Writing the college application essay is a daunting task. One great way to get started is to read examples of successful essays. Reading sample college essays gives you great ideas and helps to illustrate what is expected from a good college essay. Check out these college essay examples for inspiration!
College Essay Example #1: A Tale of Two Cities
Prompt: Describe a place or environment where you are perfectly content. What do you do or experience there, and why is it meaningful to you?
With moments to spare, I catch a glimpse of the boarding platform for my train. Like a captain frantically seeking port in a storm, I haul myself through the turbulent ocean of people, trying to avoid being stranded – or trampled – in the dustiest city in the world: Beijing, capital of both China and smog.
Luckily, I board my train with seconds to spare, and without being turned into a pancake – always a plus. The conductor welcomes me aboard. At last, it is time to return home to Shanghai.
It is the summer of 2012, and Shanghai isn’t to be home for much longer. In another week I will cross the globe to start a new life in a foreign land called Charlotte.
Which is home? The place I am leaving or the place I am going? Arrival or departure? Like a compass with a broken magnetic strip, I can’t decide my true North.
Unsettled, I turn to my ever-present book for comfort. Today it is The Things They Carried by Tim O’Brien, already worn and slightly crumpled. They say the best books tell you what you already know, resonating with your own thoughts and emotions. As I read, it is as if the tempest of my thoughts is spelled out on paper. The overflowing sense of hyper-reality in Tim O’Brien’s words of warfare spills into my world. His words somehow become my words, his memories become my memories. Despite the high speed of the bullet train, my mind is perfectly still – trapped between the narrative of the book and the narrative of my own life.
I feel like I should feel disturbed, but I’m not. I read the last page and close the book, staring out the window at the shining fish ponds and peaceful rice paddies. I feel like a speck of dust outside the train, floating, content and happy to be between destinations.
I am at home between worlds. I speak both English and Chinese: Chinese is for math, science, and process, but I prefer English for art, emotion, and description. America owns my childhood, filled with pine trees, blockbuster movies, and Lake Tahoe snow; China holds my adolescence, accompanied by industrial smog, expeditious mobility, and fast-paced social scenes.
We are drawing into Shanghai Hong Qiao station. My reverie isn’t at an end, but I have the answer to my question. Home is neither arrival nor departure, neither America nor China. Home is the in-between, the cusp of transition – that is where I feel most content.
What works?
In our College Essay Clichés to Avoid post, we advised students against writing about moving to America from a foreign country. Too often, such essays are formulaic and uninspiring – after all, while it’s certainly a challenge to learn a new language and culture, millions of people do it every day, so it simply isn’t something that sets a student apart.
This essay is an example of how to tell the story of moving to America in a unique way. This student focused on a single question – where is home? – and showed the reader a lot about who he is as a person. Through this skillfully crafted essay, we learn that the student has led a very international life, the student has a way with words, the student loves literature, the student is bilingual, and the student is excited by change. The essay is a joy to read, sharing a detailed glimpse of the student’s personality without feeling like it’s trying to list positive personal qualities.
College Essay Example #2: “Most Original” Pumpkin
Prompt: Some students have a background or story that is so central to their identity that they believe their application would be incomplete without it. If this sounds like you, then please share your story.
I won “Most Original” pumpkin at a Halloween party years ago. I have the “Most Original” award. It’s a consolation prize. You can’t be the best, or the prettiest, so you have to be “original.” I’ve won the “Most Original” award a fair number of times. I was even named “Most Original” at a basketball awards banquet. What does that even mean? How can anybody be “Most Original” when she’s playing basketball?
Recognizing the “Most Original” award for the pity-prize that it was, I grew increasingly hostile toward the very word “original.” If you win this cursed award, everyone around you offers feigned sympathy or, even worse, insincere congratulations. Phrases like “oh, bummer” or well-intentioned but half-hearted “well, good for you” circle the recipient, creating a cyclone of regret from which the “winner” will never recover.
Okay, maybe I’m overreacting – but I cannot for the life of me understand that award. “Most Original” always let me down, and as a result, I hated to be original in any context. In my hometown of New Haven, Connecticut, where normality was…well, the norm, I tried to be a typical student – absolutely, perfectly normal. I blended into crowds, the definition of typical. I became a person who refused to surprise people. Just another brick in the wall.
Dull.
And then I moved to Berkeley for six months. It’s an odd, vibrant place with odd, vibrant people. Originality is celebrated there – not in the half-hearted “good for you” way, but in the full-throated “GOOD FOR YOU!” way. One of the first of my fellow students to befriend me wore corset tops and tutus and carried a parasol with which she punctuated her every utterance. Her best friend was a boy with purple hair who once wore a shirt with built in LED lights for Christmas. They were the most popular people in school, in direct contrast to all that was socially acceptable in New Haven. Our peers recognized them as being unique, but instead of ostracizing them or pitying them, the students in Berkeley celebrated them.
In Berkeley, I learned the value of originality: Those who celebrate their individuality are not only unique but strong. It takes great strength to defy the definitions of others, and because of that strength, those who create their own paths discover a different world than those who travel the same worn road.
I returned to New Haven a changed person. My appearance was certainly different – red streaks in my hair and a newfound fondness for tutus certainly made me stand out. But the change went deeper than that: I had embraced the idea of being myself, no matter what others thought was cool or “normal.” Spending time in a place where “Most Original” was the highest compliment allowed me to explore myself without fear of being different or lesser, and I liked what I had found.
I’m still skeptical about the “Most Original” award. In the context of an award ceremony, it’s still just a meaningless consolation prize. But I don’t think of being “Most original” as an insult anymore – I wear it as a badge of honor, proof that I am myself and no one else.
A friend recently joked, “If there were a ‘Quirkiest’ award in the yearbook, you’d definitely win.” We were standing outside of a classroom, and I was wearing a pair of gold, glittery shorts that definitely caught the eye. “Quirkiest?” I said. “How about ‘Most Original.’”
What Works
This writer’s style clearly shows off her sense of humor. If one of the purposes of a college essay is to make yourself come to life off the page, then this essay hits the mark. Far from seeming unfinished or unedited, the somewhat stream-of-consciousness style establishes a humorous and self-deprecating tone that makes the reader instantly like the applicant. More than anything else, it is this writing style that elevates what could have been a fairly superficial statement of personal growth into a truly informative story that showcases the author’s personality.
College Essay Example #3: Baked with Love
Prompt: Describe a place or environment where you feel perfectly content. What do you do or experience there, and why is it meaningful to you?
The sweet smell of cinnamon resonated through the house. A wave of heat washed over my face as I opened the oven door to reveal my first batch of snickerdoodles. Small domes of sugary cookies shyly peeked from the edge of the door. I smiled as I thought about the joy these cookies would bring to my friends. They like to compare me to the witch in Hansel and Gretel, joking that I fatten children up and then forget to eat them. I don’t particularly love being in the same company as an evil witch, but any rancor I might feel at this comparison is overwhelmed by my enjoyment of their anticipation of my baked goods.
There is something about the warmth of a kitchen filled with the buttery smell of pastry that evokes a feeling of utter relaxation. I find joy in sharing this warm and homey experience by showering the people around me with sweets. The smile that ticks up the corners of someone’s mouth as they bite into my food gives me a sense of pride and accomplishment.
For as long as I can remember, baking has been an integral part of my life. Thanks to busy parents and hungry siblings, I was encouraged to cook from a relatively young age. Time spent in the kitchen naturally piqued my interest in baking, and that glimmer of interest blossomed into a heart-warming hobby that rejuvenates my stressful days, improves upon even the happiest moments, and brings joy to the people around me.
They say that the way to a man’s heart is through his stomach. It has been my experience that the way to ANYONE’S heart is through the stomach. To me, food is not simply about sustenance. The time that I spend in my kitchen, the effort and care that I pour into my confectionary creations, is a labor of love that brings me just as much satisfaction as it does my hungry friends and family.
What Works?
This essay doesn’t share many life-defining revelations; we learn, as a brief aside, that the author often cared for her younger siblings, but little beyond that. Yet despite its relative lack of major information, it reveals a lot about who the author is. We learn that the author knows how to turn a phrase, the author is a warm and caring person, the author has a sense of humor, and the author will bring us cookies if we admit her to our imaginary college. All in all, we see a student who is a skilled writer with a warm heart – positive traits, to be sure.
Get College Essay Help
We’re experts at helping students craft stellar college admission essays. From coming up with ideas to organizing your thoughts to drafting and revising, our writing tutors know how to help you create top college essays to boost your chance of admission at your dream school. Contact us to learn more about our College Essay Program. If you’re just getting started with your college essay, here is some advice on getting into the college essay mindset.
Is the March SAT the Easiest? 4 Reasons to Take It
TEST PREPWhich SAT® is the easiest?
Myth: The March SAT is the easiest SAT test date.
Fact: There’s no such thing as “the easiest SAT test date.”
While it’s true that some versions of the SAT are easier than others, it’s false that some test dates are predictably easier than others. For one thing, there’s no way of knowing which form of the SAT will be administered on any given test date. For another, easier forms of the test have harsher grading scales, so each question you miss has a harsher score penalty.
Although there’s no such thing as an easier SAT test date, there are benefits to taking the SAT at certain times of year. Read on to find out why you might want to take the SAT in March.
You’ve Covered All the Math You Need By March SAT
The SAT math section includes some topics that are covered in Algebra II or precalculus classes. By March of junior year, most students will have taken the math classes they need to do well. Taking an earlier test date may mean that there could be math concepts that you have not covered in depth yet in your math classes.
You Can Plan Out Your Summer Test Prep Goals
Summer is a great time for test prep because you can focus on getting your SAT scores up without the added stress of school. The first step to any good test prep program should be to establish score improvement goals. Before you set your goals, make sure you know where you currently stand. A March SAT date will provide you with scores you can use as your baseline for summer test prep.
Avoid Conflict with May AP® Exams
For students taking AP exams in May, the May SAT date is less than ideal. After all, who wants to spend Saturday morning taking the SAT when they have an AP exam on Monday? The next chance to take the SAT is in June, but many students are still burned out from AP exams. The March SAT test date offers a good solution:
Finalize SAT Scores Early With March SAT
For a lucky few, the March SAT might be the last SAT they ever take. Students who reach their score goals on the March SAT can check one thing off of their college admissions to-do list. This is just in time to avoid piling the SAT on top of AP exams, finals, and the college admissions gauntlet.
The march SAT date for the 2022/23 school year is Saturday, March 11. Get started on test prep today!
Pick the Right Classes to Get into Your Dream College
HIGH SCHOOLPicking your classes for next year might not feel like a momentous decision, but your class schedule can have a huge impact on your chances for college admission.
Year after year, college admissions officers identify grades and class difficulty as two of the most important factors in their admissions decisions. The schedule you create for yourself next fall will have a huge impact on these two factors, so choose wisely.
Learn more about what college admissions officers look for in our 3-part series:
Balancing Grades and Course Rigor
One of the most common questions from students is, “What’s better: an A in a regular class or a B in AP?
The best (if unpopular) answer is, “An A in an AP class.”
Getting top grades in tough classes is a balancing act. If you register for too many AP classes, you risk getting bad grades; if you take easy classes, you’ll get great grades but colleges will think you took the easy way out. It can seem like a no-win situation, but it’s really a matter of knowing your limits and being willing to seek help when you need it.
Start Out Slow
Rigorous classes like AP classes aren’t for the faint of heart. These classes require a lot of reading, a lot of effort, and a lot of time. Just as you wouldn’t try to run a marathon when you’ve always been a couch potato, you shouldn’t try to take a full load of AP classes without the proper preparation.
Preparation starts with your non-AP courses. If you’re already enrolled in honors or gifted level classes and earning top grades, you’ll probably be able to handle AP coursework. If you struggle in honors or gifted level classes or you’ve never taken an advanced course before, you might need help to succeed in an AP class. Study groups or tutoring can be useful as you transition into these difficult classes.
If you’ve never taken an AP class before, even if you’ve got a full load of honors classes on your plate right now, limit yourself to just 1 or 2 AP classes at first. This allows you to demonstrate a commitment to course rigor without placing your GPA at risk. Then, if you do well in these AP classes, you can take a heavier load next semester or next year.
Consider Your Experience This Year
What kind of classes did you take this year? How are you doing in them?
If you tested the waters with AP classes this year and you’re doing okay, you might consider increasing your AP load next year. Now that you’ve got a good idea of the demands of AP-level work, you should feel more confident deciding how many AP classes you can reasonably handle.
If you took some AP classes this year and you’re struggling, you need to be more careful with next year’s schedule. Increasing your AP class load next year isn’t likely to help your GPA any, so you probably want to either stick with your current number of AP classes or scale back a bit.
If you’re thinking about taking your first AP classes next year, think about how you’re doing in each subject. It’s not a good idea to take your first AP class in a subject area you struggle with.
Dealing With a Disappointing Schedule
What if your fall schedule ends up being terrible even after you carefully weigh your options when registering for classes this spring? Never fear: we’ve got some advice for making your tough fall schedule work for you.
The Key to Good Test Scores: Practice, Practice, Practice
TEST PREPIf we could only offer one tip for good SAT or ACT scores, it would be this: Practice, practice, practice.
Years of studies have shown that test scores tend to increase with repeated testing. In fact, the makers of the ACT have found that repeat test takers have average Composite scores that are 2.9 points higher than single test takers. This makes sense—after all, if practice makes us better at playing piano or shooting 3-pointers, why wouldn’t practice make us better at taking tests?
Keep reading to learn how practice boosts SAT and ACT scores and how to make your practice tests really count.
Practice tests help you know what to expect
Since the SAT and ACT are standardized tests, taking plenty of practice tests will help you to become familiar with the test format. For example, by completing practice ACT reading sections in the allotted 35 minutes, you’ll get to know the order of the passages, the types of questions asked, and the pacing required to finish in time.
Pacing is key to SAT or ACT success, and practice tests help here, too. Practice SAT and ACT tests let you try out different time management strategies so that you can find the one that works best for you. For example, some students find it easier to get through the reading section if they skim the questions before reading the passage while others prefer to actively read the passage before looking at the questions.
Better retention leads to better test scores
Practice tests don’t just build these test-taking skills—they also help you to retain the knowledge you need to earn good SAT and ACT scores. Studies show that students who test themselves on information retain that information better than those who study using other methods. Robert Bjork, a psychologist at the University of California, Los Angeles, whose research has long focused on learning and memory, says that using our memories to retrieve information changes the way we access that information: “What we recall becomes more recallable in the future. In a sense, you are practicing what you are going to need to do later.”
In other words, by testing yourself on key skills and knowledge, you improve your ability to recall that information quickly and accurately on test day.
Know your goals for practice
When it comes to using practice as a tool for SAT or ACT prep, there’s a caveat: You must use mindful practice. If all you do is take practice test after practice test, you’ll see diminishing returns with each additional test. Your score might go up a little bit, but eventually the miniscule score gains between practice tests won’t be worth the three hours you spent taking them. In other words, don’t just practice for the sake of practice. Practice to build speed, endurance, and skill by making your practice really count!
Helpful practice tips
Here are a few helpful tips to keep in mind as you practice for high SAT or ACT scores:
5 Last Minute Things to Boost Your College Application
COLLEGE ADMISSIONSFor a lot of colleges, regular decision application deadlines are mere days away. With those deadlines looming at the beginning of January, we’re here with some last minute tips to boost your college application.
Proof Read
Nothing ruins a great college application faster than typos and careless errors. You want admissions officers to believe that you put time, thought, and effort into your application, so make sure to go through it with a fine-toothed comb.
On the Common App, you can view a PDF preview of your application before you submit it. Once your application is ready for submission, click on the “Review and Submit – Common App” section for that school. That means all sections are complete, the Questions section is finished, and your recommendations are in. When you click the red “Review and Submit” button, a PDF of your application will be generated.
Tip: Work with a printed copy of your app – it’s easier to catch errors. Grab your trusty red pen and get to work!
Give the Essay Some Last Minute Polish
The part of your application that you have the most control over is arguably your application essay. This is one area where you can really shine—if you understand what makes a great college essay and put in the time. By now, you should be in the very final stages of revision (if you haven’t already finished). Let your essay simmer for a few days. Don’t look at it. Then, before you’re ready to submit your application, give your essay one last read. Are there some words or phrases you could punch up? Is there an awkwardly phrased sentence you could refine? Are there some extraneous details you could remove?
Double Check on Your Supplementary Materials
Make sure that your test scores and recommendation letters have already been sent and/or confirm that they will be sent before the application deadline. A polite reminder to a beloved teacher might be needed to ensure that glowing recommendation reaches the admissions office in time!
Take a Second Look at Your Activities
Although it’s too late to change your extracurricular activities, it’s not too late to change how you write about them. For example, on the Common App, you have 50 characters to describe your position in the organization and to name the organization; you have 150 characters to describe the activity, your accomplishments, and any recognition you received. You can use these characters to your advantage! Try to include as many details as possible in the position and organization name field. For example, instead of “Member of Drama Club” (20 characters), you could write “Award-winning lead actor, Drama Club” (35 characters). Since you’ve now identified yourself as both a lead actor and an award-winner, you’ve freed up characters in your activity description. Add dimension to your activity description by using active verbs and dynamic word choices.
Don’t Wait Until the Last Second to Submit
Application platforms sometimes have technical glitches, and these problems are most likely to occur right as many schools’ deadlines approach. You don’t want to miss a deadline because a website crashed, so be sure to submit your applications a day or two ahead of time. That way, if there is some sort of technical problem—if your computer randomly gives you the blue screen of death or the Common App website is down—you still have a little bit of cushion before your application needs to be submitted.
How to Get a 30 on the ACT (or Higher!)
TEST PREPEarning a 30 or higher on your ACT places you in an elite group of high school students: A composite score of 30 means that you scored higher than 94% of test-takers, putting you at the head of the line for admission at premier colleges. Boosting your ACT score that high is no easy feat. So, how hard is it to get a 30 on the ACT? And how yo get a 30 in the ACT? Follow the tips in this ACT study guide to help you get a 30 or higher on the ACT.
Pre-Assess: Take a Practice ACT
If you haven’t taken an official ACT in the last month, you’ll need to take a practice test to figure out where your score stands now. A practice ACT will tell you how much of a score improvement you need to meet your goals, helps you identify your specific strengths and weaknesses, and informs the rest of your study plan.
For a practice ACT to be useful, it has to accurately reflect your ACT performance, so it’s important to replicate test day conditions as much as possible.
宝博体育 Education’s centers create a separate testing room to help replicate test day conditions. Contact your local 宝博体育 center to schedule a practice ACT administered under realistic testing conditions.
Evaluate Your Scores
Once you’ve scored your test, you’ll want to look at a few key numbers:
Make a Plan
Now that you’ve got the information you need, it’s time to make a plan. Here are some key points to remember while you create a clear study plan:
Put Test Strategies into Practice
On a test like the ACT, the biggest part of a winning score is always a strong foundation of knowledge and skills – but test-taking strategies can give you that extra bump you need to hit your goal score. Here are some examples:
Some strategies that work really well for one student backfire for another. Take some practice tests to try out different strategies so that you know what works for you on test day.
Don’t Stress
Unless you’re really down to the college application wire, you can take the test again. If you put too much pressure on this one test, you risk second-guessing yourself or freezing up and mistiming your sections. Try to relax. Do your best. Take things one question at a time.
Want to Learn More?
How to get a better score on the ACT? Start ACT prep with 宝博体育 today!
Don’t Forget About Test Prep Over Winter Break!
TEST PREPNothing says winter like a steaming cup of hot cocoa, a cozy fire, and a nice test prep book, right? If winter test prep isn’t your idea of a fun holiday break, you’re not alone, but winter break offers a great chance to get a jump start on your SAT or ACT prep. Particularly for juniors planning to take the SAT or ACT in the spring or summer, winter break is probably the longest period of time to focus on test prep without the demands of a full school schedule.
Prioritize Topics
Make sure you figure out which topics you need the most work on before you start. Take a diagnostic practice test to figure out where your strongest and weakest areas are. There are a lot of resources for diagnostic SAT and ACT tests: test prep workbooks usually have full-length practice tests with grading guides; both College Board and ACT publish old versions of the test online; and you can contact your local 宝博体育 center to schedule a full-length diagnostic SAT or ACT.
Make a Winter Test Prep Plan
At the very least, use winter break to establish a long-term test prep plan that will take you through spring semester. Be realistic – you know what your academic and extracurricular commitments are, and there’s no sense creating a test prep plan that you can’t stick to.
Take your strengths and weaknesses into consideration. Plan to dedicate the most time to the areas where you need the most improvement, but don’t overlook your strengths. If you ignore the areas you already do well in, you risk forgetting key information, so any score increases in weak areas could be balanced out by declines in strong areas.
Get a Jump Start
The weeks that you have over winter break give you the perfect chance for some intensive winter test prep. Without a full day of school and hours of after-school activities, you can easily dedicate an hour or so each day to some winter break test prep. You can cover a lot of ground in an hour, and with about two weeks of low-stress days ahead of you, that’s a lot of hours!
By going into depth on key topics, concepts, and question types over winter break, you lay a good foundation for your remaining test prep. Once schools starts up again, you’ll be able to spend your allotted test prep time reviewing concepts instead of learning new concepts.
Happy winter break!
Read These Top College Essay Examples
COLLEGE ADMISSIONSWriting the college application essay is a daunting task. One great way to get started is to read examples of successful essays. Reading sample college essays gives you great ideas and helps to illustrate what is expected from a good college essay. Check out these college essay examples for inspiration!
College Essay Example #1: A Tale of Two Cities
Prompt: Describe a place or environment where you are perfectly content. What do you do or experience there, and why is it meaningful to you?
With moments to spare, I catch a glimpse of the boarding platform for my train. Like a captain frantically seeking port in a storm, I haul myself through the turbulent ocean of people, trying to avoid being stranded – or trampled – in the dustiest city in the world: Beijing, capital of both China and smog.
Luckily, I board my train with seconds to spare, and without being turned into a pancake – always a plus. The conductor welcomes me aboard. At last, it is time to return home to Shanghai.
It is the summer of 2012, and Shanghai isn’t to be home for much longer. In another week I will cross the globe to start a new life in a foreign land called Charlotte.
Which is home? The place I am leaving or the place I am going? Arrival or departure? Like a compass with a broken magnetic strip, I can’t decide my true North.
Unsettled, I turn to my ever-present book for comfort. Today it is The Things They Carried by Tim O’Brien, already worn and slightly crumpled. They say the best books tell you what you already know, resonating with your own thoughts and emotions. As I read, it is as if the tempest of my thoughts is spelled out on paper. The overflowing sense of hyper-reality in Tim O’Brien’s words of warfare spills into my world. His words somehow become my words, his memories become my memories. Despite the high speed of the bullet train, my mind is perfectly still – trapped between the narrative of the book and the narrative of my own life.
I feel like I should feel disturbed, but I’m not. I read the last page and close the book, staring out the window at the shining fish ponds and peaceful rice paddies. I feel like a speck of dust outside the train, floating, content and happy to be between destinations.
I am at home between worlds. I speak both English and Chinese: Chinese is for math, science, and process, but I prefer English for art, emotion, and description. America owns my childhood, filled with pine trees, blockbuster movies, and Lake Tahoe snow; China holds my adolescence, accompanied by industrial smog, expeditious mobility, and fast-paced social scenes.
We are drawing into Shanghai Hong Qiao station. My reverie isn’t at an end, but I have the answer to my question. Home is neither arrival nor departure, neither America nor China. Home is the in-between, the cusp of transition – that is where I feel most content.
What works?
In our College Essay Clichés to Avoid post, we advised students against writing about moving to America from a foreign country. Too often, such essays are formulaic and uninspiring – after all, while it’s certainly a challenge to learn a new language and culture, millions of people do it every day, so it simply isn’t something that sets a student apart.
This essay is an example of how to tell the story of moving to America in a unique way. This student focused on a single question – where is home? – and showed the reader a lot about who he is as a person. Through this skillfully crafted essay, we learn that the student has led a very international life, the student has a way with words, the student loves literature, the student is bilingual, and the student is excited by change. The essay is a joy to read, sharing a detailed glimpse of the student’s personality without feeling like it’s trying to list positive personal qualities.
College Essay Example #2: “Most Original” Pumpkin
Prompt: Some students have a background or story that is so central to their identity that they believe their application would be incomplete without it. If this sounds like you, then please share your story.
I won “Most Original” pumpkin at a Halloween party years ago. I have the “Most Original” award. It’s a consolation prize. You can’t be the best, or the prettiest, so you have to be “original.” I’ve won the “Most Original” award a fair number of times. I was even named “Most Original” at a basketball awards banquet. What does that even mean? How can anybody be “Most Original” when she’s playing basketball?
Recognizing the “Most Original” award for the pity-prize that it was, I grew increasingly hostile toward the very word “original.” If you win this cursed award, everyone around you offers feigned sympathy or, even worse, insincere congratulations. Phrases like “oh, bummer” or well-intentioned but half-hearted “well, good for you” circle the recipient, creating a cyclone of regret from which the “winner” will never recover.
Okay, maybe I’m overreacting – but I cannot for the life of me understand that award. “Most Original” always let me down, and as a result, I hated to be original in any context. In my hometown of New Haven, Connecticut, where normality was…well, the norm, I tried to be a typical student – absolutely, perfectly normal. I blended into crowds, the definition of typical. I became a person who refused to surprise people. Just another brick in the wall.
Dull.
And then I moved to Berkeley for six months. It’s an odd, vibrant place with odd, vibrant people. Originality is celebrated there – not in the half-hearted “good for you” way, but in the full-throated “GOOD FOR YOU!” way. One of the first of my fellow students to befriend me wore corset tops and tutus and carried a parasol with which she punctuated her every utterance. Her best friend was a boy with purple hair who once wore a shirt with built in LED lights for Christmas. They were the most popular people in school, in direct contrast to all that was socially acceptable in New Haven. Our peers recognized them as being unique, but instead of ostracizing them or pitying them, the students in Berkeley celebrated them.
In Berkeley, I learned the value of originality: Those who celebrate their individuality are not only unique but strong. It takes great strength to defy the definitions of others, and because of that strength, those who create their own paths discover a different world than those who travel the same worn road.
I’m still skeptical about the “Most Original” award. In the context of an award ceremony, it’s still just a meaningless consolation prize. But I don’t think of being “Most original” as an insult anymore – I wear it as a badge of honor, proof that I am myself and no one else.
A friend recently joked, “If there were a ‘Quirkiest’ award in the yearbook, you’d definitely win.” We were standing outside of a classroom, and I was wearing a pair of gold, glittery shorts that definitely caught the eye. “Quirkiest?” I said. “How about ‘Most Original.’”
What Works
This writer’s style clearly shows off her sense of humor. If one of the purposes of a college essay is to make yourself come to life off the page, then this essay hits the mark. Far from seeming unfinished or unedited, the somewhat stream-of-consciousness style establishes a humorous and self-deprecating tone that makes the reader instantly like the applicant. More than anything else, it is this writing style that elevates what could have been a fairly superficial statement of personal growth into a truly informative story that showcases the author’s personality.
College Essay Example #3: Baked with Love
Prompt: Describe a place or environment where you feel perfectly content. What do you do or experience there, and why is it meaningful to you?
The sweet smell of cinnamon resonated through the house. A wave of heat washed over my face as I opened the oven door to reveal my first batch of snickerdoodles. Small domes of sugary cookies shyly peeked from the edge of the door. I smiled as I thought about the joy these cookies would bring to my friends. They like to compare me to the witch in Hansel and Gretel, joking that I fatten children up and then forget to eat them. I don’t particularly love being in the same company as an evil witch, but any rancor I might feel at this comparison is overwhelmed by my enjoyment of their anticipation of my baked goods.
There is something about the warmth of a kitchen filled with the buttery smell of pastry that evokes a feeling of utter relaxation. I find joy in sharing this warm and homey experience by showering the people around me with sweets. The smile that ticks up the corners of someone’s mouth as they bite into my food gives me a sense of pride and accomplishment.
For as long as I can remember, baking has been an integral part of my life. Thanks to busy parents and hungry siblings, I was encouraged to cook from a relatively young age. Time spent in the kitchen naturally piqued my interest in baking, and that glimmer of interest blossomed into a heart-warming hobby that rejuvenates my stressful days, improves upon even the happiest moments, and brings joy to the people around me.
They say that the way to a man’s heart is through his stomach. It has been my experience that the way to ANYONE’S heart is through the stomach. To me, food is not simply about sustenance. The time that I spend in my kitchen, the effort and care that I pour into my confectionary creations, is a labor of love that brings me just as much satisfaction as it does my hungry friends and family.
What Works?
This essay doesn’t share many life-defining revelations; we learn, as a brief aside, that the author often cared for her younger siblings, but little beyond that. Yet despite its relative lack of major information, it reveals a lot about who the author is. We learn that the author knows how to turn a phrase, the author is a warm and caring person, the author has a sense of humor, and the author will bring us cookies if we admit her to our imaginary college. All in all, we see a student who is a skilled writer with a warm heart – positive traits, to be sure.
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SAT Test Dates and Deadlines
TEST PREPThere are seven official SAT test dates during the school year. Below, you’ll find charts for the 2018-2019 school year and the projected test dates for the 2019-2020 school year. You can see each SAT test date along with their registration deadlines and late registration deadline. It’s helpful knowing all of the deadlines in case you want to take the test right after you get your SAT score report and decide you need perform better.
2019-2020 SAT Test Dates
2018-2019 SAT Test Dates
When to Take the SAT
We recommend that most students first take the SAT by spring of junior year. This ensures that students will have addressed most of the test material in their courses and that they still have plenty of time for additional test prep and future test dates before they need to finalize their SAT scores for college applications. Look here for information about which tests to take when for college admissions.
There are some pros and cons to certain test dates:
Getting Ready for the SAT
We say it all the time – SAT prep is a marathon, not a sprint. To get the best score possible, early SAT test prep is vital. After you understand that getting an early start is the best course of action, coming up with a study plan is the next step. If you’re having trouble figuring out where to start, maybe some SAT tutoring is in order.
How to Deal with Test Anxiety
TEST PREPIt’s normal to feel a little nervous when taking a test – in fact, some studies have suggested that a touch of nerves actually boosts performance. But for a large portion of American students, nervousness becomes outright fear. In fact, one 2010 study showed that anywhere from 10 to 40 percent of students suffer from test anxiety.
How can you tell if your fear of tests is normal?
If an upcoming SAT makes your heart pound as if you just locked eyes with the clown from It, you might have test anxiety.
If timed tests make your head spin around like the girl from The Exorcist, you might have testing anxiety.
If the ACT makes you want to hide under the bed (even though there’s almost certainly a monster under there), you might have test anxiety.
Officially, the symptoms of testing anxiety include:
When is test anxiety a problem?
Testing anxiety isn’t the same as being nervous because you aren’t prepared for the test – testing anxiety is being nervous in spite of being prepared for the test. When test anxiety starts to get in the way of your performance, it’s a problem.
Make no mistake: severe test anxiety can hurt your performance. High anxiety levels limit working memory capacity, and by some measures, moderate to severe test anxiety can produce a 12% decline in test scores.
How can you take the fear out of testing?
First things first: Make sure you’re well and truly prepared. If you’re already prone to testing anxiety, feeling unprepared will only make things worse. Here are some great resources to help you build better study skills so that you can feel prepared on test day:
Don’t Let the Fear Build
Recognize the earliest signs of anxiety so that you can nip it in the bud. It’s much easier to put a stop to test anxiety before you start to panic.
Practice Behavioral Relaxation Techniques
It might sound like mumbo jumbo, but studies have shown that consistently practicing relaxation skills reduces anxiety. The University of Michigan has a great resource for developing relaxation skills to combat anxiety.
Mind Over Matter
Learn to talk to yourself (in your head – we don’t want people to think you’re crazy) in ways that reduce test anxiety.
Self-Care
Take care of yourself so that you show up on test day in the best possible shape to succeed. Get a good night’s sleep, have a balanced breakfast, and make sure you’re hydrated. A well-rested, well-fed, and well-watered body is one that is less prone to the physical symptoms of testing anxiety.
Don’t let fear get in the way of your test scores. Take steps to battle your testing anxiety so that you can truly do your best on test day. If you think you need help preparing for the SAT or ACT – whether you need to learn key material or figure out how to battle your testing anxiety – contact your local 宝博体育 Education center today.