College Essay

[lotus360]

im applying to a university , but the essays seem impossible. there are 4 and im still stuckm on the first. the first is actually i believe is the hardest the question.

At our University, we are committed to building a superb educational community with students of diverse talents, experiences, opinions and cultural backgrounds. What would you as an individual bring to our campus community?

im not sure what to say, could anyone help me get started?

[mstad]

I could be wrong, as I'm not much of a writer, but I think that's where you need to sell yourself to them. Maybe explain past acomplishments, or how you plan to put your education to good use.

:dunno:

[Graffin]

Honestly it doesn't seem to matter much. As long as your GPA isn't horrendus and you don't write something like "I sell good weed" you're going to get in. Don't stress about it, talk about your open-mindedness or something, and you'll be all good.

I know some real morons who have gotten into universities. (yes, me.)

[mstad]

I know some real morons who have gotten into universities. (yes, me.)
QFA

[jf]

i would break it down. think of a talent you have, an experience you have had, an opinion you have and something about your cultural background. then pick the one that seems easiest to write about, or most influential, and pick that one, if stuck write a paragraph for each and see which one seems most easy to elaborate on. if it has to be pretty long then pick 2, 3, or even all 4 to write about.


remember to have a topic sentence followed by three ideas and break down the ideas into paragraphs, and if necessary, three paragraphs of evidence for each idea with a topic sentence for each. depending on the length.


sometimes if i'm stuck i actually open the file, put my heading and stuff on then write


title

topic sentence. idea. idea. idea.
idea 1.
evidence
evidence
evidence
idea 2.
evidence
evidence
evidence
idea 3.
evidence
evidence
evidence
conclusion



then i replace each word with a sentence and elaborate where i can think of things to say without trying too hard, by the time i get to the bottom i am usually half done with the paper!


of course if it's one or two pages (like most college essays) then just the first idea/evidence sequence should do the trick.


good luck, take a break if you need to. go outside for a minute and smoke a cig, or get a snack. stop and listen to a favorite song maybe to rejuvenate. most of all have fun and try to learn something.

[jf]

and if you don't mind me asking, what university is this for?

[thecowboy]

diversity doesn't just mean race or ethnicity, it can mean different upbringing or really anything you can think of that you think will make you "stand out" for my law school applications I wrote that I will make the campus more diverse because I worked full-time, have a wife and kid etc. They just want to see that you aren't a total doofus and have some writing skills. I doubt they care what you really have to say so just make it sound good.

[lotus360]

thanks alot guys, u really helped me out. it was difficult, but i did it, tho i did go far over the 250 word limit, ill slim it down later.....but there are 3 eassys.....so the next question is

Engineering: Where do you imagine your chosen field of study will be in 10 years, and how do you fit into that picture?

...not sure how to go about this.

[mstad]

Tell how you think the field will change(or not change) in time and how you will be able to adapt to that change.

[lotus360]

^^^^^

meh, i got it. i talked about the history of engineering and how i has developed over time. it sounds pretty good. anyway...last question....

Discuss an issue of local, national, or international concern. Why is this issue important to you? How do you think it should be addressed?

....i wuz going to talk about NASAs decision to abort the repair mission to the hubble telescope....but i just found out they are going to do the mission....DAMMIT GUYS!!!!!
anyway, i need a new topic, wuts a good issue i can talk about for about 500 words?

[SMonty30]

yeah just sell yourself :D best idea for it all, stay off the weed comments lol

[mstad]

Discuss an issue of local, national, or international concern. Why is this issue important to you? How do you think it should be addressed?

....i wuz going to talk about NASAs decision to abort the repair mission to the hubble telescope....but i just found out they are going to do the mission....DAMMIT GUYS!!!!!
anyway, i need a new topic, wuts a good issue i can talk about for about 500 words?
Reversre you original idea then. Talk about the importance of doing the mission, or give reasons why you think they shouldn't do it.

It's what you planned already, so stick with it. :dunno:

[zo0t]

One of my good friends at college has a friend from back home whose essay was

"Why do you want to go to college"

He wrote

"WANT JOB" in crayon and sent it in. The liked the essay and he was accepted to the school.


I wouldn't write what they expect. They probably read hundreds of essays each day and forget everything they read. Do something to make yours stand out and show you think outside the box.

[sapipa]

This is your chance to sell yourself. Basically, tell them who you are, what you do, why you do it. Make it look like you would dramatically better the university. If you write this correctly, you could pretty much give any reason and it would be a good reason.

[jeffc574]

They are looking at your writting style as much as or more than the answer themselves. Make sure you are using good technical writting and answering the questions. Don;t be a smart mouth! That can get you in the wait list stack.

[pandamonium42]

Honestly it doesn't seem to matter much. As long as your GPA isn't horrendus and you don't write something like "I sell good weed" you're going to get in. Don't stress about it, talk about your open-mindedness or something, and you'll be all good.

I know some real morons who have gotten into universities. (yes, me.)


agreed, this is a chance to just show how good you got at bullshitting in high school. It's all fluff. But it has to be good fluff.
maybe write about some experience that changed how you thought about things/inspired you to do great things/???