Here
are some important ideas to ponder and work on:
If
a traditional 4 year school is your primary option, designate
3-5 schools to which you will apply. You might visit their campus
this summer while it is in session. Of these 5, one is your
“dream school.” Three are realistic options for
you. One is a safety valve type of school that you would be
forced to select due to some unforeseen event (failure to meet
graduation requirements; parent(s) job loss; natural disaster;
serious illness in family; inability to gain acceptance to schools
applied, etc.)
As part of your college application process, depending on where
you choose to apply, you may be asked to write one or more essays
that are called, for the sake of this discussion, “Personal
Essays” or “Personal Statements.” These allow
the school’s admissions committee to gain further insights
about you that a typical paper resume does not provide. Many
schools consider this ‘personal statement’ to be
one of, if not the most important part of your application.
I suggest strongly that you work on this during the summer and
write a draft or two on some or all of the following topics
while you have some time. Depending on how many schools you
apply to, you may see any or all of these topics in the fall
when you begin the application process (you may be asked to
write essays like these below when applying for scholarships)
1) Does your academic record accurately reflect
your potential as a student?
2) Write about the most influential person
in your life
3) Write about why you think you deserve
a scholarship
4) Discuss a contemporary controversial social
issue and how you would design a resolution to the issue (if
you apply to a Catholic college, you may be asked to write
about a controversial or important religious issue)
5) Write a personal statement (this type
of essay in intended to give an admissions or scholarship
review committee an additional insights or two about you).
Personal statements can entail:
- your career goals
- special talents
- unique interests
- your cultural or socioeconomic background
Sometimes schools want you to write a ‘Personal Experience
Essay” about a famous quotation , or some book you read
that impacted your life, or about some piece of art or film
you consider extraordinary, or some particularly significant
experience you have had that affected or help to develop your
life or values or personality.
These ideas and suggested directions for essays are general
in nature, I know. However, in doing some preparation this summer,
you will be in a much better situation as this arduous, sometimes
stressful process of preparation for life after high school
becomes your major concern.
Richard Murphy
