Starting college apps

[Totoro]

I have writer's block

:cry:

[Chillax]

Why not start off writing about your areas of expertise?

[BobYoMeowMeow]

owo
for public colleges: stuff the application with all the crap you did
selective colleges: put meaningful stuff, basically extracurriculars that are unique, good and you have strong involvement in
most likely not the community service club.

[Totoro]

Yeahh, I'm just doing the UC prompts right now. I'm not sure if I want to apply to privates yet, so I'll leave those for later :/ I have a clear idea of what I want to write about. The problem is just getting the words out and making my essay look nice xD

[Claudia]

You're so diligent, lah! I'm hoping to...draft an essay.

Have you written any yet? In English this year, my teacher had us write essays using Common App questions. They were all dreadful.
But for me, he pointed me in the direction of writing an essay about my interests, which are somewhat unique.

You like to dance, right? You could write an essay on that!

I think the personal essay is more about yourself than what you've accomplished. At least, i'm thinking about the personal essay.

[Chillax]

Yeahh, I'm just doing the UC prompts right now. I'm not sure if I want to apply to privates yet, so I'll leave those for later :/ I have a clear idea of what I want to write about. The problem is just getting the words out and making my essay look nice xD

Don't worry about it looking nice for your rough draft, since you're not being timed. If you already have an outline in place, just spit out whatever comes to your mind according to your outline and revise it after you're done.

[Totoro]

You're so diligent, lah! I'm hoping to...draft an essay.

Have you written any yet? In English this year, my teacher had us write essays using Common App questions. They were all dreadful.
But for me, he pointed me in the direction of writing an essay about my interests, which are somewhat unique.

You like to dance, right? You could write an essay on that!

I think the personal essay is more about yourself than what you've accomplished. At least, i'm thinking about the personal essay.

Uhh I'm working on one right now xD I am about 2/3 done with the first draft. I am writing about dancing ^___^ Yeahhh it is more about yourself, but I make sure to include a few of my accomplishments in there as well.

[Claudia]

/thumbs up

Yeah, I can't think of anything else, heehee.

[Cecirox]

Why is it so hard to get into college? I got into college without all that o.o;; Just fill out some forms and I got into a private college. I don't get it

[Timotei]

Why is it so hard to get into college? I got into college without all that o.o;; Just fill out some forms and I got into a private college. I don't get it

Dunno much about colleges, but uh. Was your college fancy and stuff? 8D

[Cecirox]

Very Fancy.. Even the Mayor of NYC was there. It's a small private college. 8000 A semester owo of course I moved out of NYC so I don't go there anymore

[Chillax]

Why is it so hard to get into college? I got into college without all that o.o;; Just fill out some forms and I got into a private college. I don't get it

Depends on where you apply to. It'll obviously be different for different colleges.

[TLCBonaparte]

I don't remember going through those stuff when I apply colleges :( Is it an American thing?

[BobYoMeowMeow]

I don't remember going through those stuff when I apply colleges :( Is it an American thing?

and here the cat thought Canadian universities are selective
McGills should have something like that

[TLCBonaparte]

and here the cat thought Canadian universities are selective
McGills should have something like that

it is, I had to get 85 average to get the acceptance, but I don't remember writing any paper :/

[BobYoMeowMeow]

it is, I had to get 85 average to get the acceptance, but I don't remember writing any paper :/

so much for Canadian universities
the reason behind the paper is for admission officers to have an idea of what the applicant is like
They decide if the person best fits their school and if they are the kind of student they're looking for (it's not that important in public university applications where they value GPA and test scores more)

Admission officers who work for prestigious universities such as the Ivy Leagues and Stanford place essays as a more significant factor when it comes to acceptance since everyone who applies to those schools have high GPA and test scores anyways.
These essays reflect upon who you are. Basically, it's mostly personal appeal since there's too many strong applicants. Thats why you should apply to as many privates as you can if you aim for one unless if you cured cancer or something.
the cat's wording isn't good but hopefully it gets the ideas down.

[Cynic]

Shouldn't you also have an Advisor who can help give you an overview of what to write in your application? I'm sure there are a lot of templates on the intarnetz as-well.

[TLCBonaparte]

so much for Canadian universities
the reason behind the paper is for admission officers to have an idea of what the applicant is like
They decide if the person best fits their school and if they are the kind of student they're looking for (it's not that important in public university applications where they value GPA and test scores more)

Admission officers who work for prestigious universities such as the Ivy Leagues and Stanford place essays as a more significant factor when it comes to acceptance since everyone who applies to those schools have high GPA and test scores anyways.
These essays reflect upon who you are. Basically, it's mostly personal appeal since there's too many strong applicants. Thats why you should apply to as many privates as you can if you aim for one unless if you cured cancer or something.
the cat's wording isn't good but hopefully it gets the ideas down.

We have outstanding universities in Canada, my own university Waterloo is the where RIM founder came from. As an educational institution, it's not their job to pick who to teach, rather it's their job to educate people who want to learn, which is why Canada has no private university, all universities are public and government funded. I think US educational system is weird, going out of their way to make sure everyone pass highschool no matter how stupid, then have those highly prestige university that pick students apart.

[BobYoMeowMeow]

and that's why there are community colleges and public universities funded by the states
Privates are largely luxuries
in the end, it is the individual, assuming they have control, who chooses what they want to do and how they influence the odds of life.

[TLCBonaparte]

and that's why there are community colleges and public universities funded by the states
Privates are largely luxuries
in the end, it is the individual, assuming they have control, who chooses what they want to do and how they influence the odds of life.

but that doesn't mean canadian universities are inferior

[BobYoMeowMeow]

but that doesn't mean canadian universities are inferior

never said anything like that

[Chillax]

never said anything like that

Maybe you didn't mean it that way, but from


and here the cat thought Canadian universities are selective

and


so much for Canadian universities

it seemed like that was what you were implying.

[Claudia]

It's all a huge racket with American universities. What TLC said about America is totally right, forcing kids through high school then ruining the best with the college application process.

It's pretty sad, really. At my school's college information night, they gave us a folder with all sorts of tips for test prep and 'how to get in to college'. Tips 1 and 2 were "be a legacy" and "be an athlete." Not everyone can be an athlete, and certainly not everyone can be a legacy (I can't). How is that helpful?

I feel like everyone loses - the kid with the 2400 SAT, perfect grades, and decent extracurriculars and a great essay who gets denied at Harvard (it happens), the kid who's balanced at everything, the kid who worked their ass off and ends up being a "B" student and told they have no chance at college, the kid who's told that without college, he has no future. And all the kids who abandon sleep and a social life and outside activities in order to push themselves so hard just to get into an Ivy League school, only to fall apart and be miserable all the while (who I do, surprisingly, feel extremely bad for).

I dunno, I have a lot of spiels about college up my sleeve.

[TLCBonaparte]

Indeed, it feels like the university itself is not actually good, more like they pick and chose those who are simply better, it ends up being a vicious cycle of people who are capable throwing themselves at some uni like Harvard, create illusion of excellence even though the education standard of the uni is going down.

[Claudia]

Not even the standard of education, but people putting so much stress on one part of your life, on one school, on one essay or test.

[BobYoMeowMeow]

It's all a huge racket with American universities. What TLC said about America is totally right, forcing kids through high school then ruining the best with the college application process.

It's pretty sad, really. At my school's college information night, they gave us a folder with all sorts of tips for test prep and 'how to get in to college'. Tips 1 and 2 were "be a legacy" and "be an athlete." Not everyone can be an athlete, and certainly not everyone can be a legacy (I can't). How is that helpful?

I feel like everyone loses - the kid with the 2400 SAT, perfect grades, and decent extracurriculars and a great essay who gets denied at Harvard (it happens), the kid who's balanced at everything, the kid who worked their ass off and ends up being a "B" student and told they have no chance at college, the kid who's told that without college, he has no future. And all the kids who abandon sleep and a social life and outside activities in order to push themselves so hard just to get into an Ivy League school, only to fall apart and be miserable all the while (who I do, surprisingly, feel extremely bad for).

I dunno, I have a lot of spiels about college up my sleeve.

the cat would agree with that they should tone down admissions for athleticism
then again, the cat knew students who were accepted to Stanford not because they were great athletes but they were able to communicate how their involvement in the sports influenced the person who they are and how they live
as for SATs, colleges found GPA, class rank and the SATs not to be reliable on good candidates

It is how their essay correlates with the activities the applicant has done
If anything, the admission officers never made a bad choice.

as for legacys, it seems the acceptance for them has been toned down a little. A personal friend, who is regionally ranked athlete, has a strong GPA, scored 5s on several APs, and is a legacy of two Stanford parents was turned down by Stanford. She is a great person but she didn't present anything new to the table. In the cat's opinion, the only reason they should accept legacy applicants is that they tend to be stronger candidates in their statistics than non legacies because their parents are more likely to emphasize the importance of higher education in raising their kids


Indeed, it feels like the university itself is not actually good, more like they pick and chose those who are simply better, it ends up being a vicious cycle of people who are capable throwing themselves at some uni like Harvard, create illusion of excellence even though the education standard of the uni is going down.

that would be a great statement if the university isn't good, but in reality, a lot of universities are good
Private universities don't just pick on who's better. Ironically, PUBLIC UNIVERSITIES are more judgmental and factitious in their selection than private universities as they go off merely grades and statistics.
a lot of people have 2400s, perfect GPAs, are club presidents, valedictorians, in sports etc.
If private universities just base off those records, a person who gets Bs will never see Ivy Leagues (and they do accept people with Bs)
they pick the unique individuals who is more likely to contribute to their campus and society while having the eagerness and ability to learn
While they're not perfect, as said before, they never made a bad choice.