This is the essay that I used for my Common App Personal Statement, as well as my Georgetown Personal Statement. Scroll to the bottom to learn more about my choice of topic, some strategies I used, and advice specifically about writing your personal statement "HEY!" I tensed immediately. Was there a robbery? Was the building burning down? Suddenly, a wizened pair of eyes were peering up at me from behind a pair of glasses. "My name is Josie, I will...

Tell us about your most involved activity After joining the school theatre program as a freshman, a new "Student Musical Director" position opened up in the fall of my junior year. The description was vague, but I knew that I loved music, music theory, and working with others, and my choir director selected me for the position. I was terrified; I felt too young and too inexperienced to direct any upperclassmen, let alone my best friends. My job came without...

If I'm being honest, I really struggled with the "Why Us" essay. I found it very difficult to articulate all of the reasons why I loved the school I was applying to, and I didn't know how much school specific info to include without sounding like a wikipedia page. After many months of agonizing, here's what I came up with! Scroll down to see my full essay, as well as tips and advice for writing this type of essay at...

Essay One: How are you Incomplete? (200 words or less) **Not used for Georgetown, used for other school*** I feel like panicking. Our director has just been called away to a meeting, leaving me with a scorebook thicker than my arm and 27 staring pairs of eyes. My mind time-warps to middle school, when I was the leader of our Jazz Band, when I thought leadership meant a lot of yelling and a lot of high expectations. But when I look up,...

In the Georgetown Application, there is a tiny section where you are asked to "List or Describe Any Special Talents". I was terrified seeing that; its so open ended, and I had no idea what was expected of me! Instead of a boring list or even a funny list (I know admittees who had included "juggling" and "doing the worm", I was neither that cool nor that funny), I wrote this short essay about.... Prime Numbers. “A Prime Number is...

Used for Boston College: “Why does this matter?” It’s a stereotypical question asked by the troublemaker in the back of class, but it’s one that I’ve asked myself more than once. It seems like every school kid wants to know: will I really ever have to use derivatives in my daily life? Does the work that I do in school really matter, or are the countless tests and arduous assignments just meaningless busy work? Through my many...

Used for Villanova University Last row, fourth from the left. It’s where I sat, timid and unsure, on my first day of high school choir. Though my placement in the upperclassman choir class was a matter of a scheduling conflict, it felt like a death sentence. For at least a month I sat there silently. I was always alert, intent, desperately trying to improve, but I couldn’t open my mouth without sounding wrong. Nonetheless, I was determined to...

Used for Villanova University Presidential Scholarship Handling systemic challenges: Give an example of a time when you faced or witnessed discrimination. How did you respond? What did you learn from this experience? I instantly knew I was in the wrong room. I was trying to find the Future Business Leaders of America meeting, but when I stumbled into room C126, all I saw were teenage guys, and all of them were staring at me. I left. “Shy” has never been...

Used for Villanova University Presidential Scholarship 1. Intellectual: Describe a time when you changed your mind. It need not be a life-changing event; you may have changed your mind about a book, piece of music, a political opinion or a person you know. What made you change your mind? Was it an argument or an encounter or an epiphany or something else? What happened as a result? After constant practice of the Regional Choir pieces, I grew to love all of...

Written for a Leadership Conference When I was little, I loved playing soccer. I loved playing midfield, being wherever the action was. I loved defense: predicting what the offense would do, always coming through under pressure. The only position that I never played was offense. Scoring a goal, all eyes on me... it was something I never imagined for myself. Though my limited athletic ability was quickly outpaced with age, I continued that soccer mindset throughout high school. Like a...

These were the exact essays (and a few others) that I submitted to Georgetown. I loved getting unlimited space to talk about what I wanted to without having to worry about silly word limits. This application gave me complete freedom to express who I truly was, and I think thats why this application was so successful. Below, I have included again all the insights from each individual essay - from writing the dreaded "Why Us" essay, to writing the all-important...

While I was very focused on my resume as a high school student, thinking that my resume was the key to success, the activities that I was involved in were ones that I genuinely loved....

I talked to a lot of alumni and did a lot of research on my #1 school's website....

If you do multiple things, like sports and babysitting for example, try to find a way to connect them, try to use your diverse skill set to its fullest potential by combining things you love. You could make tons of money by starting a kids soccer camp! Or, try to pay...

If I'm honest, at first I hated Georgetown! I visited as a sophomore, and was so intimidated by their admissions presentation that I knew I had no shot getting in! Ultimately, I identify with Georgetown....

Look in advance at the schools you are thinking about, and notice what kinds of recommendations they require. I noticed that at MOST, schools wanted...

Despite my intense involvement in music, I knew that my choir teacher was not... errr......

Passionate, Involved,...

Location, opportunities, and feel were all very important. I didn't want to be too far away, and I wanted...

All of the most popular activities at georgetown are by application. These include the Georgetown...

I was only waitlisted at one university, and I made sure to...

I really took a step back to look at my application as a whole. I thought about each individual essay as part of a...