MyEssay

Ever wonder why the application asks the questions it does? Need to know what the Admissions officers really want to know? Take a look at the questions below as we attempt to de-mystify the application essay.

Questions

• General
• This is your opportunity to give us a clearer sense of you as an individual. We encourage you to write about something of personal importance to you. Possibilities include: your family; a role model; unusual circumstances in your life; a unique experience, interest, or achievement; a political, social, or ethical issue that interests you.
• What goals do you hope to achieve at this college?
• You may offer any additional information you would like us to consider.
• Extracurricular Activities
• Describe the extracurricular activity that has meant the most to you.
• List your extracurricular activities, the years in which you pursued them, your weekly time commitment, and any titles you held.
• Personal Growth
• Describe your greatest achievement.
• How have you demonstrated initiative in the last two years?
• What has been your greatest challenge or obstacle, and how have you dealt with it?

What they mean

• This is your opportunity to give us a clearer sense of you as an individual. We encourage you to write about something of personal importance to you. Possibilities include: your family; a role model; unusual circumstances in your life; a unique experience, interest, or achievement; a political, social, or ethical issue that interests you.
• Intent
  Through this question, the admissions committee wants to get a sense of who you are and what is important to you. Because you can choose from among such a broad range of topics to answer this question, your choice of topic is as important as what you say about it.
• Suggestions
  Choose a topic that has personally affected you in a direct way. Always explain how a person, experience, or event has changed the way you think, how you feel, or who you are.
• What goals do you hope to achieve at this college?
• Intent
  Through this question, the admissions committee wants to get a sense of why you want to attend this college. Your answer should demonstrate your familiarity with what this school has to offer, which in turn indicates your true commitment to this school.
• Suggestions
  Familiarize yourself with this college's informational literature (brochures, catalogs, etc.). You may address a range of goals—academic, extracurricular, social—or focus on one or two. In either case, be sure to convey a deep knowledge of what this school has to offer.
• You may offer any additional information you would like us to consider.
• Intent
  You may have important information which does not fit into other sections of the application. This question gives you an opportunity to provide additional information that would provide a more complete picture of yourself. If this is the only essay question on the application, you should absolutely answer it. If it is preceded by other questions that solicit long, in-depth essays, then it is optional to address it.
• Suggestions
  If the question turns out to be optional, it is not necessary to answer it. Do, however, take this opportunity to provide additional information that you feel would help your application. Do not use this as an opportunity to reiterate anything you have already said.
• Describe the extracurricular activity that has meant the most to you.
• Intent
  The admissions committee wants to see how you came to be involved in the activity, what you liked about it, what you learned from it, how it changed you, and whether or not you plan to pursue it in the future. Do not simply describe what you did in your club, your team, or your job.
• Suggestions
  Choose an activity that you have pursued for several years or one that has had a strong personal impact on you. Make sure to describe both the activity and how it has affected you in detail.
• List your extracurricular activities, the years in which you pursued them, your weekly time commitment, and any titles you held.
• Intent
  This question gauges your true commitment to your activities. The admissions committee is trying to determine whether your involvement in each activity is limited or deep.
• Suggestions
  List only the activities in which you have had deep involvement in terms of hours per week or duration of participation. Do not include single-day activities or activities you have recently joined unless they are extremely significant.
• Describe your greatest achievement.
• Intent
  For the admissions committee, your answer to this question reveals what you consider important, and offers a hint into what kind of person you are.
• Suggestions
  You should think carefully about which achievement to choose, as this choice will probably affect how the admissions committee will view you as a person. Don't simply describe the achievement; explain how it affected you or your view of yourself as well.
• How have you demonstrated initiative in the last two years?
• Intent
  Your answer to this question will reveal how independent you are. Make sure to describe an experience that actually occurred in the last two years. The admissions committee wants to see that you are developing and exhibiting your independence as you grow older.
• Suggestions
  Do not only describe how you demonstrated initiative, but also what the end results were and what you learned from the experience. Examples of taking initiative include starting a new club, establishing an annual canned food drive, and arranging informational interviews with prospective employers in hopes of getting a job.
• What has been your greatest challenge or obstacle, and how have you dealt with it?
• Intent
  The admissions committee wants you to describe a difficult experience or situation, and the steps you took to come to a resolution. You should also address how this experience has personally affected you.
• Suggestions
  You may use any challenge, from overcoming a handicap to coping with death to making a tough decision at work, as long as you explain how you resolved it and how you were affected by it.