The Application Essay, suggestions from students who got in

The application essay. It's the part of your application that gets the most thought, the most time, and the most worry. It's easy for us to tell you not to stress about it -- we made it through and the application process is now a happy memory. But there's no doubt that you're probably a little uneasy about writing your essay and making sure it's the best you can submit.

So, rather than tell you not to worry about it and that things will all work out in the end, we're here from the other side of the process to help you out. We wrote our essays, and something about them worked -- we got in! Now, we want to help you out with advice and suggestions from our own essay-writing experiences. We hope you'll find them useful!

Our essays were a little different but the importance of them haven't changed. I actually made a video response to the essay question. I thought it was the best way to show who I was as well as where I came from. If you do decide to submit an essay in another form other than in writing, make sure you put in as much time and effort into it. My biggest suggestion is to make sure that whatever you do do, make sure it screams you! The essay is the best way for the counselors to see who you are!

^^That's so cool. When I applied they told us that someone wrote her essay on an oar!

Mine was extremely personal, and some would have thought it was a bit TOO personal for this purpose...but it showed I was a very human person with very human experiences and feelings...it gave insight into my life and how I dealt with tough situations. So like Rob said, they saw who Dominique was!

I honestly can't remember my application essays in-depth at the moment, but one thing I would say is not to be afraid of being "controversial" if you're passionate about something. *DON'T do it just for the sake of being controversial, but if there's something (like I said) that you're passionate about, don't be afraid to show it. If I were trying to place an incoming class, I'd be looking for students who are passionate about something and who would bring something really great to the class as a whole. I remember getting conflicting advice about whether or not essays could touch on controversial topics, and after going through the application process, this is my opinion on the matter.

GREAT ADVICE SO FAR ... I can't wait to hear from others.

--> I personally reviewed Rob's application for admission and will always remember his video. I actually watched it and reviewed his application Thanksgiving morning (ha ha, what a strange memory). It screamed ROB and made me realize we needed to have him at Hopkins.

--> Yes a student did write their essay on an oar, and that oar is still in the office of the admissions counselor who reviewed the application. We use it sometimes to wade through the piles of applications ... sorry bad joke, I just couldn't resist.

--> Getting personal is not a bad thing ... just remember to always be appropriate.

--> And Mandy's advice is spot on ... don't worry about being controversial, but always remember to be passionate.

I agree with Mandy's assessment about writing about controversial topics, and I wanted to connect that to the possibility of talking about something "normal" or everyday experiences.

While you may know students who are writing about the time they saved humanity single handedly, it is okay to write about an experience that may seem less flashy. I would venture to say that Admissions Officers appreciate honesty and clarity of thought about something that matters and has impacted you as an individual.

I remember that when I first started writing my essays, I would write what I thought the admissions office would want to hear (the question being what we would do for a day if we only had $10). Writing this essay took so long because I was trying to get into the heads' of those in the admissions office and to write what it is that they would want to hear from the "ideal applicant." So when I gave it to my mom to proof read, she was basically like, "What are you doing?! This isn't you. If you had a free day...I know you wouldn't be doing this!" and she was right. So I went back and just wrote about what I love to do...play basketball and coach little kids. This essay was so much easier to write than the first one because it was just me describing my perfect day!

So basically...don't write what you think the admisssions office wants to hear or what you think the "ideal applicant" would write, because the fact is...there is no "ideal applicant." Your essays should just show who you are...not who you think you are or think you should be just for the purpose of getting into a certain college. I wrote my essay about playing basketball and coaching kids all day...not exactly saving the world or winning a noble peace prize, but it was me...and I got in for that. Be you!!

Hi
Does anyone know how long the second essay is supposed to be about what you would like to pursue at Johns Hopkins? I know it says brief, but is that around 500 words?

Thanks!

As is our traditional policy we do not set word limits for the JHU essays. Additionally, we do not set suggested lengths. There are no official word limits or word count suggestions.

I'd say that the first creative essay ("communities essay") will traditionally be between 750 - 1000 words when written. Remember you can present this essay in any format, using any medium, you want.

The second academic essay ("majors essay") is expected to be shorter and probably will run between 250-500 words. But as with the first essay, it is your choice how long / how short you want your essays to be.

Additional comments about the Hopkins Essays can be found here:
http://z14.invisionfree.com/Hopkins_Forums...p?showtopic=541

I know I tried to make my application essay funny. But thinking back on it now I realize it was kind of lame. I was working with the ten dollar essay. I think I went to Boston and walked around Newbury street and bought my dad the perfect Christmas present.

I actually just listened to one of my friend's ten dollar essay entry. You were allowed to respond in any medium and he recorded himself playing four pieces of classical music on the piano. His was better than mine. Hey, he was thinking about Juilliard.

My advice: Don't stress out about writing the essay and just send something that reflects who you are. All it has to be is who you are at 17. I would write a completely different entry today. The point is to reflect your personality,

For me, writing college essays was an opportunity to figure out who I was and how the communities I was born into made me into who I had become.

The best way to write a good essay is to write naturally (Siobhan's example is perfect). Think about what has shaped you, and try to highlight what makes you unique from others applying to Hopkins. Also, try to answer the question "so what"? How does this experience help shape your future and what you will do at Hopkins?

To build on what others have said, it is most important to write about what matters to you--what has made you who you are, what you are passionate about, what you want to learn about even when it's not for school, what you like to do, etc...


Do put time into the essays--brainstorm different ideas, write down what you are passionate about, decide what parts of "you" need to go into the application!

Then write your essays!! Go back to your original list while editing, and make sure that the things that you are passionate/excited about come through in the essay. And, make sure that the essay is in your voice .

Make any Big/Content related changes.

Then edit your essays. Have a friend, parent, teacher, college counselor edit them. Then, before you send them off to Hopkins, read your essay out-loud! It is really easy to miss typo's in your paper when reading it silently, to yourself. And nobody wants to have a silly typo/spelling mistake in their essays!!


Write Passionately. Write what you Know. Write what you Love. And Edit.

I was in the same boat as Siobhan in that I was way too concerned with trying to keep my essay in line with what sounded good or what admissions would find impressive about me. I lost sight of the fact that the essay is supposed to be a reflection of who I really am and what I could bring to the Hopkins community. After staring blankly at my Word document for an hour trying to think of what to say, I decided to just write what I knew and what I felt. I figured that if the admissions people at Hopkins weren't impressed with what I had to say, then I obviously did not belong there.

That being said, I looked at the prompt and immediately wrote down what I had to say about it.

Keep in mind that it is very easy to tell whether or not someone's being genuine in their writing. This is especially true for the admissions officers, who read tons of essays every year.

Just write what you know, write what you're passionate about, and write honestly.

Hmm I can barely remember what I wrote my essay on. When I applied to Hopkins, the essay topics were different from what they are now. The one I remember was, "if you had to plan a day's adventure with only $10 in your pocket what would you do?"

I think I just wrote about hanging out with friends, etc. But anywhos, I guess I can't be of much help about the current questions. Just write about something that is dear to your heart--it will come across genuinely if you really mean it.

And ALWAYS SPELL CHECK!

I remember my Common Application essay--which was on a topic of my choice--and the two supplementary essays I wrote for Hopkins: ( 1 ) what high school course inspired me to select my intended field of study in college and ( 2 ) what I would do in one day if I had to spend it with one other person and I had only $10.00 to spend.

Looking back at the essays I remember, I'll summarize the common thread through all of them: I wrote about myself. Not what I thought would sound good about myself or what I thought admissions offices wanted, but about myself.

Okay, so I'm guessing you're thinking that you've been told several times now that you should "write about yourself"--which is true, and which is great! But maybe you're wondering how to go about that, right? This is by no means a comprehensive list, but here are a few tips that you can keep in mind while composing a college application essay so that it reflects who you are--and you'll also find that it's somewhat like tips for writing any kind of paper or essay. And that's the point. Just treat it like any other paper, but the focus is yourself--and like with any paper you write, you want to make sure that your point is driven across.

( 1 ) Come up with a thesis. You can't say everything about yourself in this essay, so you need to focus on one aspect of yourself. If the essay is asking you a question or a series of questions, think of an aspect of yourself that you can describe in your essay that answers that/those question(s). If you're coming up with your own essay topic, think of an aspect of yourself that you'd really like to show.

( 2 ) Come up with supporting details. For instance, if you're writing about a characteristic of yourself, write about how that characteristic manifests itself in different situations. Meanwhile, if you're writing about something that's important to you--such as a hobby or a significant event in your life--write about how it's affected you in various ways, so that it's clear how important it is to you. Hopefully you get the picture of what I mean by coming up with supporting details.

( 3 ) Tell a story! Write your essay as though you're telling it as a story to a stranger whom you're trying to let know more about yourself--or, if it makes you more comfortable, imagine that you're telling a story to a friend who doesn't know about the aspect of yourself that you're going to discuss in your essay. Of course, don't ignore grammar and spelling rules!

As I've said, this is not a fool-proof guide to writing college application essays; however, these are the things I kept in mind while writing my college essays, and I hope they help you.

Oh, actually, there's one more thing I forgot to mention: pour your heart out in writing your college essays.