Writing an Admissions Essay :: College Admissions Essays

Writing an Admissions moveThe process of writingand writing admissions essays in special(prenominal)invites a consciously-constructed carrying out of the self. What I mean by this is that a textual matterany textinevitably conveys some persona and when that text is known as an chronicle or representation of the self, the persona of the text is under even to a greater extent scrutiny.Andy Warhol, with whom we could never be sure of where the performance ended and where the self started, formerly said, When I did my self-portrait, I left all the pimples out because you always should. . . . endlessly omit the blemishestheyre not part of the good picture you want. * This command has relevance for any act of self-representation, including admissions essays. Because the essay is an acknowledged representation of the self, the educatee tries to omit blemishes or whatever material she thinks will make her untempting to the school. She consciously tries to frame her essay so that it will project the particular amiable of persona she thinks the admissions officers want to see. However much they tell you, safe be yourself, thats hardly possible when so much rides on how that self is presented. Even more challenging than the decision of how to frame this self-portrait is the anxiety-producing project of choosing a topic. For example, in a recent New York Times article, a student lamented the fact that no one had died in her family thus difference her without anything moving to write about. Admissions essays are an unusual and peculiar exercise, one in which we know the student performs.But the school is performing, too. The University, in particular, is known for its nappy and surprising essay questions. This quirkiness itself is a performance of a kind that seeks to attract a certain type of student, perhaps the creative or quirky.