2. Activity #1, Group work: Admissions Committees
- Look at the college essay checklist and discuss what you're looking for in a college essay; hard copy also given in class. http://www.nytimes.com/learning/teachers/studentactivity/20090423a.pdf
- Choose an essay to review from this site, fill out the checklist: http://www.conncoll.edu/admission/apply/essays-that-worked/
- Group chat: Read a few more essays. Which students would you accept? Which would you reject? Be ready to report out.
- What are the top three pieces of advice you glean from this piece?
- From whose perspective does this advice come?
- Do you find this advice compelling? Why or why not?
HW: Use the advice given in these articles to write the first draft of your college essay. Try writing on one of the free writing prompts we did last week....build off of one that you already did, or feel free to start over. We will be working with these drafts next class.
Treating A college Admissions Essay Like a First Date -Faith and Nichole
ReplyDelete1a. Starting to think about college essay junior year
b. Don't write about something that doesn't show who you are as a person
c. Write as many essays as you can, "Practice makes perfect"
2. Mr. Hemmelgarn, English teacher.
3. In a way because most juniors knew to start thinking about what to write for a college essay but never actually started writing. This article made us think more about what to write about, and what is unique about us that would make a college admissions want you specifically.
Lilly and Julia:
ReplyDelete3 pieces of advice: 1. Don't write to make yourself look good, write about what is important to you. 2. The essay doesn't need to be about a huge life turning event or accomplishment, but about a simple but memorable moment in time. 3. Write about what you know, don't fake it.
The advice comes from Anne Paik, who went through the admissions process.
This advice reinstated what we already knew. However, it did make the expectation clearer.
-What are the top three pieces of advice you glean from this piece?
ReplyDeleteDon't write about something that they'll see on your resumé
That you need to write about something unique
Give the reader insight on your life and sell it
-From whose perspective does this advice come?
The writer is experienced about college essays, but he includes comments from previous posts that come from parents and regular people.
-Do you find this advice compelling? Why or why not?
Yes, it gives the reader good advice on how and what to write your essay on. If gives new and interesting tips.
Nate and Hannah
1. Don't write write about thugs you don't know. Write what is compelling to you as a writer. Expand your vocabulary, and use a thesaurus.
ReplyDelete2. Thus advice comes from Anne Paik.
3. Yes, because I try to write with big words that I don't usually know what they mean, and now I'm not going to.
"Resist the temptation to let others speak for you."
ReplyDelete2. "Describe. Don't characterize."
3. "They value ambiguity, uncertainty and irony."
This advice comes from a college admissions officer. Each one of these pieces of advice is compelling. Since is comes from an admissions officer, they will know what kind of essays colleges are looking for. Resisting the temptation for quotes is great advice because quoting people can appear to make you look smart, but in reality does not represent you. Describing contrasted with characterization relates to showing rather then telling. Knowing that colleges value ambiguity, uncertainty, and irony is helpful because it will spice up the essay with these things and keep it interesting.
ReplyDeleteAfter reading this article, I have learned many pieces of important information. I will remember and use it when it is time for me to write my college essay. First, I learned how important it is. After SAT scores, it's one of the biggest things colleges look at. Secondly, I learned that it is not what you write about, but how well you write it. It doesn't need to be a huge life changing thing, but rather something that happens day to day. Thirdly, I learned that if in fact I need my essay to be the best, I can hire students or graduats that did well on it to help guide me, for a hefty fee of course. After reading this I have come to know a lot more info about the college essay that I really didn't understand or realize the importance of.
Pamela & Jake
ReplyDelete1)*That it's kind of like a first date because people are telling the stuff that makes them feel special.
*It suggested that Juniors should start their college quest by going through a number of steps such as collecting all the standardized tests for university of their interest.
*Write many samples of college essay to get familiar with the concept.
2) A high school English teacher and College counselors
3)Yes, I do find this advice compelling because practicing essays over and over makes it easier at the end to write the final one.
1) Advice I gathered from this was that administrators use these as way to see what the writer is like as a person besides their grades, it is a way for you to also speak in your own voice and spread your opinions on everyday factors in your life, and lastly the administrators like to see how the writer deals with failure through irony or embarrassment so they have an idea of how you cope with those failures.
ReplyDelete2) The collective thoughts and responses of those who have read, wrote, and accepted these letters.
3) Yes because it tells you to not just talk about hosh-posh success, also about your own personal weakness and failure.