? But there's no
need to get scared. There are *a lot* of tutorials to help you write
an essay, and after, when thinking of what college is all about - it's
about learning, achieving your goals, growing up. These are the kind
of things they also expect to see in an essay - someone who is able to
write a college essay, act like an adult and solve their problems, and
face research. In your answer to this essay you should demonstrate
these characteristics.
However, no disaster would happen if you mentioned what others view as
a "small event" (your father took you to the zoo when you were five)
and not something big (not everybody get to sell billion dollar
records before they're 20). Most of us are effected by "small" events
that shape our world-view and our lives - not only by "big events".
All you have to do is explain *why* this event matters to you.
When you get big questions - also in future college life - all you
have to do is simplify them. this can be done by thinking - first of
all and before you start writing - what the asker really wants. For
example, the question on "Describe the Japanese Economic System" would
be different when you study course on Japanese society and have to
analyse the economic facet of the Japanese society; or if you study
business administration. The second thing is to divide the "big"
question into smaller, edible, parts.
What does the asker want? You know what they want. You actually know
it better than I do, since you know also the answers to these
questions. They want an explanation of why you want to study in their
college, in their department, out of the thousands out there. They
want to know who you are. They want to know what's your goals in life.
They want to know what shaped your world-view.
How to answer such a question? First separate yourself several notes
or draft pages. One of them would be dedicated into inquiring "why I
chose the major/college/profession I want"; another to "what I want to
do with my life"; another to "how I am getting there". Write every
random thought on the subject. Than try to see if these points could
be enhanced into a well rounded idea. Not all of them would - you
might write 10 points on "why I chose" and choose only two.
Every and each of these notes should be divided into
- events that influenced that decision
- people and places that influenced that decision (I guess that if
you're applying for animal science, an animal could be an influencing
factor as well :0)
- experiences I went through to arrive to this decision/goal
- my plans for the accomplishment of that idea.
Another strategy, about each of the notes, is to ask others - your
parents, siblings, friends, etc. - what they think about your points.
They might help you deep into yourself and find out who you really
are, and where you're going (which is good in life anyways).
After you have this list of points, you arrange them in your paper. By
that step, you'd probably have something that would stand out - after
a well thought consideration, that affects your life course. Than the
next step is to write the essay. And then sleep over it, let someone
else (including teachers if possible) to comment on it, check every
mistake, write it again, and send it. If you're true to yourself,
you're also true to your college.
[A small tip that occurred to me: I guess that this year and last year
many people would write about 9-11. Write about this experience only
if it is *really* meaningful to you and changed your world-view, your
major choice and your choice of path in life. In any other case,
they've seen many other essays and would rather take the well-written
ones, or those who are original in any way].
There's a lot of help out there, and also some cynical individuals,
making money of the pressure of people like you. Don't be tempted to
any of those "buy an entrance essay" deals, or to other advises of the
kind. The college wants to know who you are, and why you want to
follow this life course - and this is a question that would be best
answered by you. Of course, it wouldn't hurt if you note that the
experience of writing this essay made you think clearer and/or to
learn more about research and writing. Remember that: nobody expects
you to be a professor of rhetoric - they expects you to demonstrate
abilities of an intelligent young American, at the beginning of the
road, who doesn't know everything (yes, that's another tip, don't
sound too cocky).
I also add here several sites that might help you:
The Nuts and Bolts of writing an essay
<http://www.nutsandboltsguide.com/> might be just what the doctor
ordered - a concise guide on how to write essays, do research, etc.
The Essay Wizard claims to be able to help you with your essay
<http://www.northfork.com/essaywiz/>
World Broadcast Television.com, How to write a college entry essay
<http://writingcompetition.netfirms.com/Communities/Writing/Contest_Entries/Faline/HowtoWrite.htm>
gives you some good tips.
Associated Colleges of the Midwest
<http://www.acm.edu/admiss/essay.htm> have a great site with
instructions and tips.
Quint Careers <http://www.quintcareers.com/college_application_essay.html>
also have examples and tips
Home Schoolers Net <http://www.homeschoolteenscollege.net/collegeessays.htm>
have special advices for home schoolers
According to this site
<http://net2.netacc.net/~jscott/Just4Fun/TheEssay.html> this is a
college entry essay. See how the candidate uses humour, originality
and dare.
More humorous is this site <http://world.std.com/~edit/ouch.htm>
offering "the worst application essays" :-)
soc.college.admissions
<http://groups.google.com/groups?hl=en&lr=&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&group=soc.college.admissions>
might help you to prepare yourself.
I highly recommend that you'll check out the following book, for more
tips and examples:
How to Write a Winning College Application Essay, Revised 4th Edition
-- by Michael James Mason
<http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0761524266/ltc-political/103-1618531-1147846>
Essays That Worked: 50 Essays from Successful Applications to the
Nation's Top Colleges -- by Boykin Curry (Editor), Brian Kasbar
(Editor); <http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0449905179/ltc-political/103-1618531-1147846>
100 Successful College Application Essays by Christopher J. Georges,
Gigi Georges (Editor)
<http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0451628357/ltc-political/103-1618531-1147846>
(All are links to Amazon, but you can probably get them in a good
library).
Helpful search strategy:
"college application essays" OR "college application essay"
"college admission essays" OR "college admission essay"
"college entry essays" OR "college application essay"
with or without the word "writing".
I think that answered your question. However, if you need
clarifications on it, please let me know - I'd be pleased to answer
any question before you rate the answer.
Good luck in college! |
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