The personal statement for college applications can be difficult, even for the best of writers.
Why? Because the personal statement involves revealing a part of yourself - a strategic part - a part that you think will make admissions officers take notice of you as an individual, for a moment realizing that you are Earl Thompson, with the hybrid vehicle or Jasmine Jenkins, future veterinarian, or Oliver Pullman, who overcame leukemia.
One of the best tips I can give you is to look at previous personal statement themselves. If you, or your teenager, decide on a group of colleges early on in high school, even during Junior year of high school (a year before it's time to apply to colleges), you can simply request college applications early.
Fact: USC offers a list of the essay topics for the upcoming year on their website. Maybe your school of choice does as well!
By reading the applications early, you can get a feel for the types of questions the schools of your choice ask. You'll likely find that many of the schools offer more than one question and that many of the questions have underlying themes that you can apply any life story to if done correctly. Therefore, you can pick 2 or 3 things about your aspirations, social issues that you are passionate about, or experiences you have gone through that you can apply to almost any prompt that you may come across when it is actually time to apply for college.
Here is an example using my own experience:
Step 1:
I pick one interesting thing about my aspirations, one social issue, and one experience to write about.
My aspirations: My desire (in high school) to be a surgeon.
Social Issue I Care About: Access to a quality education for all students.
Experience: The murder of my brother after he returned safely from war.
Step 2:
Write a small paragraph or outline about each item. I would recommend about a half page (prose) or a full page (outline) on each just so you have a strong idea of the main points.
Step 3:
Go through applications for examples of personal statement prompts. Here are a few examples of actual prompts.
How does this quote resonate in your life. "Be the change that you want to see in the world" -
Gandhi (LMU application - from when I applied)
Thomas Edison failed many times before successfully inventing the modern electric light bulb.
He said, "If I find 10,000 ways something won't work, I haven't failed. I am not discouraged,
because every wrong attempt discarded is another step forward." Reflect on an
accomplishment you achieved in an unlikely way. (USC application - current)
How have you taken advantage of the educational opportunities you have had to prepare for
college? (UC application - current)
I'm sure you can already see how I could apply my three choices to these prompts.
For LMU, I could talk about changing gun regulation in light of the experience with my brother.
For USC, I could tie in my desire to be a surgeon by cleverly talking about volunteer experiences (such as when I volunteered as a candystriper at the local hospital).
For the UCs, perhaps if I had done poorly at a certain part of high school and improved drastically, I could talk about an individual at my high school who helped me to improve thereby causing me to care deeply about education - this would explain my social cause and explain any drop in grades.
Step 4:
Let's say these three were on the same application. If you have the option of choosing, great - choose the one that most closely fits what you want to write about.
If you must write something short about each (as the UC system does), don't fret! Often, they span many aspects of your aspirations, your social cares, and your experiences. But wait! You've already picked out something for each of those, so you're ready! :)
Saturday, September 8, 2007
Don't Write off the ACT!
When Junior year rolls around, the stress truly begins in the heads and hearts of 16 year olds across the nation as they realize it's time to take the SAT.
I was one of the fortunate ones - one of the last classes to take the old SAT test as a high school graduate in '04. I say fortunate deliberately as the New SAT sent a well established tradition of predicting college success since the 1930s completely topsy turvy.
As you surely know by now, changes such as removing the analogies section and adding the writing section changed the way many people looked at the SAT. I can remember doing analogy lessons since I started learning vocabulary words - surely the SAT analogy section had something to do with that.
Not to mention one of the biggest complaints about the New SAT - the excessive length of almost 4 hours. Among graduate standardized tests, including the LSAT, the GRE, the GMAT and the MCAT, the MCAT is the only one that is longer. In my four years of college at the University of Southern California, I've never had a 4 hour exam.
I doubt that testing a student's mental abilities under fatigue is at all relevant to determining their future success.
Therefore the ACT is becoming more noticed by students, parents, and even universities who are increasingly opening up their applications to students who have only taken the ACT.
I think this is great news, since I find that students who are better at English and the social sciences show better scores with the ACT than the SAT. I certainly did. The New ACT pains me even more since the analogies were actually one of the sections that inflated my SAT score. With that section removed and tougher math questions, the New SAT may be much more difficult for students who aren't particularly great at math.
And I still don't see how a subjectively graded pressurized essay that many students hardly have time to finish within 25 minutes should realistically be 1/3 of the total SAT score. I especially doubt that this even benefits students who are good at writing, since any substantive in class essay I've ever written in college (both in GEs and English classes) has taken at least an hour.
TAKE THE ACT (ALSO)
Although my bias is clear by now, I urge you to consider taking the ACT. The ACT takes to heart that less is truly more. This is evident through the streamlined score range of 1-36 as opposed to the New SAT's 600-2400.
In addition, you have a better chance of doing better on the ACT since the standards are more familiar to those teaching the it and to companies who make books for it. Even though I am sure companies have worked hard to adapt to the New SAT, a few years of adaptation is not enough to find methods to elicit the best possible scores. And the ACT is less expensive!
So if you look at the list of schools that you want to apply to and find that they don't require the SAT, go for the ACT! Or at least take both, because you may find that you do better on one test than the other and have the option of submitting only the better set of scores.
I know it's hard, but Happy testing!
References: Can the ACT Take Down the SAT? on MSNBC.com with Newsweek
Length of New SAT is Biggest Complaing Among First Time test Takers
I was one of the fortunate ones - one of the last classes to take the old SAT test as a high school graduate in '04. I say fortunate deliberately as the New SAT sent a well established tradition of predicting college success since the 1930s completely topsy turvy.
As you surely know by now, changes such as removing the analogies section and adding the writing section changed the way many people looked at the SAT. I can remember doing analogy lessons since I started learning vocabulary words - surely the SAT analogy section had something to do with that.
Not to mention one of the biggest complaints about the New SAT - the excessive length of almost 4 hours. Among graduate standardized tests, including the LSAT, the GRE, the GMAT and the MCAT, the MCAT is the only one that is longer. In my four years of college at the University of Southern California, I've never had a 4 hour exam.
I doubt that testing a student's mental abilities under fatigue is at all relevant to determining their future success.
Therefore the ACT is becoming more noticed by students, parents, and even universities who are increasingly opening up their applications to students who have only taken the ACT.
I think this is great news, since I find that students who are better at English and the social sciences show better scores with the ACT than the SAT. I certainly did. The New ACT pains me even more since the analogies were actually one of the sections that inflated my SAT score. With that section removed and tougher math questions, the New SAT may be much more difficult for students who aren't particularly great at math.
And I still don't see how a subjectively graded pressurized essay that many students hardly have time to finish within 25 minutes should realistically be 1/3 of the total SAT score. I especially doubt that this even benefits students who are good at writing, since any substantive in class essay I've ever written in college (both in GEs and English classes) has taken at least an hour.
TAKE THE ACT (ALSO)
Although my bias is clear by now, I urge you to consider taking the ACT. The ACT takes to heart that less is truly more. This is evident through the streamlined score range of 1-36 as opposed to the New SAT's 600-2400.
In addition, you have a better chance of doing better on the ACT since the standards are more familiar to those teaching the it and to companies who make books for it. Even though I am sure companies have worked hard to adapt to the New SAT, a few years of adaptation is not enough to find methods to elicit the best possible scores. And the ACT is less expensive!
So if you look at the list of schools that you want to apply to and find that they don't require the SAT, go for the ACT! Or at least take both, because you may find that you do better on one test than the other and have the option of submitting only the better set of scores.
I know it's hard, but Happy testing!
References: Can the ACT Take Down the SAT? on MSNBC.com with Newsweek
Length of New SAT is Biggest Complaing Among First Time test Takers
Great News for Financing College!
On Friday, Congress recently passed legislation to drastically increase the amount of financial aid to students and to assist students in the repayment of their student loans.
This particularly benefits students in California, where cuts to public education were felt especially by public colleges, and which has the most .
This benefits you in many ways:
This particularly benefits students in California, where cuts to public education were felt especially by public colleges, and which has the most .
This benefits you in many ways:
- If you have demonstrated financial need, you may be eligible for a Pell Grant - and since it's a grant it never has to be repaid. This bill is expected to increase the amount given in Pell Grants to about 5.5 million needy students all over the nation. Now you have a better chance of being one of them.
- For those students starting college from 2009-2012, the maximum amount of Pell Grant you can receive will increase from the current $4,310 to $5,400.
- For minorities, you now have a better chance of getting funding directly from a mostly minority college, since the bill will invest over $500 million in minority colleges.
- If you take out a loan, your interest rate will be halved from 6.8% to 3.4% over four years, which would make a noticeable difference in repayment. Never forget the interest!
- If you work in certain public sectors for 10 years after college, you can have all of your federal student loans waved.
- If you come from a disadvantaged home and/or your parents did not attend college, you may receive additional funding from Upward Bound as $285 million will go to that organization.
- Always try to get federal loans rather than a private one (even though many federal grants are funded THROUGH private companies, they are still federal loans).
- If you have demonstrated need and can get a Subsidized Federal Loan, you can have the interest paid by the government while you are in school, and during deferments.
- It's worth the frustration of paperwork to try to get federal grants. They NEVER have to be repaid!!
- Don't be afraid to apply to private colleges simply because the tuition is expensive. If you have demonstrated need, you can often get a considerable amount of funding directly from the school as well - and for some people have your entire college career paid with little debt by graduation.
Friday, September 7, 2007
Tips to Getting into a Great College
ACTIVITIES
Colleges love to see students involved in various activites, but this is not as limiting as you might think. Just because you aren't athletic or may not be the president of every club does not mean that you cannot make a huge impact on colleges.
Colleges want to see one or two activities that you are passionate about and commit to for an extended period of time. If you want to become a doctor, try becoming a candystriper at the local hospital, or if you want to work with animals, become a docent at the local nature museum or zoo. But remember the most important thing - stick to it!
BE BOLD
Dont be afraid to apply to a couple of "reach" schools - especially if you truly love the school. Granted, they are your reaches, but colleges make surprise decisions every year. You may be that one!
IMPROVE
Getting into college isn't only about having straight As all throughout high school. Colleges also like to see improvement over time. So if you partied too much freshman year and didnt really take your classes seriously, there is absolutely still hope!
Try to use your newfound focus to your advantage in your personal statements for college. Mentioning an influential person who positively influenced your life (and your grades) will show a lot about your character and will help to explain your previous grades.
Colleges love to see students involved in various activites, but this is not as limiting as you might think. Just because you aren't athletic or may not be the president of every club does not mean that you cannot make a huge impact on colleges.
Colleges want to see one or two activities that you are passionate about and commit to for an extended period of time. If you want to become a doctor, try becoming a candystriper at the local hospital, or if you want to work with animals, become a docent at the local nature museum or zoo. But remember the most important thing - stick to it!
BE BOLD
Dont be afraid to apply to a couple of "reach" schools - especially if you truly love the school. Granted, they are your reaches, but colleges make surprise decisions every year. You may be that one!
IMPROVE
Getting into college isn't only about having straight As all throughout high school. Colleges also like to see improvement over time. So if you partied too much freshman year and didnt really take your classes seriously, there is absolutely still hope!
Try to use your newfound focus to your advantage in your personal statements for college. Mentioning an influential person who positively influenced your life (and your grades) will show a lot about your character and will help to explain your previous grades.
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