Hey everybody, I've been working on my college essay, and today i just decided to start typing whatever comes to mind. I ended up with this. I'm not sure if actually submitting this will be a good idea, its very unorthodox. The topic is our choice, and i chose to write about the essay itself. Do you guys think i should send this in, or is it a bad idea? I'm planning on asking my English teacher tomorrow, but I'm going to try and avoid looking like an idiot if possible. Please be brutally honest. Also, i have other topics in mind if this isn't a good idea, so feel free to tell me this is a bad idea. The essay is as follows: "So here I am, sitting in front of my computer, writing the dreaded college essay. I have heard about the college essay way back in elementary school. I've heard all my friends at school talk about their essays. One of my friends wrote about flying airplanes; another wrote about years of football. I can't think of anything to write about, so I procrastinate. I check my Facebook, then my Twitter, and even my email account. Then again. After a while I'm still drawing a blank, so I decide to read some sample essays. They all seem the same to me. This person went down south to help after a hurricane; that person went to Africa to help build schools. I haven't done anything like that. I feel average compared to these other students, even kind of ashamed of myself because of this. I could be like most other people and lie, but I don't think that's a good idea. I could try and make myself seem more interesting than I really am, or I could be honest with the admissions officers who will be reading this essay. I could say I have always been a truthful person, but that right there would be a lie in itself. Admissions officers read hundreds and hundreds of essays, filled and filled with lies and people patting themselves on the back. Surely a handful of essays must be well written, but most are just plain bad. I wrote a college essay already. It was about my job. I thought it was perfect, and included everything I needed. I took it to my English teacher to have her review it. I thought she would love it and praise me, but to my dismay she ripped it apart. I was frustrated, and took my essay to another teacher. She too said that it wasn't college essay material. This was a few months ago; I put away that old essay and decided not to think about it. I knew I would have to write a college essay sooner or later, but I didn't really give it much thought. Now, at the beginning of December as I wrap up my all of my applications, there is only one thing left. The college essay."
Make sure in your essays you get straight to the point, don't try and sound like a smart ass by looking up synonyms for every single word. Don't beat around the bush, get straight to the meat of the material, and always answer the questions they ask in the specific order.
Exactly, i hate reading wordy stuff and I'm sure college admissions officers do too. That's why i kept it pretty short.
I think my essay offers an entirely different idea than pretty much any other college essay. I just don't know if the admissions officers will embrace it or hate it. And thanks for the responses guys
Philip II of France - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia I went with II instead of Jr, I thought it was tacky.
Not the approach I'd take. First off, it seems pretty short. Second, one thing to learn is that the next couple decades of your life are going to be all about selling yourself. You sell yourself to a college, you sell yourself to an employer, and you continue to sell yourself to get promoted. I don't mean selling out, I mean taking the highlights of what you do and making them sound even better. You say you're ashamed that you never did anything like help after a hurricane and it sounds like you're being honest. But what an admissions officer is going to see is someone who doesn't participate in things. Now, one person's money spends as good as the next's, but there's a reason they have you submit what amounts to a resume and an essay. I mean, look, it's your future and I wouldn't have bet my shot at a particular school on another person's advice when I knew in my heart what I was doing. But I think now is the time to start marketing yourself as someone who will be a contributing member of their campus, not a person who procrastinated when writing their admissions essay and could not think of a notable thing they've done to grow as a person.
Depends on the instructor i think..i only write stuff like that if they are cool and if not i just go more with general topics like everyone else but put my own twist on it
Honestly man this is exactly what i was thinking, and why I'm hesitant to actually send this in. Do you think i should try and revise this, or scrap the idea entirely?
I'm gonna be honest. Sky Dog was right. Only person in thread who gave a thoughtful response. OP I would not send this in. This might sound mean but its honest. This is like that shit Aziz Ansari reads in his act. You don't have to lie about yourself in your essay, but you don't have to highlight the fact that you are a loser either. I mean FFS your lead is that you are dreading writing this three paragraph essay. If you dread writing that much, you are not going to do well in college. You are just being too hard on yourself. Scrap this man. Start anew and try not to trash talk yourself. I mean the grammar, spelling, and punctuation are sound, it is clear you aren't an idiot but write it some way where you don't come off as a slacker. Thats my honest review.