College essays that made a difference - Princeton Review 2010

Jing Yi Hon
The applicants

In high school, Jing Yi was an active member of the Drama Society, leading her to later be elected vice-president of the group. She also was a member of the Student Council and Prefectorial Board, and for her efforts was awarded the Edusave Award for Achievement, Good Leadership, and Service by the Singapore Ministry of Education. Outside of school, she spent a good deal of her vacation-time as a journalist at both a local Chinese and English newspaper.

Stats

SAT: 2130 (710 Critical Reading, 740 Math, 680 Writing)

SAT Subject Test(s): 750 Math I, 730 Literature

High School GPA: n/a

High School: Hwa Chong Institution, Singapore

Hometown: Singapore

Gender: Female

Race: Chinese

Applied To

Brown University

Columbia University

Northwestern University

Essay

Jing Yi submitted the following essay to Brown University and Columbia University.

In reading your application, we want to get to know you as well as we can. We ask that you use this opportunity to tell us something more about yourself that would help us toward a sense of who you are, how you think, and what issues and ideas interest you most.

The Very Secret Diary of Hon Jing Yi

January 1, 2037

Resolutions for the year 2037

I MUST shed ten pounds.

I will learn Japanese.

I will keep spirits high at ST!

WOW!! It’s 2037!! And I’m turning 49!

Oh dear, 49 does sound like a huge number. I have almost forgotten what it’s like to be eighteen! Life as the new Chief Editor of The Straits’ Times (ST) has been taxing, but it fills me with pride knowing that I work for the most prominent newspaper in Singapore.

But what’s more exciting is I have finally realized my childhood dream!! I remember vividly when I set my goal to be Chief Editor —during my internship as a journalist at a major Chinese newspaper. I loved everything about the job, including the writing, the reading and of course my favorite part- the interviewing. And I decided if I was going to do something, I was going to do it well.

Even as a little girl I’d always been very clear about what I wanted. I knew, for instance, that Literature was what I sincerely enjoyed. Nothing was (and still is) more satisfying than reading good pieces, and the works of my favorite authors like Sylvia Plath continue to enthrall me even till this day. I suppose only my true love and determination to explore Literature at a deeper level could have motivated me to choose the unconventional subject combination of reading Literature in English and Chinese, which of course almost no one does in practical Singapore where the Sciences are given more focus. In fact all my friends thought I was insane when I chose to read Literature at college! “NO ONE IN SINGAPORE MAJORS IN LIT,” they declared. But I’m glad that I followed my heart, no matter how atypical that decision was.

Speaking of school, I cannot believe it has been thirty years since I left junior college! The best lesson I had ever learnt from school was the importance of spirit. Till this day, I have never forgotten what the power of enthusiasm and true passion can achieve. I remember how, as a prefect, I took the lead in preparing my class for a song-writing competition. Though our song was silly and the dance ridiculous (some of us actually dressed up as a huge caterpillar!), we impressed with our zesty class spirit, and eventually bagged the top prize. In fact my teachers were so blown away by our performance, they mimicked our dance steps all through my school life!

In fact, I think my vivacious personality has been a great help at work. I do everything I can to keep spirits high at the ST, to ensure that every single one of us is still full of with enthusiasm about our work!

Oh wow it’s three in the morning! I can’t believe I spent the first three hours of 2037 reminiscing about my schooldays. Such sweet memories I have!

Goodnight!

NB: What I have written here is factual and truly what I feel, with the sole exception of my becoming the Chief Editor (which at least has not yet come true).

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