The College Essay Timeline

The College Essay Timeline However, after really thinking it over, I finally curated a body of words that I am extremely proud of. By the end of the summer, I wasn’t ready to leave the research that I was doing. Through this summer experience, I realized my ambition to pursue a career in research. I always knew that I would want to pursue a future in science, but the exciting world of research where the discoveries are limitless has captured my heart. Living on the Notre Dame campus with other REU students, UND athletes, and other summer school students was a whole other experience that prepared me for the world beyond high school. I wanted to pick a moment, or a story, that really stuck with me throughout life. After trying to start essays, only to give up on them a quarter of the way through, I stumbled upon an old essay I had written in 8th grade. The prompt of the essay was to talk about something that you struggled with and overcame. To me, that was the language barrier between my grandfather and me. My grandfather speaks fluent Vietnamese, while I only speak English, so throughout my entire childhood communication was lacking. Although he spoke broken English, the opportunity to tell anecdotes, give advice, and more were nonexistent. I reread that essay four to five times before I decided that it was going to be my college essay topic. For 9 weeks, I worked, played and bonded with the other students, and had the opportunity to live the life of an independent college student. Instead of using evidence and concrete detail to prove or strengthen your thesis or argument, admissions essays require you to rely on your past experiences to make your points. In fact, it is frowned upon to even use outside information when writing these documents. Because we believe talent deserves opportunity, Rice offers need-blind admission to domestic students. This means we do not consider finances when we review the application. You will have to write multiple drafts, but the first draft is vital because it is finally putting all your ideas and planning into fruition. For writing the actual essay, because I had planned and articulated my thoughts so methodically, words just flowed out of my fingertips into my computer. I told in detail the vivid memory I had, gave an example of a time during school I lived by my mantra, and talked more about how the language barrier affected my life, and made me who I am today. The hardest part of the process was coming up with an idea. These scholarships are based solely on merit and financial need is not taken into consideration. About 20% of admitted students are offered a merit scholarship each year. Students awarded a merit-based scholarship will be notified at the time of admission. We know that one of the biggest factors in determining the right school is affordability. Additionally, Rice meets 100 percent of demonstrated need â€" without loans â€" through the Rice Investment, one of the most notable financial aid programs in the country. For more information about need-based financial aid and the Rice Investment, please visit our Office of Financial Aid website. Programs Rice supports include the College Prep Conferences and the National College Match program which runs October through December. Your college essay is something that you should not only be proud of, but also something that you genuinely want to showcase to college admissions offices. The writing piece itself should display your character, goals, and accomplishments. When I was going through the process of writing mine, I struggled because I didn’t think I had a story good enough to tell. Citizens and Permanent Residents OR students, regardless of citizenship, currently attending high school in the United States. Interested in learning more about college essays? College Essays That Made a Differenceâ€"This detailed guide from Princeton Review includes not only successful essays, but also interviews with admissions officers and full student profiles. If you're looking for even more sample college essays, consider purchasing a college essay book. The best of these include dozens of essays that worked and feedback from real admissions officers. In this case, your reader is an admissions officer who has read thousands of essays before yours and will read thousands after. Use interesting descriptions, stay away from clichés, include your own offbeat observationsâ€"anything that makes this essay sounds like you and not like anyone else. One thing about writing your college essay the first time is that you have to know it is not going to be perfect.