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Category: Common Application

  • Still Writing Your Common App Essay? 5 Tips to Help You

    Still Writing Your Common App Essay? 5 Tips to Help You

    With the submission deadline for applying in the early round of US college applications rapidly approaching, you will hopefully be well on the way to finishing your personal essay. However, if you are struggling, this article will hopefully help as I share five tips from college admission professionals that can help you create a winning essay.

    For many students, writing a solid personal essay is the most challenging part of the application; its test comes because what is required is significantly different from the types of essays most students have been writing during their schooling. While it may be challenging, you must spend the time to create as powerful an essay as possible; this is the one opportunity you have to help the admissions teams get to ‘meet you’ and understand something about the individual behind the grades and scores.

    1. First impressions count

    Any student attending college should expect to do a great deal of writing, irrespective of their major. So, the first thing somebody reading your supplemental college essay will ask is, ‘Can this person write?’

    When you read your essay, is it well put together? A strong essay will nearly always have a strong theme or story that runs through it from beginning to end, with clear transitions from one paragraph to the next. Write using an active voice rather than the passive one generally expected for an academic essay; try to engage your reader from the very start so that you can be seen through your words. You should always ask people who know you well to read your essay; if they say that they can hear your voice as they read it, then you are probably a winner!

    Finally, grammar and spelling count; make sure you go through what you have written and check it with a good spelling and grammar checker. Again, make sure you are using American spellings.

    2. You are the story

    The college admissions team is reading your essay because they want to find out about you, so make sure that what you are writing about is you. It seems an obvious thing to say, but you would be surprised how often students write essays where they talk about their parents, grandparents, or teachers who have helped shape them into the person they are now. Unfortunately, this sort of supplemental essay rarely comes across well as you will inevitably spend much of your limited word count talking about what makes that person special rather than what makes you special, how you live your life as an individual, in the spirit of the person.

    To create a strong impression on the admissions officer, you want them to feel that they know what makes you who you are, your motivations, and your passions.

    3. Reflections

    Creating the strong impression I just mentioned requires you to reflect on who you are and how you became that person. This is something that many students find difficult, but without sharing that knowledge in your essay, you risk it will come across as shallow or, worse still, clichéd! On the other hand, sharing your reflections can add depth and character, making even an everyday experience, such as waiting for the school bus, into a profoundly revealing portrait of you and your life.

    4. Add value

    When talking about their work, top college and university admissions officers will speak about ‘crafting a community.’ What they mean by this is that they are not just trying to fill the number of places available; instead, they are looking for people who will contribute to the campus experience. So in your personal essay, try to focus on your genuine strengths, using anecdotes that will best portray them.

    5. Be consistent

    Be clear about what impression you want to create in the minds of the people who will read your application. Having done that, ensure your application, including your essay, aligns with that picture. For example, suppose you want your essay to portray you as a passionate biology researcher. In that case, you don’t want your activities to reflect a person who loves to spend their time deep into self-published online stories. If your essay does not resonate with the rest of your application, you need to take a step back and consider how you can make the whole application reflect who you are. Ivy Central always here to help you.

    Good luck!

  • Supplemental Essays: A Take on Short Takes

    Supplemental Essays: A Take on Short Takes

    Supplemental Essays: A Take on Short Takes

    The Application Season is here and we are as excited as you are!

    In this blog, I will take you through tips for writing those seemingly insignificant short take supplemental questions that first few, now many, colleges are including as part of their mandatory essay requirements. This year has seen a rise in Short-Take Questions asked by colleges. Well, if you are wondering why here’s the reason –

    Like the Short Answer Questions, Short Takes too are extremely personal ‘essays’ but the difference is that these help the University get to know a LOT about you in just a FEW words. These could range from 25 characters to 100 words. Let’s look at which Universities love to ask Short Takes:

    1. Stanford University

    • What is the most significant challenge that society faces today?*

    • How did you spend your last two summers?*

    • What historical moment or event do you wish you could have witnessed?*

    • Briefly elaborate on one of your extracurricular activities, a job you hold, or responsibilities you have for your family.*

    • Name one thing you are looking forward to experiencing at Stanford.*

    2. University of Southern California

    • Describe yourself in three words. First Word:* Second Word. Third Word. (25 characters each)

    • What is your favorite snack?*

    • Best movie of all time:*

    • Dream job:*

    • If your life had a theme song, what would it be?*

    • Dream trip:*

    • What TV show will you binge watch next? *

    • Which well-known person or fictional character would be your ideal roommate?*

    • Favorite book:*

    • If you could teach a class on any topic, what would it be?*

    3. Columbia University

    • List the titles of the required readings from academic courses that you enjoyed most during secondary/high school. (75 words or fewer)*

    • List the titles of the books, essays, poetry, short stories or plays you read outside of academic courses that you enjoyed most during secondary/high school. (75 words or fewer)*

    • We’re interested in learning about some of the ways that you explore your interests. List some resources and outlets that you enjoy, including but not limited to websites, publications,  journals, podcasts, social media accounts, lectures, museums, movies, music, or other content with which you regularly engage. (125 words or fewer)*

    General Tips to Answer Short Take Questions

    1. Do not take them lightly 

    Short Takes need to be taken as seriously as the longer supplemental questions. They would be evaluated nearly the same way the other common essays would be. Short Takes in themselves are an excellent way to judge character, so ensure you are not underestimating them.

    2. Include a variety, wherever appropriate

    Short Takes on books you have read, movies you have watched etc are included to see if you like to learn for the sake of learning. Do you only read/watch subject specific books/movies or would you expose yourself to a myriad other topics?

    For reading lists, you want to include something from the fiction and non fiction categories, while also mentioning different literary forms (poetry/short stories/novellas) and genres (go beyond sci fiction).

    3. Make meaningful connections

    For Short Takes that allow you the space to explain your choice, do form an uncommon, meaningful, personal connection with yourself. For example, if you picked the ‘Purple Hibiscus’ by Adichie, explain why you enjoyed reading it. Was it because you started analysing the role of religious propaganda in Nigeria, or got a chance to explore an English dialect? This also becomes a way for you to differentiate yourself from your peers applying to the same university.

    Your Dream Trip should probably not be Vegas. Try something that’s relatively unexplored, but also aligns with your personality.

    4. Demonstrate a strong interest in your intended field of study 

    Continuing the example above, what you choose to write about can be a strong indicator of your interest in a specific major. Mention books you’ve read outside of your class that align with these subject areas and also unique takeaways from the books you have read inside and outside of the classroom.

    Here are a couple of recommendations –

    a) News Articles – to demonstrate that you like to be aware of what’s happening in the world (Economics/Finance/Business)

    b) Historical Fiction – such as the Kite Runner (History/Literature)

    c) Shoe Dog – Design/Business

    d) The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks (Biomedical Sciences/Pre-med/Race Studies/Law)

    Along with these, it is also a good idea to select those texts that have helped you gain time management skills (Mindset – Carol Derek) and further develop your interests or hobbies.

    Read More: End of SAT Tests and Essays

    5. Be Creative

    Do try to give thoughtful and thought-provoking answers to these questions. Be creative where you need to be, and try to incorporate humor where you can.

    Final word

    Short Takes are a lot of fun, but, ironically take longer to complete. Do start early, and explore different options before closing in on a final one. Wish you luck with your Short Takes!

    Supplemental Essays: The Community Essay

  • WHY THIS MAJOR ESSAY?

    WHY THIS MAJOR ESSAY?

    WHY THIS MAJOR ESSAY?

    In less than a month’s time, the big reveal of Supplemental Essays will take place. While there could be a variety of supplemental essays that colleges/universities ask their students to answer, one of the most common and prominent is the one about what would you like to study in college. We call it the ‘Why this Major?’ essay prompt.

    Voila! The perfect opportunity to prove your love for your major just arrived. So how do you welcome it?

    Well, here are 5 tips to help you do that –

    1. Your academic subjects and performance

    As an example: If you’re applying for Computer Science, you do not necessarily need to have taken Computer Science as an academic subject. However, you would need to demonstrate strong performance in Mathematics. Talking about your strong math skills definitely works in your favor.

    If you’re applying for gender studies, then talking about how History and/or Literature have pushed you to think critically about the world around you would help make your case for this major. Did you develop deep reading skills that have allowed you to go beyond the obvious and really analyze two sides of the coin?

    2. Your Academic Extracurriculars

    Academic Extracurricular activities are those that are related to your major. This is an amazing way to showcase a tangible outcome in support of your choice of major. Students typically would engage in writing a research paper or a book or creating an app. In the UK, these are typically referred to as Supercurriculars. When writing your UCAS Personal Statement, you can definitely talk about them.

    3. Opportunities offered by the University

    Colleges and Universities offer tons of clubs and organizations to meet students’ interests and talents. These literally range from a simple Robotics Club to something as fancy as the Squirrel Club at U.Michigan. The latter would make sense if you’re planning for the pre-vet track or Animal Psychology major! Thus, ensure that your choice of club/organization is in sync with your major and related interests.

    4. Summer Programs

    If you’ve participated in any summer programs that demonstrate your interest in the area you’d like to pursue at college, do dive into what you learned and the goals you achieved. This could be in the form of a poster presentation or a talk at a symposium or a full length research paper.

    5. Community Service Projects

    If you’ve demonstrated strong passion for a subject area through activism or volunteering, this is the time to mention it. One thing to be weary of is that some universities would have a specific Community Essay wherein you may need to use these anecdotes. In that case, it would be best to stick the any of the aforementioned points so that you can use your community project for the community essay, even though this doesn’t necessarily need to be the case.

    Final Word

    Supplemental Essays for 2021-22 will be declared on 1st August on the Common Application portal. Given the pandemic, you could expect some changes to the supplemental essays this year. Guess only time will tell. Ivy Central always here to help you.

    May the countdown begin!