July 6th, 2010
Fun Fact: This picture was taken in February. Amherst's physics department can change the weather locally.
Amherst College is a Common App-exclusive school, but unlike many of its peers, it has gone ahead and released its 2011 essay requirements to the general public. They’re quite lengthy, so we won’t reprint them here, but Amherst’s decision to put them out ahead of the Common App’s August update points out a few great things about top schools like Amherst and what its actions mean for other schools that follow.
1. The more open a school is with you, the more open you can be in return. By putting out such a complex series of questions early in the admissions season, Amherst is showing you that it’s worth preparing to write your application essay. Amherst’s questions are challenging, and they require quite a bit of thought. Go ahead and put in the time it takes. Write multiple drafts. Get it right.
2. You have more work ahead of you than you think. Amherst recognizes that senior years are busier than they get credit for. So take advantage of the time the school has afforded you by putting this info out ahead of time. With opportunities like this and tools like CEO, your workload can be a lot more manageable than, say, those of your overworked and underprepared friends.
3. The college essay is the most underrated and under-appreciated part of the application. The admissions officers at Amherst know what it’s like to read half-baked and ill-conceived essays. Sure, they see writing from a lot of the top students in the country, but they also see it from people that have rushed themselves through a pile of applications, regardless of their grades and resumés. This is your opportunity to speak to the college – your chance to create something of a dialogue and show them who you are. Make the most of it.
If we were hard pressed to add a fourth element to this list, it would be that Amherst appreciates how many movies you have to watch this summer. That vampire flick ain’t gonna watch itself. Thank the school for its foresight and watch all the movies. There are so many. Then fire up CEO and get back to work.
Tags: Admissions, Amherst College, avoid, CEO, College, College Essay Organizer, Common App, Deadline, early decision, Essay, Guidance Counselor, Guide, Help, junior, News, Organization, Overwhelming, personal, Recommendation, Regular Decision, SAT, School, statement, Tips, Top Choice, university
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December 10th, 2009
Good times at the Cardinal this year, with Stanford requiring the long Common App essay, the short Common App essay, three other 250+ word pieces of writing, and a series of short answers. Stanford, you are truly a world-class academic institution. One of the best, if not the best in the country. But we’re looking at over 1500 words where our favorite stand-by Dartmouth got ‘er done with less than a third of that.
This is the Stanford mascot. Seriously. Just so you know.
And the questions? They’re a bit odd. Let’s take a look and see if we can’t give you a few ideas on how to crack ‘em.
Besides the one-liners they require (which films and newspapers do you like, how do you best describe yourself, what’s up with your summer vacation, etc.), Stanford asks what you find intellectually engaging, what you’d like your future roommate to know about you, and what makes Stanford a good place for you. They want about 250-300 words on each of those.
What makes this tricky is that at first they all seem like the same essay. What are you interested in and what makes you interesting can seem pretty similar. But if you remember that the goal of these pieces of writing is to emphasize what you do rather than who you are, you’ll have no trouble banging these out.
Your intellectual interests should be straightforward enough – again, emphasize how you’ve applied them and what the results of those interests are. Your roommate might not want to know your intellectual interests, but rather your social or community interests. (See our blog post below on what not to do when talking about how awesome you are and you’ll be fine here.)
Now for the kicker – why is Stanford a good place for you?
Well, why is it?
Again, think not about what the school has, or what it already knows about itself (this is definitely not a place to repeat what’s in the guide book), but talk about what you’re going to bring to the school and how it’s going to affect the community there. This is part of The Deal we’ve written about before. You’re not talking about what you like, but what you can do. Why are you going to be a vital part of this community? If you can identify that clearly, it will be evident why Stanford is a good match for you.
Tags: Admissions, College, Common App, Essay, Guide, Help, personal, Stanford, statement, Tips, Top Choice, university
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December 1st, 2009
Oh Hampshire, the Common App was only the beginning for you.
We're gonna need a bigger bike
Our lovely friends over at Hampshire College accept only the Common App, which is becoming more and more, um, common these days. For many schools (including even the great Dartmouth), just the Common App and its required long- and short-answer essays are enough. But Hampshire has other plans. It has eight – count them – eight required writing assignments, including a three to five page writing sample and a series of single-sentence short answers among them.
If you happen to be a transfer applicant, great. Make that nine.
Hampshire is known for its atypical approach to everything, from its curriculum all the way down to the architecture on campus. But here they outdo themselves, overlooking the amount of time you’re already going to be sinking into the Common App’s basic requirements and tacking a few thousand additional words onto the application. Good times!
Lucky for us, repurposing writing from other applications is the name of the game with these taskmasters. With a little cleverness we’ll see if we can’t whittle it down to something more manageable. The school has a number of questions dealing with your academic interests, what you plan to study, and the ways you plan to apply your knowledge in the future. It may be possible to answer all three by repurposing an essay for another school about your intellectual interests. Hampshire’s other required short answers address diversity and local involvement – perhaps these can be handled by a single essay you’ve done on community service?
Rethinking your previous work can help to minimize the amount of effort expended for rarities like Hampshire, and can help you turn a month’s work into an afternoon’s, sandwiched between playing some video games and, you know, eating a sandwich.
Tags: Admissions, College, Common App, Essay, Guide, Hampshire College, Help, School, Tips, Top Choice, university
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