Supplemental Essay

Supplemental Essay The goal is to stand out and not appear to be like all the other applicants. Always think about what information you want colleges to know and use when evaluating your application. I was thrown, unprepared, into India’s rigorous education system. I struggled with constructing angles and balancing chemical equations. In eighth grade, I broke my femur, and I wrote about overcoming that. Then in my senior year of high school I tore my UCLs in both hands playing football. brought me back to the process of rehabbing through injury. My essay was about finding your identity afterward. I’m more of a math and numbers guy, and I probably went through three or four ideas before I found this one. For help with your college essay or college guidance, visit or call . You can write conversationally, but the grammar and spelling still need to be correct. And don’t solely rely on your computer’s spell-checker. Leverage your native culture, traditions, and experiences. If you’re an international applicant, Native American, or otherwise non-traditional student, don’t try to “Americanize” or “mainstream” your application. Create a story that showcases your individuality and personal point of view. This is the entire purpose of the essay, as opposed to the rest of the applications process. Don’t be afraid to express a personal belief or opinion, as long as it is presented respectfully, with support, and with acknowledgement of the other side’s perspective. My classmates were behind in their education and far below my grade level, so the teachers focused most of their time on them. I suffered greatly when I switched back into mainstream schooling. Now, it was my classmates who raced through their work. The essay shows Sophie to be an engaged, thoughtful and questioning community member. She takes on challenges, sticks with her convictions, yet she does so with pleasing open-mindedness and humility. In short, she demonstrates the qualities that are a great match for a small liberal arts college. Make sure your personality, attributes and voice come through loud and clear. I didn’t want to go through and replace all the words with fancier words. For my essay, I wrote about being an athlete and finding your way after athletics by applying yourself in school. Telling a story about that is much more compelling than trying to fit everything in. I wrote about living in Milan when I was younger and how it opened my eyes to other perspectives and taught me not to be so quick to judge other people. I didn’t edit my essay a lot because I wanted it to sound authentic and like my voice. I had to work especially hard to make up for the time lost at my cultural school. It was really interesting learning about this history that I wasn’t able to learn in America from somebody who was super-knowledgeable and cared a lot about it. I remember my sister was leaning on me, and we were driving on the highway. So, I wrote about my love for history and my love for listening to stories. A lot of people say that you have to write down your entire life story in however many words you’re given, but you can highlight one really essential aspect of your identity. Don’t share anything that doesn’t make you sound good, unless you absolutely have to and you can turn it around to show the positive. Sophie grapples with tough issues and shows herself to be eager to learn. She successfully presents herself as a good match for a competitive liberal arts college. Sophie presents herself as someone who is continually learning, rethinking her convictions and embracing her uncertainty. It's important to note that Sophie does have strong convictions, but she is open-minded enough to challenge them.