Nicole Moore Sanborn

College applications … for many high school seniors, these two words bring forth a shudder.  The dreaded college essay is perhaps more menacing to some.  This article seeks to provide a nice overview of the college essay.  For many colleges, the application consists of providing basic information about yourself as well as the activities you have done in high school, whether it is sports, music, dance, a job, or anything else one may do.  There is usually a section where you get to brag about all of the honors you have received or all of the clubs you have either participated in or led.  Then … there is the dreaded section: the essay.  Some colleges even provide select students with fee waivers and the prospect of not having to write a college essay.  College essays usually provide a variety of prompts the student may choose from.  An approximate word count is also provided.  For all of the schools I applied to or wrote essays for, the word count was either 250 or 500 words.  I have heard some guidance counselors say other schools require a 1,000-word essay.  While writing 250, 500, or even 1,000 words in an essay may seem daunting, it is not as many words as one would think.

I intended to apply to four schools for early admission and one for regular admission.  I only ended up applying to three schools.  After sending in three applications, before the essays for the fourth one were exactly the way I desired, I received my acceptance letter to the college of my dreams (which, yes, I will be attending beginning August of 2013): Auburn University.  After receiving my acceptance, I knew I did not need to send any more applications in, because I knew where I needed to be was Auburn University.  Now that you, the readers, have some background, let’s take a look at some of my college essays.

Auburn University did not require any formal essays.  Instead, the applicants were provided with a small number of short answer questions.  The application for Auburn was the easiest one.  The other schools I applied to utilized the Common Application.  For those unfamiliar, the Common Application is one (long and very detailed) application many colleges choose to use for their applicants.  To find out whether a college you are interested in utilizes this application, either check the Common Application website (just Google it) or go to the particular college’s Web site.  The one downside to the Common Application is it is long and incredibly detailed.  However, the upside is once the base Common Application is done, it is done for however many of the schools you are applying to that use it.  Each particular college has a short supplement, sometimes requiring additional essays.  The Common Application provides six essay prompts, from which the applicant chooses.  The essay is to be approximately 250-500 words.  The questions are as follows:

1. Evaluate a significant experience, achievement, risk you have taken, or ethical dilemma you have faced and its impact on you.
2. Discuss some issue of personal, local, national, or international concern and its importance to you.
3. Indicate a person who has had a significant influence on you, and describe that influence.
4. Describe a character in fiction, a historical figure, or a creative work (as in art, music, science, etc.) that has had an influence on you, and explain that influence.
5. A range of academic interests, personal perspectives, and life experiences adds much to the educational mix.  Given your personal background, describe an experience that illustrates what you would bring to the diversity in a college community, or an encounter that demonstrated the importance of diversity to you.
6. Topic of your choice.

I chose the first essay prompt.  To me, that was the easiest option, and I knew I could write the best essay possible if I chose that one.  Here is my answer:

“A significant experience in my life was the major leg surgery I underwent at age nine.  I was born with a leg condition in which my bones were inverted.  If left in their condition, at age 15 I would contract serious knee pain and by age 21 I would have difficulty walking.  When I was nine years old, I had corrective surgery.  Although my condition was known as soon as I began walking, I did not have the surgery until age nine because the surgery required my bones to have some growth.  The surgeons sawed both of my femurs and my right tibia in half, rotated them outward, and put plates and screws in to enable bone repair.  Originally, the surgeons were also supposed to cut my left tibia.  However, the condition of my left leg was better than my right.  I was also supposed to have casts that covered the entirety of both of my legs.  I only had one, knee-high cast on my right leg.  After the surgery, I sat in a wheelchair with my legs extended at a 90-degree angle for six weeks, used crutches for a few more weeks, and underwent physical therapy.  One year after the first surgery, the surgeons removed the plates and screws, and I attended physical therapy, as well as being aided by a wheelchair and crutches once again.  Following the second surgery, my legs were not extended at a 90-degree angle in the wheelchair but instead were placed in the normal sitting position.

“My surgeries impacted me physically and emotionally.  Before the surgery, my condition rendered me unable to place my feet in the first position for ballet, unable to run quickly, and ensured difficulty walking.  Because of the surgery, I am able to take ballet and play sports.  I run cross-country and play soccer, and took three years of ballet lessons in my previous years of high school.  I was also able to obtain a varsity letter in soccer.  Emotionally, the surgery taught me how to love and have compassion for those with disabilities.  My surgery aided in the development of sympathy, empathy, and compassion in my life.  I have sympathy for those with leg and bone problems, because I know how they feel to an extent.  Most importantly, I have empathy.  Since I have spent time in a wheelchair, I know what it is like to require one, and now have empathy for those who require wheelchairs.  One of my closest friends underwent ankle surgery recently.  Because of my surgery, I knew what it was like to be rendered unable to walk.  This aided me in comforting her and supporting her through surgery and recovery.  During my surgery and recovery, much love was shown to me.  Because I felt love and support, I want to love and support others.  Without the surgeries I went through, my life would be completely different.  The surgeries impacted me in many important ways, and I am so glad that I went through them.”

I am proud to say the essay above is exactly 500 words (yes, I spent a great deal of time making it exactly 500 words; I wanted it to be just right).

Now, onto the supplements.  The three schools I applied to were Auburn University, The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, and The University of Miami (the one in Miami, Florida, NOT the one in Ohio).  The University of Miami required no additional essays.

UNC-Chapel Hill did, however.  UNC required one additional essay to be approximately 500 words.  Yes, I tailored this one to exactly 500 words as well.  UNC provided six different prompts.  In my opinion, some of the UNC prompts were the most quirky, unusual, and fun.

1. You just put a message in a bottle and threw the bottle out to sea.  What is the message?
2. If you could design and teach your own course, what topic would you cover?  What texts, assignments, projects, field trips, or other resources would you use in teaching this course?
3. What is your comfort food and why?
4. You just made the front page of the New York Times for doing something important that no one before you has ever thought to do.  What did you do and why did you do it?
5. Carolina encourages students and faculty to solve problems.  What problem are you trying to solve, and why is it important to you?
6. Tell us about a time when you changed your mind about something that mattered to you.  What led to that change?

I chose the third prompt.  For me, these questions were more difficult to find an answer to.  So, I wrote about something very near and dear to my heart: food.

“My comfort food is the prized food of Italy: spaghetti.  Spaghetti directs me back to childhood memories.  I always ask my father what he puts in his sauce, but he smiles and tells me it is a secret.  When I come home from school and smell the sweet scent of spaghetti sauce cooking in the big pot on the stove, it brings a smile to my face.  Whenever my father makes spaghetti, he makes it well.  My father created his own secret decadent recipe for the sauce, and crafts it to perfection.  His sauce is so delicious; rendering the typical supplement of cheese unnecessary.  Filled with decadent and juicy flavor, the sauce brings back many sweet memories.  I love observing the pot filled with the secret sauce and looking up through the window.  Above the stove lies a picture window, revealing the beautiful trees, grass, and bamboo which I call my home.  Memories of spaghetti on the stove remind me of my childhood days when I would spend hours running around outside with the neighbors.  Memories of my childhood days bring happiness and joy.

“My father always works hard on his spaghetti; when he makes it, it is an expression of his deep love for his family.  Every time I look at the spaghetti pot, I look up and out the window, and memories of my old swing set flood my mind.  Looking out at the picture window brings memories of the swing set and the love he poured out on me as he would push me on the swing for hours on end, never growing tired.  As the scent of spaghetti permeates the air, a smile comes across my face.  Spaghetti reminds me of days of old.  Spaghetti opens the door to my hopes and dreams.  Spaghetti takes me to a different land.  When you taste my father’s spaghetti, it will remind you of culture and far off lands.

“Spaghetti is a symbol of the diversity of food cultures I was introduced to at a young age.  Whenever I tried something I thought I did not like, my parents would tell me that I did like it and that I needed to finish it.  After finishing my food, I would grow to like it and to appreciate culture and diversity, especially regarding food.  My father’s spaghetti sauce brings me back to the diversity of flavors that made my childhood sweet.  In short, spaghetti is not only a reminder of my father’s love, but a reminder of diversity, culture, far off lands, and days of old.  Reminiscing of days of old brings a smile upon my face.  In my house, spaghetti is more than just a food.  It is a representative of my family’s way of life and of my childhood.  Food represents my childhood and all of the lovely experiences that I have had over the years.  Spaghetti is more than just a comfort food, but a constant reminder of the love that is so strong in my household.”

Yes, I have more essays to share with you.  Although I only applied to the three schools aforementioned, I intended to apply to University of Virginia and Virginia Tech as well.  I did not intend to apply to Tech early because their early application option was binding, meaning you are declaring that, upon acceptance, you will for sure attend said university.  I wrote my UVA essays and was almost done tailoring them, when I received my acceptance to Auburn University.  After my acceptance, I knew where I wanted to be and knew I did not want or need to apply anywhere else.  My thought process was this: “I could apply to UVA.  I may get in.  However, since I already know I am going to Auburn, I have no need to.  What if I get accepted when I don’t intend to attend, whereas another student really wants to attend but is waitlisted because of me?”  While I did not think this would happen and was not being prideful, I honestly did not want to finish fine-tuning these essays.

UVA’s application required two, 250-word essays.  The first essay is contingent upon which department you are planning on entering.  I plan to go into Business, which, for UVA, meant I had to do the essay required for people entering the College of Arts and Sciences.  The question is as follows: What work of art, music, science, mathematics, or literature has surprised, unsettled, or challenged you, and in what way?

“Crime and Punishment by Fyodor Dostoyevsky challenged and surprised me.  At first glance, my expectations were such that about half of the book would lead up to the crime and the other half deal with the punishment.  My expectations seemed to make a logical conclusion.  However, Raskolnikov committed the crime in the first part of the work, and the rest revealed his punishment.  Raskolnikov is not sent to the prison until the final pages.  His primary punishment became the emotional and mental turmoil he placed upon himself as a result of committing the crime.  Dostoyevsky explored the human psyche through his character.  The nature of Raskolnikov’s punishment surprised and intrigued me.  I find it quite intriguing when authors look beyond what is seen and explore the human mind.  Dostoyevsky explored in detail self-loathing and inner turmoil, and it surprised me the length he successfully accomplished this.  Dostoyevsky’s approach challenged me to look beyond the surface when talking to other people and to observe their emotions and feelings.  Crime and Punishment also challenged me to not make expectations of what a work of literature will be before reading it.  Although I do not ‘judge a book by its cover,’ I do form expectations on how the author will develop the plot before I read the work.  Dostoyevsky challenges the readers’ perception of the nature of punishment in regards to murder.  Rather than showing Raskolnikov as a bloodthirsty psychopath, Raskolnikov primarily punishes himself for his dastardly deed.  This challenges and surprises the reader to look beyond their perceptions of natural punishment.  This is how the work challenged me.”

Admittedly, this essay is actually 266 words (Microsoft Word gives you a word count at the bottom!).  I never finished fine-tuning it.  For the second essay, the applicant chose from four of the following prompts:

1. What is your favorite word and why?
2. Describe the world you come from and how that world shaped who you are.
3. Discuss your favorite place to get lost.  (This question was written by U. Va. students who live in one of the residential colleges, Brown College at Monroe Hill.)
4. Discuss something you secretly like but pretend not to, or vice versa.

This essay is 249 words … darn, one word short.  Oh well, now I do not need to finish it.

“Blitzkrieg is my favorite word.  The Germanic tone of the word as it rolls off the tongue excites me, and the spelling is exotic.  Not only does it bring back fond childhood memories, but it is an enjoyable word to utter.  Blitzkrieg was a spelling word I had in the sixth grade.  Every time I hear the word it brings back memories of my friends and me trying to pronounce it correctly and coming up with definitions of what we thought it meant.  I fondly remember us helping each other learn how to spell it.  We took delight in the definition because we were eager to learn its application.  Once we learned its definition, our interest was piqued even more.  We were so eager to learn the history behind the word and what battles it was successfully used in.  Blitzkrieg brings me back to days of old with my friends when we were so carefree and young.  Mastering what seemed to be such a big word at a young age left us with hopes and dreams that we could do anything.  Blitzkrieg also reminds me of my father.  He is a historian and lecturer on history, particularly war history.  Since blitzkrieg is a battle word, it reminds me of my loving father and his passion for history and art that was passed on to me.  The word reminds me of all of his lessons to me on history and how the world works, and brings a smile to my face.”

When a college e-mails me and tells me they will not require me to write an essay, I am not as thrilled as other students are about it.  Writing is something I enjoy (most of the time) and is one of my strengths (or so I’ve been told).  If I hated writing essays, I wouldn’t have taken this class.  When a college exempts me from writing an essay, I see it not as a blessing but a missed opportunity.  I would rather write the essay to prove my writing ability.  I hope this article has given some insight into the world of the “dreaded” college essay.  I hope this article did not bore you.  I also hope this gave the younger readers who aren’t yet at the stage of college essay writing hope the questions can sometimes be fun, and the essays truly aren’t that bad.  I hope you have enjoyed reading my essays.  Until next time, friends….

Note: All essay prompts were copied and pasted from http://www.commonapp.org.