{"id":27,"date":"2011-03-02T18:21:43","date_gmt":"2011-03-02T18:21:43","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.princetontutoring.com\/?p=27"},"modified":"2013-12-19T16:15:00","modified_gmt":"2013-12-19T16:15:00","slug":"be-yourself","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.princetontutoring.com\/blog\/2011\/03\/be-yourself\/","title":{"rendered":"The College Essay: Be Yourself"},"content":{"rendered":"

by David Kurz<\/em><\/p>\n

Looking back on my 17-year old life, I remember feeling a mix of uncertainty and pressure when it came time to write the college essay. In my experience, the personal statement was uniquely difficult because \u2013 unlike SATs, GPA, AP scores, and academic achievements \u2013 it was subjective, biased, and supremely personal. My college essay sometimes seemed like a blank sheet staring me in the face, daring me to be creative, fluid, and self-revealing in the midst of a high-stakes application. The good news is that, eventually, I was able to turn this daunting undertaking into a fun exercise that let me express my personality better than any other piece of my application.<\/p>\n

My Story<\/strong><\/p>\n

I remember deciding that I wanted my essay to capture something about me that spoke to how I was singular. Something that only Dave Kurz could write. I recall leaning back in my chair, looking around, and thinking to myself: \u201cWhat makes me different?\u201d What I settled on certainly wasn\u2019t perfect, but it did fit the criterion I had laid out for myself; my essay literally could not have been written by anybody else because of the distinctive way only I could unite various aspects of my life story. In my case, this meant writing about everything from Hungarian history to Spanish classes to soccer to kayaking to jazz trumpet to faith, and how they had all come together to make me who I was. I also included some minor details about my life that weren\u2019t important in their own right \u2013 for instance, my high school habit of grabbing frozen waffles while running out the door \u2013 but added a personal touch to the writing. The key was not really what I wrote about, but how my writing captured my personality.<\/p>\n

[Continue reading for Dave’s advice, and additional tips and resources]<\/em><\/p>\n

My Advice: Be Yourself!<\/strong><\/p>\n

With that said, here\u2019s the best advice I can give if you\u2019re pondering how to approach the college essay: Be Yourself! Many students feel a need to present themselves in a professional or sophisticated light in order to knock the socks off stuffy, robotic admissions officers who live a dull existence chained up in dungeons miles from light and fresh air. They think that pressing the right buttons or saying the right phrases will unlock a magical code that grants them a check-plus on the essay and an inside track to acceptance at their dream school.<\/p>\n

The truth is that admissions officers are generally normal people who live normal lives and care about normal things! They play backyard football, laugh in front of the TV, enjoy ham-and-mushroom omelets, and crack crude jokes. I say all this to emphasize that they appreciate you for who you are, rather than for who you think they want you to be (read that twice if you need to). Janet Rapelye, Dean of Admissions at Princeton, talks about how she loves it when a college essay sounds like it\u2019s written by a 17-year old. After all, that\u2019s who you are when you apply! At this stage, there\u2019s no need to come across as a polished Wall Street exec or knowledgeable medical researcher (give it a few years first).<\/p>\n

Some Additional Tips<\/strong><\/p>\n