Personal Statements

By now, you may be starting your Personal Statements for your college applications.  It's probably everyone's least favorite part of the application process - you have to brag about yourself without sounding too arrogant, too humble, too cliche, or too boring.  And sometimes the essay questions just don't seem to apply to you or your life.  Despite these challenges, the personal statement is one of the most important components of your introduction into college and "real" life.  It is good to have an introspective look at yourself and your accomplishments before you jump into life after high school.  This is also a practical skill that you will use for years to come.  Job interviews will ask you to know your strengths and weaknesses, to give examples of overcoming challenges or conflicts, and how you would be a valuable asset to their company.  These are basically the same questions that a personal statement asks, and, unlike in a job interview, you can take all the time you need to revise, revise, revise.

The Admissions Blog for Vanderbilt University recently posted about the importance of the personal statement.  I have included the blog written by David Lazo below.
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#selfie, Old School Style

Even though the age of the #selfie encourages self-promotion, I believe it is still very difficult for most people to write about themselves. When I have the opportunity to share my observations about reading personal statements in Vanderbilt information sessions, I always make time to ask the audience how many of them keep a written log of their internal thoughts. Few do. Unfortunately, I find that many applicants to college wait until the last minute to compose an essay that can be important in a holistic process like ours.

If a picture is truly worth a thousand words, we should be able to write an essay as easily as we take a selfie. In fact, mastering the ability to advocate for oneself through the written form remains difficult, although it is a critical life skill. I believe that the personal statement serves as one of many ‘firsts’ as you enter the adult world. For example, when applying for jobs, I always slave over my cover letter. Word placement. Tone. Brevity. It all matters.

Certainly the stakes surrounding your personal statement may seem high now, but this exercise is just the beginning of many statements to come. It may start with describing your distinctive fit for a college community, but next you’ll find yourself writing a statement for an internship or your first job after college graduation. Or perhaps you’ll decide to pursue graduate school, and, speaking from personal experience, it is just as important for that process. Composing a distinctive personal statement may always be difficult, but with practice, you can get much better at it.

If you are a high school senior, you have many drafts ahead of you. Your summer months should be used to give yourself the time and flexibility to allow your personal statement to evolve. The first draft of your personal statement SHOULD NOT be the one we see. Much like a seedling, personal statements must sprout and grow. With ample watering (read: editing and revisions), your statement will be one that I remember. And if you happen to be in the midst of college searches but still have some time before you compose an official application for admission, just start writing. About anything. Ultimately, it is not just what you say that will impress any admissions officer, but also how you say it that will distinguish you.

A selfie is unique because it is a one-of-a-kind visual of who you are (or would like to be). However, before the selfie there was the good old-fashioned personal statement. You owe it to yourself to stand out in a competitive process like ours. Here is my challenge to you: Put down the camera phone and pick up a pen this summer – it’s time for a selfie, old-school style.

http://admissions.vanderbilt.edu/vandybloggers/2014/07/selfie-old-school-style/

Are You A Student Leader?

The magazine Leadership for Student Activities NHS & NJHS edition contains a great article with tips for getting into college by maximizing your application process.  The author, Mark Sklarow, notes that colleges and universities are facing a growing list of increasingly competitive applicants and are choosing students whose "collective skills and interests will create an entering class that reflects the academic, social, and cultural mix they want to see on their campuses."  They are looking for student leaders who will bring new and creative ideas and leadership to cultural clubs, academic societies, sororities and fraternities, service organizations, etc.

So how do you show off your skills as a student leader without bragging?  Here are some tips:

• Approach your adviser well in advance.  You can request a recommendation as early as junior year or earlier if either you or your teacher is leaving the school.  But remember that your adviser is busy, so give lots of lead time.
• Give your adviser a list of your activities and the projects you worked on, and share information about what you've discovered about yourself, your fellow students, and your school through  your involvement in school activities.
• Show colleges what you've done in high school, but remember that they are even more interested in how you will use your knowledge, training, and experience to make their colleges a better place.  Look for opportunities in your essay and interview to discuss where you hope to be involved on campus.
• Demonstrate a deep and passionate involvement in a few things.  Colleges are unimpressed by students who dabble in 15 activities.  Rather, they are thrilled with teens who discover what they love to do, get deeply involved, and accept more and more responsibility as the years go by.  Demonstrate how that genuine passion has shaped you as a person and a student leader, and you'll make admissions hearts flutter.
• Bear in mind that different types of schools view their candidates differently.  Small liberal arts colleges see it as their mission to view students holistically, and they spend serious time reviewing essays, letters of recommendation, and talking with students, as well as considering transcripts and scores.  Big state universities have less time and are often driven by data, but students with a genuine story can stand out and convince an overwhelmed admissions counselor to stop and take notice.

Letters of Recommendation are a key way to display this information to admissions committees.  Consider carefully who you would like to write you a recommendation.  Teachers, counselors, administrators, mentors, employers, etc. are all great people to ask -- you want someone who knows you well.  Make sure you chose someone who is able to write a letter that will highlight your accomplishments; convey information about your skills, abilities, and unique talents; provide specific examples of your leadership experiences and your greatest successes; and can write these things honestly. 

Source: Mark Sklarow, "Getting In: An insider shares tips on the college admissions process," Leadership  for Student Activities, vol. 42, no. 3, November 2013.

*Mark Sklarow is the CEO of the Independent Education Consultants Association, a national organization representing school and college advisers who work independently from school settings.

Application Essays - Thinking Outside the Box

Many college applications require that you submit a personal essay or two with the rest of your documentation.  These essays allow admissions counselors to get to know the applicants better.  Usually, the essay answers a specific question about your defining moments, influential people in your life, your greatest achievements, obstacles you have overcome, etc.  It is always a good idea to try and think outside the box when answering the essay question.   College admissions counselors often lose interest when every essay is about a mission trip, a state championship, or parental influences.  Below is a humorous, if a little extreme, example of creative writing.

The Question:

ARE THERE ANY SIGNIFICANT EXPERIENCES YOU HAVE HAD, OR ACCOMPLISHMENTS YOU HAVE REALIZED, THAT HAVE HELPED TO DEFINE YOU AS A PERSON?

The Essay:

I am a dynamic figure, often seen scaling walls and crushing ice. I have been known to remodel train stations on my lunch breaks, making them more efficient in the area of heat retention. I translate ethnic slurs for Cuban refugees, I write award-winning operas, I manage time efficiently.

Occasionally, I tread water for three days in a row.

I woo women with my sensuous and godlike trombone playing, I can pilot bicycles up severe inclines with unflagging speed, and I cook Thirty-Minute Brownies in twenty minutes. I am an expert in stucco, a veteran in love, and an outlaw in Peru.

Using only a hoe and a large glass of water, I once single-handedly defended a small village in the Amazon Basin from a horde of ferocious army ants. I play bluegrass cello, I was scouted by the Mets, I am the subject of numerous documentaries. When I’m bored, I build large suspension bridges in my yard. I enjoy urban hang gliding. On Wednesdays, after school, I repair electrical appliances free of charge.

I am an abrstract artist, a concrete analyst, and a ruthless bookie. Critics worldwide swoon over my original line of corduroy evening wear. I don’t perspire. I am a private citizen, yet I receive fan mail. I have been caller number nine and have won weekend passes. Last summer I toured New Jersey with a traveling centrifugal-force demonstration. I bat 400.

My deft floral arrangements have earned me fame in international botany circles. Children trust me.

I can hurl tennis rackets at small moving objects with deadly accuracy. I once read Paradise Lost, Moby Dick, and David Copperfield in one day and still had time to refurbish an entire dining room that evening. I know the exact location of every food item in the supermarket. I have performed several covert operations with the CIA. I sleep once a week: when I do sleep, I sleep in a chair. While on vacation in Canada, I successfully negotiated with a group of terrorists who had seized a small bakery. The laws of physics do not apply to me.

I balance, I weave, I dodge, I frolic, and my bills are all paid. On weekends, to let off steam, I participate in full-contact origami. Years ago I discovered the meaning of life but forgot to write it down. I have made extraordinary four course meals using only a mouli and a toaster oven.

I breed prizewinning clams. I have won bullfights in San Juan, cliff-diving competitions in Sri Lanka, and spelling bees at the Kremlin.

I have played Hamlet, I have performed open-heart surgery, and I have spoken with Elvis.

But I have not yet gone to college.

(This is a real essay and the author was accepted to NYU.)

Source:laughbreak

Some tips for writing your college application essay:

http://www.c2educate.com/blog/top-5-college-application-essay-cliches/

http://www.wordhelper.com/blog/2012/09/2037/5-keys-to-a-successful-college-application-essay