College essays that made a difference - Princeton Review 2010

General application questions
Q & A with admissions officers

Is anything on the application really “optional”?

Bucknell: Most “optional” items are of a sensitive nature and, ordinarily or legally, cannot be requested of the student. Our attempt to collect such information is the result of our commitment to admitting the most diverse and talented class that we can. No student’s candidacy is weakened by his or her decision to not answer an optional question, but there are instances where responses can enhance an already attractive and academically solid application. All students who are admitted to Bucknell, whether athletes, students of color, legacies, first generation, etc., must be academically qualified before other considerations are given.

Cooper Union: We don’t have any “optional” sections.

Deep Springs: Yes. One possible exception is the “supplemental material” option in our second-round application. If an applicant really emphasizes an artistic ability, it is nice to have a demonstration.

Macalester: Of course—all the stuff that’s labeled “optional.” For Macalester, that would include SAT Subject Test results; additional submissions, such as an art portfolio; additional teacher or coach recommendations; and several questions on the application form.

Northwestern: Interviews are not required; one teacher recommendation is enough but send a second teacher recommendation.

Olin: Yes, optional means optional.

UNC: Items marked “optional” are truly optional. If a candidate chooses not to complete an optional part of the application, his or her candidacy will not be impacted.

UVA: I encourage students to take the chance to tell us about themselves outside the numbers. If we did have an optional essay I would likely encourage [them] to use it (our essays are mandatory).

If a student does not complete a part of our application we require, he or she will not be admitted.

Wake Forest: With the exception of a question concerning ethnicity, we do not have optional questions. A student would not be penalized for failing to answer that question.

How much extra material should students send? Which materials are helpful?

Bucknell: We routinely get a lot of extra material with applications—additional recommendations, writing samples, certificates of achievement, artwork, CDs of dance/music/theatrical performances and, given the pace at which we must read applications, those materials are given cursory glances at best. The admissions counselors with whom I’m most familiar are neither art nor music critics and thus are not qualified to judge or evaluate such submissions. We do seek input from faculty in Art and Music on many of the materials submitted. Their reaction can add [to] a candidate’s [chances] if the rating is very strong. Additional materials to what’s requested in the application that would be most meaningful in our process would be evidence of research outside of the classroom, service learning opportunities, extraordinary leadership experiences, [and the] founding of clubs or other organizations [at] school or [in the] community. An extra writing sample or recommendation would be considered, but several would be too much of a time commitment for a harried and hurried counselor.

Colgate: Some applicants provide supplementary material for review by our admission staff. If a student feels the extra submission is important enough to send, it is considered important enough for us to evaluate. While our admission process is still primarily based on a student’s academic preparation, many students send supplementary information as a means to showcase a particular talent that is not already reflected in the application. A large volume of supplementary materials will not necessarily impact the admission decision (more is not necessarily better), but a carefully prepared art submission, music demo, athletic tape, creative writing example, or other submission can assist our staff as we shape our class to reflect the talents and diversity of our applicant pool. Many supplementary materials are sent to various departments on campus for evaluation. Faculty and staff in the Music, Art, and Athletics departments provide their feedback on applicants’ abilities.

Cooper Union: We give guidelines regarding the submission of extra material. If a student wants us to hear them playing in the school orchestra, one or two CDs is plenty—we don’t need fifty songs.

Deep Springs: There is a supplemental material option as part of the second-round application. Artwork is helpful. Anything requiring more than 15 to 20 minutes to consider is difficult to handle.

Macalester: They should send only what will reasonably tell us their story. We welcome anything that will add a new dimension and help to inform us about the applicant’s values, beliefs, experiences, talents, and aspirations. But they only need to tell us once … we don’t admit students based on the gross weight of their application files.

Northwestern: Some will go overboard on the length of an essay. We’re happy to receive extra material, but not videos or CDs. We have six undergraduate schools, so students may send playbills for drama, editorial clips for the journalism school, etc. There is no need for extra essays.

Olin: Students often send artwork, CDs of their music, and other items of which they are particularly proud that are not reflected in the standard application. Coupled with the application, this helps the application reading team get a better sense of the student.

UNC: Some applicants do send extra material with their application. While we do not require or necessarily encourage them to do so, students may choose to include materials (e.g., artwork, photography, music recordings, etc.) they feel will strengthen their application.

UVA: We ask students to send CDs, tapes, DVDs, slides, etc., if they believe they have talent in the arts. They are evaluated by our arts faculty. I encourage students doing an extended essay in the IB program to send a brief summary of the topic (not the whole essay).

Certificates that extend back to kindergarten are not useful.

Wake Forest: In general, additional materials are not helpful in the process. Concentrate on completing the application properly and thoroughly, rather than adding extraneous materials.

Yale: We don’t encourage students to send in other writing. But we’ll read it.

Do you have a descending degree of importance that you assign the different application requirements? Is the SAT score, for example, the most important factor in your admissions decisions? Where does the essay fall?

Bucknell: Bucknell does not have a descending degree of importance for application requirements. We feel that the three main components of an application would be academic record, test scores, and personal qualities. The essay portion of the application falls under two of the three. An applicant’s writing abilities are a testament to [his or her] academic abilities and the personality and style of an essay demonstrate the personal qualities of the writer.

Cooper Union: Certainly. Again, the essays become a factor which ultimately decides admission if the application is complete and the student is, academically or talent-wise, in the ballpark.

Deep Springs: There is no formal standard, but the essays are probably of first importance and the interview of second. Everything else is below these.

UNC: We do not assign a degree of importance to different admission requirements. Each requirement could play a greater or lesser role in each admissions decision, depending on the specific applicant and the combination of requirements taken as a whole.

UVA: We have no formula but SAT is absolutely not the most important factor. Performance and academic program together are the most import criteria.

Wake Forest: No. We look at the application as a total package.

Do you prefer to see students declare a major or apply undecided?

Bucknell: Bucknell’s pool of applications is read according to the major to [which] a student is applying. An application is evaluated for a specific area of interest which is necessary at Bucknell due to our diverse offerings of academic pursuits; what makes an applicant a competitive electrical engineer is not always what makes an applicant a competitive musician. If a student does not have a major they wish to pursue, then they may apply undecided to the School of Arts and Science or undecided to the School of Engineering.

Cooper Union: We do not have “undecided” at Cooper Union.

Macalester: It doesn’t matter. We like both undecided and committed students on the Macalester campus.

Olin: It is not necessary to declare a major when applying to Olin College. Students do not declare a major until the sophomore year.

UNC: We have no preference.

UVA: No preference, but if a student has a passion in an academic area they should prove it via activities, recommendations, and essays.

Wake Forest: All of our students spend their first two years [here] in a liberal arts curriculum before declaring a major, so neither is preferable to us in the admissions process.

Do you prefer to receive application materials online or in paper format?

Amherst: No preference.

Bucknell: We have no preference as to how we receive an application. Approximately half our applications arrive in the mail and the other half are submitted online.

Cooper Union: Either, though our support staff (data entry) certainly have an opinion here.

Deep Springs: Paper only.

Johns Hopkins: Easier to process online; however, no strong preference.

Macalester: Either is fine—no preference. As long as the handwriting is legible and we get the information we seek, there’s nothing wrong with a paper application.

Northwestern: Whichever way students prefer.

Olin: We prefer to receive materials online.

UNC: We have no preference.

UVA: Online.

Wake Forest: We do not differentiate.

Yale: We probably do prefer to get applications online.

How do you feel when you find out a student will be deferring admission after acceptance?

Amherst: I think it’s great, everyone should do it … get off the treadmill for a while and do it.

Bucknell: In one sense, it is certainly a disappointment when a student we are excited about has decided to join our community a little bit later. Many of our deferring students are pursuing interesting and engaging opportunities during this absence. Keeping this in mind, it is very exciting to hear that they are still challenging themselves and taking advantage of opportunities to develop themselves academically, socially, and personally.

Cooper Union: Indifferent; it can be interesting if the student is actually going to do something sexy like travel to Brazil to study art or live in Tibet and study meditation.

Deep Springs: Not permitted here.

Johns Hopkins: It’s good—it shows a person that thinks for himself. The usual direction of the river is: senior year, during the summer go to the beach, then go to college. We welcome students who defer, who have something else in mind.

Macalester: Deferrals are approved only if the admissions committee feels the student has a good plan for spending the year off in a worthwhile way. Students must write to request deferral after being admitted. When they’re approved, I’m happy for them because I know their experience will be a good one.

Northwestern: We have 30 to 40 students a year defer admission. We’re happy to say yes to that.

Olin: As long as the student is doing something meaningful with their deferred year, we are happy to support their endeavors.

UNC: An applicant who has been offered admission may request a deferral for one academic year in order to work, travel, or pursue some other extraordinary opportunity. An admitted applicant may also seek a one-year deferral for military service, required religious observance, or medical reasons. Those wishing to defer admission must request permission in writing from the Director of Admissions no later than July 1 of the year for which they [were] originally admitted.

UVA: I personally wish more students would consider a gap year, but our office policy is value neutral on the issue.

Wake Forest: As a matter of policy, we do not offer automatic deferrals. A student would be required to re-apply for later admission.

What steps do you take to recognize and prevent plagiarism?

Bucknell: It is important for counselors to be aware of the many deviant opportunities for students to falsify their application and this includes plagiarism of the required essays. As professionals we have made relationships with counselors and other admissions colleagues who are a resource to discuss suspicious-looking/sounding essays. As an office, we try to retrain ourselves every season to recognize essays and topics that are questionable. By providing a thorough read of the essay, we are often able to pick out and investigate suspected instances of plagiarism. We often will evaluate these matters collectively and, if needed, call upon experts on our faculty.

Colgate: Colgate University has an honor code by which all current students are expected to abide. Students who apply to Colgate University must provide a hand-written signature (online signatures are not accepted) indicating that all of the information in their application is accurate and factual. Just as violations of the honor code are taken seriously by our campus community, students who violate the application agreement statement will normally be immediately disqualified from further consideration in the admission process. More importantly, applicants who plagiarize miss an important opportunity to give an accurate and sincere portrayal of their abilities and talents.

Cooper Union: In-house, our faculty use technology. Application-wise it’s hard to predict, though we’ve contemplated requesting the submission of a graded paper from high school to at the very least have [a secondary] source when evaluating an application.

Deep Springs: We discuss the essays with the student in the final interview.

Northwestern: We’re so specific in the questions we ask, and we change them every year, so we think plagiarism isn’t really an issue. We ask our applicants to suggest questions for the following year’s essays and those are used in upcoming years.

UNC: When submitting an application, students are required to sign a statement agreeing to uphold the Honor Code. The Honor Code specifically prohibits lying, cheating, stealing, [or] any conduct that impairs significantly the welfare or educational opportunities of others in the university community.

UVA: If I told you that then students would figure a way around it.

Yale: We do cruise those websites. We did find a copied essay this year and we removed that kid’s application.

What kind of book would you recommend to students about to write their college essays? What would be most helpful for students in terms of preparation?

Bucknell: We think there are many valuable guides to the college admissions process and essay writing in print, but would prefer not to recommend any one item.

Cooper Union: Never forget the usefulness of the old-fashioned dictionary and thesaurus. The MLA Handbook can help as well.

Johns Hopkins: I would give them examples of good writing. Just as a composer wouldn’t deny borrowing themes from predecessors, it’s appropriate to learn from the work of good writers. In terms of technique for writing a good college essay, I’d look at the short story as a model.

Macalester: I don’t recommend essay books for students. The end result of reading any such book is that essays all start to sound alike—i.e., they’re not the only people reading those books. Students’ essays should be individual works of their own creation. What works for one person doesn’t necessarily work for another.

Northwestern: The best preparation for essays is writing in high school.

UVA: Students should read great writers and then write as much as they can. Reading essays by Guy Davenport, William Gass, Stephen Jay Gould, Joan Didion, Anne Carson, or Slavoj Zizek (to name just a few that I turn to for inspiration), might help.

I think the question you ask indicates what I see as the problem itself. Students are looking for a formulaic way to write well. It doesn’t work that way. Someone can read books about improving any skill (skiing, bricklaying, podcasting), but it’s quite a bit different when you actually have to do it. Practice never makes perfect, but it does make. Writing is a craft of making things with words.

Wake Forest: Writing, punctuation, and grammar guides such as Strunk and White’s Elements of Style.

If you had the option of doing away with the essay requirement altogether, would you?

Amherst: No … the more measures you add to the way that you evaluate, the more predicted value you have.

Bucknell: No, it is important for students to be able to express themselves through an essay for various reasons. The essay allows students to disclose information not asked of them in another portion of the application [and] introduce and/or expand on interesting aspects of themselves. It allows us to see how well they can communicate through the written word.

Colgate: The application review process is highly personal; the admission staff takes the time to review each item in a student’s folder, reflecting the kind of individual attention students can expect from Colgate faculty. The essay is a valuable means for our staff to gain a better understanding of the qualitative aspects of an applicant, rather than just the quantitative academic measures (GPA, curriculum, standardized testing, rank in class, etc.). As the interviews we offer are non-evaluative and not considered in the admission process, the essay also allows applicants to show us their personalities, discuss their interests and priorities, and demonstrate the quality of their writing abilities. We expect that essays will continue to be an important part of our admission process for years to come.

Cooper Union: Not at all. We need to get some insight into the kid’s mind and experiences. We need to be able to find out something that is not apparent from reviewing his or her transcript, SAT and ACT scores, counselor recommendation, etc.

Deep Springs: Nope.

Johns Hopkins: No, we care very much about writing ability. We assess writing directly, through essay submissions, and indirectly, through the SAT Subject Test in Writing.

Macalester: No, absolutely not. It’s the one chance an applicant has to speak directly to every reader of his or her application. What good would it do to eliminate that?

Northwestern: Writing is important. We always want to have writing samples.

Olin: No, the essay is the student’s chance to shine and tell us about his or her passions. Coupled with the teacher and counselor recommendations, the essay really gives us a sense of the applicant’s personality and fit for Olin College.

UNC: No. We do not interview applicants; the essay is our opportunity to get to know students better.

UVA: Absolutely not.

Wake Forest: Absolutely not. We have, in the past years, made our application more writing intensive rather than less as we become more selective and strive to differentiate among well-qualified applicants.

OFFICIAL DISCLAIMER!

Our editors aren’t asleep on the job.

The following essays appear exactly as they did for admissions officers. We only changed the layout so that the essays fit on the pages of this book. Because we have not edited the essays, you may find errors in spelling, punctuation, and grammar. We assure you that we found these errors as well, but we thought it would be most helpful for you to see what the admissions officers saw—not what they could (or should) have seen. We recommend that you carefully proofread your own personal statement, but should you miss an error, take comfort in the fact that others (accepted applicants, even!) sometimes did too.