h1Should You Gamble on your own College Application Essay?/h1p This time of year, a flurry of stories hit the national media about students who enter into most of the Ivy League schools (plus Stanford)./ppThe stories always include scrutiny and speculation about their college application essays./pp I need to admit that I’m type of a sucker for these articles./ppThere’s such unpredictability with who gets into what schools./ppEveryone wants clues as to what works and what doesn’t especially with the essays./ppIs it possible to blame them?/ppUsually, the risk-takers seemed to prevail./ppOver the last month we’ve had Ziad and his #BlackLifeMatters essay; the Quadruplet’s package deal; and first-gen Cassandra Hsiao’s piece on her broken English./ppDoes this mean you should take a risk along with your essay?/pp The fact is that which works for others most likely won’t do the job./pp In fact, it might backfire./ppJust how do you know?/pp(For the record, I really don’t believe the ivies are the end-all in getting a stellar education. But if you should be obsessed, read onhellip;)/ph3Ziad as well as the Quadruplets Took A creative risk with Their Essays And Won!/h3pI loved this article in regards to the quadruplets who teamed up on their applications and essays and got into Yale and Harvard as a package deal./ppThis was clearly a calculated risk that paid off big time./pp’In a clever stroke, the four brothers wrote essays that will be read separately, yet are supposed to be read together, like four pieces of a puzzle. Each piece is charming and winning on its own, but together, they are even better, and college admissions officers everywhere did actually agree and were unwilling to pull them apart.’ From the Ny Times article.!–more–/ppThis showed me that colleges and schools can be open-minded to innovative admissions approaches, but only if there already are solid reasons they need those students./ppJust this week, A american-muslim teen who fights for social justice named Ziad Ahmed made headlines after getting accepted to Stanford University using a college application essay that included only the same hashtag phrase #BlackLivesMatter a hundred times./ppA controversial essay of a controversial subject./pp And he got in./ppWhat does that say about these essays?/pp Just What does it say about crazy-competitive colleges, such as Stanford?/ppSome college admissions industry pundits were handwringing, saying this out-of-the-box essay proved the essays don’t matter./ppI say hog wash./ppIf you ask me, it implies that taking a risk pays off with your essays, mainly because countless of them say the same thing in the in an identical way, and college admissions officers can’t help jumping at otherwise exemplary students who locate a unique method to convey themselves./ppShould strongyou/strong take such a risk?/ppShould strongyou/strong write an essay and only include one phrase 100 times?a href=”https://123helpme.me/how-to-write-racism-thesis-statement/”persuasive speech topics on racism/a/ppHeck no!/ppIt worked for Ziad because he could be the one and only Ziad, and this one and only essay perfectly reflected something unique and fundamental about him./ppYou aren’t Ziad, so that it won’t do the job./ppAnd keep at heart that his essay also somehow perfectly complemented everything else he showed Stanford about himself in his application, and I’m guessing that was a pretty impressive package./ppIf you decide to take a risk along with your essay, it must be consistent with who you are and accurately reflect your individuality and in addition be consistent along with your entire application./ph3Your Risk Should Reflect You/h3pCopying the risk someone else took will not work./ppOther risk-takers can motivate and give you ideas, yes./ppBut what you determine to write in your essays must result from your authentic self./ppIf they don’t really, they could hurt you. That’s the last thing you want./ppRemember, colleges use these essays to round down their photo of you from your complete applications./ppIf you are a more conservative, head-down, follow-the-rules type of student, perhaps your essay should reflect that style with regards to your topic. And be much more traditional./ppIf you should be bold and idealistic, and now have a whacky side, it will make sense to do something around, like Ziad’s topic./pp(Personally, I do believe Ziad’s piece was more of a stunt than an essay. The risk, i really believe, should be more in your topic and what you need to say about it. Avoid gimmicks!)/pp Within the last decade, I’ve seen every type of topics help get students accepted./pp There was clearly the boy who wrote about stealing a child goat./ppAnd getting caught by the cops./ppHe even ended it saying he would do it all over again. What? (He included larger life lessons, so his/ppirreverent ending worked.)/ppHe found myself in NYU./ppI’ve seen students write essays on topics which can be often red-flagged as cliche or overdone including the death of a parent or a recreations injury or a mission trip land their dream schools./ppI really believe if the topic does work to what that student wishes to showcase, and enhances their admissions self-portrait, most situations goes./ppSome students have faced horrendous hardship in their lives, which includes aided define who they are./ppUsually, it’s a wise idea for them to publish about those personal challenges./ppOthers, however, have yet to face many intense personal crises or challenges./ppI advise these students to brainstorm more everyday topics. (One student just said she got into all her target schools, including Harvard and Stanford, and her topic was tying her shoes.)/ppIn yesteryear, I had to function hard to convince students and parents that writing about ‘mundane’ topics had not been taking a risk./ppI really believe present feedback indicating that these forms of essays are effective has confirmed their power./ppFor example, last ‘season’s’ college application essay poster child, Brittany Stinson, who got into most of the ivies, wrote her essay about her love for Costco. (And she even credited this blog for inspiring her to feature such an everyday topic! Browse my Qamp;A on How Brittany Stinson Wrote Her Costco Essay.)/ppThis season, another brilliant student, Cassandra Hsiao from here in Orange County, California, got into most of the ivies with her essay on an ‘everyday’ topic her struggle learning English./ppI also believe that getting in to a bundle of top colleges, even all the ivies, does maybe not fundamentally prove the student’s essay was exemplary./pp Several times school decided they wanted a student based on other qualifications and attributes, and the essay played no role./ppYou never know./ppI probably had been in the minority, but I thought the essay written by Kwasi Enin, another brilliant and talented student who found myself in all the ivies in 2015, wasn’t that hot. In fact, I thought it absolutely was regarding the dull side./ppAs it is possible to see, it’s very nearly impossible to figure out how much the essay mattered in every one of these celebrity acceptances./ppThe only certainty is that these essays failed to nix their possibility of acceptance. Beyond that, we have been all only hypothesizing./pp For a few, the essay can tip the scale in a student’s favor. For others, it might not have mattered at all./ppAll you certainly can do is write your most readily useful essay, really./ph3Should YOU Take a Risk along with Your Essay?/h3pIf you should be considering taking a risk along with your essay topic, however, think hard about why you are doing that./pp Just What do you have to gain?/pp Just What do you have to reduce?/ppIf you should be going to a super competitive college, and know you have outstanding stats, maybe it makes sense to step out of the box a bit in an endeavor to create an impression./ppRemember, every one of the students who got into multiple ivies had off-the-charts stats, such as for example near perfect test scores and grades./ppDo your due diligence and research your target schools so that you have some notion of which type of student they are seeking, and you will need to line up the tone and topic that best shows why you really are a fit./ppIf you don’t desire to mess around gaming the whole process, stay glued to locating a topic that highlights what allows you to tick, and trust that will help best land where you belong./ppI like that approach the most effective, frankly, irrespective of what university you wish to attend./ppTHESE PAGES has my most readily useful posts to understand just how you will find your own unique topic and ace your essay, risk or no risk./ppI am offering three, two-part essay workshops this summer in my own hometown of Laguna Beach on how to write awesome college application essays./ppThe workshops, that will be 90 mins each on Saturday morning and Sunday afternoon, will be held at our coastal town’s wonderful community center, on Third Street, called the Suzi Q, located in the heart of our downtown./ppThe boot camps will include anything from understanding what makes an effective essay to just how to brainstorm unique topics to editing and polishing drafts./ppThe essay workshops will teach students how to craft personal statement essays that will be perfect for the Common Application and other core essays, as well as writing admissions essays for the University of California and other universities and colleges./ppStudents will also learn easy methods to answer the most frequent supplemental essay prompts, such as why they are a ‘fit’ for his or her target schools or writing about their extracurricular activities./ppI will focus on helping students learn to determine and share their real-life experiences to spin into essays that reveal who they have been, how they learn and what they value./ppMy goal with your essay workshops is to help students find topics and understand how to craft narrative style essays to offer them more confidence in handling these stressful essays. Stories rock college application essays!/ppAll students of my essay workshops will receive free digital copies of my popular writing guides, all available on Amazon./ppstrongDates for the three weekend workshops (students only need attend ONE weekend workshop):/strong/ppstrongJune 24 and 25/strongstrongJuly 22 and 23/strongstrongAugust 26 and 27/strong/ppOccasions is going to be Saturday from 10 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. and Sunday from noon to 1:30 p.m./ppCost: $150 per weekend training. These workshops are intended for collegebound kids./ppRegistration for my essay workshops through the City of Laguna Beach starts May 1. To learn more and/or sign up, visit here: strongwww.lagunabeachcity.net. Click on the Recreation Department to find my workshops./strong/p