DanThePotatoMan
DanThePotatoMa,
Pomona
B.A., Educational Research
Salutations person! My profile includes the awesome details of the ridiculously goodlooking man in the above picture! Plus, a bunch of essays!
Features Included
11
Essays
12
Schools
10
Scores
7
Advice
10
ECs
0
Sports

Background

Hometown WAYNE, Pennsylvania
GenderMale
EthnicityWhite Non-Hispanic
AdmissionRegular Decision
Class of2020
First Gen College StudentNo
English First Language Yes
Other Language(s) Spoken English

Results, Essays, and Advice

Accepted
Waitlisted or Withdrew
Denied
  • Pomona College (Claremont, CA)
  • Haverford College (Haverford, PA)
  • Swarthmore College (Swarthmore, PA)
  • Bowdoin College (Brunswick, ME)
  • Middlebury College (Middlebury, VT)
  • Washington University in St. Louis (St. Louis, MO)
  • Vassar College (Poughkeepsie, NY)
  • Emory University (Atlanta, GA)
  • Kenyon College (Gambier, OH)
  • Williams College (Williamstown, MA)
  • Wesleyan University (Middletown, CT)
  • Hamilton College (Clinton, NY)
Tap/click a school logo above to view essays and advice specific to that school.

Pomona College (Claremont, CA)

Applied for a B.A. in Educational Research

Accepted and Enrolled Legacy: No

School Specific Essays

Supplemental Essay: Unique question posed by school
301 Words
School: Bowdoin College Topic: Bowdoin students and alumni often cite world-class faculty and opportunities for intellectual engagement, the College's commitment to the Common Good, and the special quality of life on the coast of Maine as important aspects of the Bowdoin experience. Max Length: 250 Words Essay : I sat in a quiet corner of my local library, riveted, as a World War II pilot described getting shot down in the former Yugoslavia and subsequently being transported back to the Allies through...
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Supplemental Essay: Unique question posed by school
592 Words
School: Emory University Topic: Last August, Susan Grant, chief nurse executive for Emory Healthcare, said this of Emory’s choice to treat patients with Ebola: "We can either let our actions be guided by misunderstandings, fear and self-interest, or we can lead by knowledge, science and compassion. We can fear, or we can care." Consider her idea of doing what is in the public interest despite potential cost. Please discuss an example in your life or the life of another...
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Supplemental Essay: Unique question posed by school
329 Words
School: Hamilton College Topic: While the primary criteria for admission to Hamilton are academic achievement, intellectual promise and community engagement, Hamilton also seeks to admit candidates who are a good fit with the programs and experiences offered by the College. Please take this opportunity to tell us about your interest in Hamilton and, particularly, why you believe it is a place where you can thrive. Be open. Be honest. Be brief. Max Length: 250 words Essay: Hamilton, overlooking the quaint town...
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Supplemental Essay: Unique question posed by school
302 Words
School: Haverford College Topic: Tell us about a topic or issue that sparks your curiosity and gets you intellectually excited. How do you think the environment at Haverford and the framework of the Honor Code would foster your continued intellectual growth? Max Length: 250 words Essay: Maybe it is the constant headlines or the endless television debates, but politics and our electoral process are very much at the top of my mind. 2015 has undoubtedly been the year of the outsider. Candidates...
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Supplemental Essay: Unique question posed by school
440 Words
School: Williams College Topic: At Williams we believe that bringing together students and professors in small groups produces extraordinary academic outcomes. Our distinctive Oxford-style tutorial classes—in which two students are guided by a professor in deep exploration of a single topic—are a prime example. Each week the students take turns developing independent work—an essay, a problem set, a piece of art—and critiquing their partner’s work. Focused on close reading, writing, and oral defense of ideas,...
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Supplemental Essay: Unique question posed by school
1116 Words
School: Pomona College Topic: Pomona's Critical Inquiry course is required of all first-year students, and is designed to be highly interdisciplinary and engaging. Recent class titles include: ''The Politics of Classical Art,'' ''Seeing Science,'' and ''The Theatre and Environmental Activism.'' Imagine you were hired to design and teach a Critical Inquiry course. Describe the title of the class, its contents, and why you chose it. Max Length: I believe 500KBs as a PDF Essay: “All, too, will...
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Supplemental Essay: “Why us” school essay
273 Words
Topic: In 150 to 250 words, please write about why you are interested in applying to and attending Swarthmore. Essay: Swarthmore's arboretum reminds me of the nature-spirit filled forests of the ancient Greek world. Just as the Dryads cultivated those plants, Swarthmore students seem to be nurtured by its unique academic culture. I desire a school whose student body enjoys learning for that aim alone. From Educational Studies to English Literature to History, I am eagerly undecided and hope to investigate the...
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Supplemental Essay: Unique question posed by school
369 Words
Topic: Please briefly elaborate on one of your extracurricular activities or work experiences in the space below. Max Length: 350 words Essay: My years of scouting have meant more to me than a mere collection of badges. In addition to promoting leadership and responsibility, scouting has also tested my character and sense of purpose. I transitioned to Boy Scouts from Cub Scouts in the fifth grade and several years later became an Assistant Patrol Leader. That year, our Patrol placed first...
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Supplemental Essay: “Why us” school essay
377 Words
Topic: How did you learn about Vassar and what aspect of our college do you find appealing? Max Length: 350 words Essay: It was immediately clear after discussions with my guidance counselor that Vassar fit the profile of colleges which are best suited to me. The small liberal arts environment combined with a diversity of education, a free-thinking academic sphere, and a socially and politically engaged student body were among my most important criteria. Most prominent among these characteristics is the...
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Supplemental Essay: Unique question posed by school
180 Words
Topic: Please tell us what motivated you to apply to Haverford and what excites you most as you imagine your Haverford experience . Max Length: 150 words. Essay: For me, an intellectually engaged life is not cramming for tests or focusing solely on materials presented in class. Although these are important, they aren't the entirety of how I enjoy acquiring knowledge. Throughout my search, Haverford stood out, particularly because of the strong bonds shared by students and faculty. This suits my desire...
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School Specific Advice

More Essays

These essays haven't been tagged by school. Click school logos above to see tagged essays.

Title: Magic Beans I have always been tall enough to read. My height, however, suddenly became an issue during Eighth Grade. After several years of measuring five-foot-nothing with no sign of change, whispers of "growth hormone deficiency" began to appear as a subtext to my flat-lining stature. My parents' concerns ultimately led me to an endocrinologist's examining table, where I patiently waited for the doctor. I entertained myself by listening to the sound of the crinkling white paper shifting beneath...
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General Admissions Advice

What I’d change about my application process
75 Words
I had applied Early Decision to Swarthmore originally. I was deferred along with another friend, while an athelete from my school was accepted....
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My advice about getting recommenders
619 Words
1. Get a reasonable number of recommenders. I remember multiple colleges talk about horror stories where a kid sends in somewhere between 17 and 30 recommendations. The story usually ends with rejection or deferral. I don't know if that's because they were so horrified at the number of recommendations, but I don't think anyone really needs that many. Here is my guide to the number of recommenders! 2+ Teachers: Get 2 teachers who teach core subjects. If you've had them multiple times or if they were an advisor for a club you were especially active in that would be best. My recommenders were an English...
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List of schools I interviewed with and my interview experience
608 Words
This is from memory, so forgive me if I'm a little spotty on the details. Haverford: I went to their campus (I live fairly close) and interviewed with an admissions staff. We talked a while about my academic interests, and we got on the topic of Model UN. I had represented North Korea at my most recent conference, so we discussed that experience. Then it turned out we both watched this one documentary about North Korea, so we chatted about that. I think I flubbed on the "Why Haverford" question though. That might be why I got rejected. It was...
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Recommended summer activities during high school and college
1849 Words
During my Junior year in High School, I decided to sign up for several summer experience programs. I've been told most of them are useless and are just money-making schemes, but you should take the time to look out for the free or reduced cost ones. I applied for 5 and got into 3, which I will briefly describe below. 1. Williams College Math Camp. I highly recommend trying to sign up for this program if you can find it. It's at the beautiful Williams College campus, if it isn't free, it is near free (you do have to arrange your own drop...
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Additional material sent in after waitlisted or deferred
534 Words
So I was pretty down after getting my deferral from Swarthmore. Regardless of whether Pomona was a better school, I think if I had applied regular decision to both and gotten in, I might have picked Swarthmore if not for that deferral. Not only that, but a good friend of mine also got deferred (eventually rejected), while an athelete from my school was recruited in the ED pool. Anyway, so despite this, I wrote a letter to Swarthmore (in e-mail) to my admissions counselor. I couldn't find the e-mail, since my school's e-mail service has apparently been deleting all of...
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Why I declined other schools
1815 Words
So I will quickly run down the list of the schools I applied to and what happened. Early Decision Swarthmore: Deferral Regular Decision Swarthmore: Acceptance Bowdoin: Acceptance Hamilton: Acceptance Haverford: Rejection Pomona: Acceptance Williams: Waitlisted Middlebury: Accepted Washington University in St. Louis: Accepted Emory: Accepted Kenyon: Accepted Vassar: Accepted Wesleyan: Accepted So after receiving my regular decisions I began with a quick comparison of Wash U and Emory, since they were both about equal-size schools. This is why I thought Wash U was better than Emory. Wash U has better student recourses I felt the culture there was more my...
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How I chose schools to apply to
763 Words
Well, the best thing to do is to begin by just touring a couple schools and really paying attention. I accompished this by actually paying attention on my older brother's college tours. While we only had a 2 school overlap (Wash U in St. Louis and Emory) in schools we both applied to, and he never actually toured Wash U, I found out a lot about what I wanted. So the next step is to decide what exactly you want. I decided that I wanted a top-ranked liberal arts college. That made it fairly easy to find schools. I just had...
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High School Performance

GPA
4.00
(no specification of weighting)
Rank
Top 25%
 
High School TypePublic
College Classes In High School
Academic Performance in High School Low at first but improved
Explanation of Low Grades

Test Scores

Highest SAT
1530
on 1600 scale
Highest SAT
2240
 
SAT Score Details
 
Original SAT Score2240
Other SAT Scores
SAT Prep
PSAT Scores
Other Standardized Tests

AP / IB Classes and Scores

Details6 classes and scores

Sports

Extracurriculars

ActivitiesBoy/Girl Scouts, Junior Classical League / Latin Club, Improv club/team, Chess, Marching Band, Student Activities Committee, Model Congress / Model UN, Library Volunteer, National Honor Society
Elaborate on Extracurriculars or Work

Experience & Awards

How Spent Summers
Volunteer Experiences
Awards Received
Application Additional Materials

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