The Big Decision " For the two and a half months
from early January to mid-March when the committee convened for the
last time, Ralph was virtually like a hermit" (Steinberg 121). It was
the period when all the colleges decide who will and wont be attending
their school the following semester. For many high school students the
application process can be a very tedious and pain staking task that
everyone must complete if they want to get into a college that will
give them the opportunities necessary to be successful in life. In
order to get into a respectable college one must have done well the
entire time they attended in high school as well as having many
extracurricular activities, including multiple hours of community
service. For some colleges, such as Wesleyan College, mentioned in The Gatekeepers by Jacques
Steinberg, student-counselor communication can start as early as middle
school for the lucky students who strive for the very best and are
willing to pay.
As the Wesleyan counselors told
hopeful students, " The first thing we look at is your transcript,
we're first looking at the rigor of your curriculum. We are looking for
five courses each year. We're looking for four years of single language. Only then are we gonna look at your performance" (Steinberg, 77). The decision of my admittance is not based entirely on my grades and SAT scores alone. This decision is a culmination of my performance
in the classroom, SAT scores, community service, and your personal
background and interests. So, even though someone might be weak in one
area, I could recover and compensate by being exceptional in the other areas. For instance, Aggie from The Gatekeepers didn't have
the best GPA or SAT scores, but "The personal rating came much more
easily given all Aggie's extracurriculars and the fact that she had
been elected onto the student counsel. For the first time, he was
permitted to award her points for having overcome a tough background"
(Macdonald) good college admissions essay can be the deciding
factor between you or another person getting into your dream college.
College counselors don't want to read an essay that encompasses
everything that the writer thinks the counselor wants to hear. It is more beneficial to
just be honest because "the odds were good that at least one person on
an admissions committee somewhere would share the applicants view of
the world" (Lesesne).
"One
of the first major decisions that a young person must choose is which
college they would like to attend, and it shouldn't be made solely on
information such as the school's reputation, a guidebook, or a Web
site. In order to find out what a college is really like, students
should take a personal tour of the campus" (Rennekamp par 2,Petersons
par 1, college board par 2, ULS par1-14, Learnmore par 1). Upon
completion of this book, my outlook on the way the college admissions
process is conducted was changed dramatically. I believed the admission
process was much easier. I thought if I got good grades and do well on the SAT I could get into any college I wanted.
But this is not the case, colleges recruit based on what they need,
which explains the reason why everybody in college looks different,
acts different, is better at different things. Not everyone at at your college is a genius
because that is not what colleges the colleges are looking for, they
want a diverse and interesting population of students that they believe
can change the world in one way or another.I am considering attending
the University of California at San Diego (UCSD) as my first choice.
This book has changed and enlightened my views on the application
process, I now have a couple more factors to consider when I am
organizing my applications to meet a colleges certain preferences.
The time I spend in college should be one of the best times in my life. The decision of which college I attend should be well-thought out and based on many reasons. This is not something I can just sit down for an hour and know what I want to do. I should take the time because this decision will affect me for the rest of my life. Once I know where I would like to attend, then I can start the stressful application process where everything and everyone is considered, if I can meet the important requirements. From there I graduate and move onto bigger and better things. Works Cited “Are Legacy College Admissions Racist?” CNN.com /Education 5 March 2003. 10 Sept. 2008 <http://www.cnn.com/2003/EDUCATION/03/05/legacy.students.ap/>. Jaschik, Scott. “Legacy Admits: More Money, Lower Scores.” Inside Higher Ed 4 Aug. 2008. 9 Sept. 2008 <http://www.insidehighered.com/news/2008/08/04/legacy>. Lesesne, David. “The Price of Admission; How America’s Ruling Class Buys Its Way into Elite Colleges-and Who Gets Left Outside the Gates.” Palgrave Macmillan International Journal of Educational Advancement 2008. 9 Sept. 2008 < http://www.palgrave-journals.com/ijea/journal/v8/n1/full/ijea20083a.html#aff1>. Mac Donald, Heather. “How UC is rigging the Admissions Process.” Los Angeles Times 7 Sept. 2008. 9 Sept. 2008 <http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/sunday/commentary/la-oe-mac_donald-2008sep07,0,7299963.story>. “Our View on College Admissions: Let Alma Maters Decide.” USA Today 20 Aug. 2008. 9 Sept. 2008 < http://blogs.usatoday.com/oped/2008/08/our-view-on-col.html>. Steinberg, Jacques. The Gatekeepers: Inside the Admissions Process of a
Premier College. New York: Penguin Group, 2002. The Big Decision " For the two and a half months from
early January to mid-March when the committee convened for the last
time, Ralph was virtually like a hermit" (Steinberg 121). It was the
period when all the colleges decide who will and wont be attending
their school the following semester. For many high school students the
application process can be a very tedious and pain staking task that
everyone must complete if they want to get into a college that will
give them the
opportunities necessary to be successful in life. In order to get into
a repected -SPELLING- btw, what is a "respectable" college? - Docraygen 9/21/08 3:08 AMcollege one must have done well the entire time they attended in
high school as well as having many extracurricular activities,
including multiple hours of community service. For some colleges, such
as Wesleyan College, mentioned in The Gatekeepers by Jacques
Steinberg, student-counselor communication can start as early as middle
school for the lucky students who strive for the very best and are willing to pay. CLARIFY THESIS -Docraygen 9/21/08 4:00 AM
As the Wesleyan counselors told hopeful students, " The first thing we look at is your transcript, we're first
looking at the rigor of your curriculum. We are looking for five
courses each year. We're looking for four years of single language.
Only the are we gonna look at your performance" (Steinberg 77). The
decision of your - AVOID SECOND PERSON IN ESSAYS - Docraygen 9/21/08 4:02 AMadmittance is not based entirely on your grades and
SAT scores alone. This decision is a culmination of your performance in the
classroom, SAT scores, community service, and your personal background and
interests. So, even though someone might be weak in one area, you could
recover and compensate by being exceptional in the other areas. For
instance, Aggie from The Gatekeepers didn't have the best GPA
or SAT scores, but "The personal rating came much more easily given all
Aggie's extracurriculars and the fact that she had been elected onto
the student counsel. For the first time, he was permitted to award her
points for having overcome a tough background" (Steinberg 142) A - PUNCTUATION LACKING- Docraygen 9/21/08 4:04 AM
good
college admissions essay can be the deciding factor between you or
another person getting into your dream college.
College counselors don't want to read an essay that
encompasses everything that the writer thinks the counselor wants to
hear. Its
more beneficial to just be honest because "the odds were good that at
least one person on an admissions committee somewhere would share the
applicants view of the world" (Steinberg 135).
"One
of the first major decisions that a young person must choose is which college they would like to attend,
and it shouldn't be made solely on information such as the school's
reputation, a guidebook, or a Web site. In order to find out what a
college is really like, students should take a personal tour of the
campus" (Rennekamp par 2,Petersons par 1, college board par 2, ULS
par1-14, Learnmore par 1). Upon completion of this book, my outlook on the way the college admissions process is conducted was changed dramatically. I
believed the admission process was much easier. I thought if you get
good grades and do well on the SAT you could get into any college you
wanted. But this is not the case, colleges recruit based on what they
need, which explains the reason why everybody in college looks different, acts different, is better at different things. Not everyone everyone at at your college is a genius because that is not
what colleges the colleges are looking for, they want a diverse and interesting population of
students that they believe can change the world in one way or another.I am
considering attending the University of California at San Diego (UCSD)
as my first choice. This novel -THIS IS NON-FICTION; THEREFORE, IT IS NOT A NOVEL - Docraygen 9/21/08 4:07 AMhas changed and enlightened my views on
the application process, I now have a couple more factors to
consider when I am organizing my applications to meet a colleges certain preferences.
The time you spend in college should
be one of the best times in your life. The decision of which college
you attend should be well-thought out and based on many reasons. This
is not something you can just sit down for an hour and know what you
want to do. Take the time because this decision will affect you for the
rest of your life. Once you know where you would like to attend, then
you can start the stressful application process where everything and everyone is
considered, if you can meet the important requirements. From there you graduate and move onto bigger and better things. YOUR EXCESSIVE USE OF THE SECOND PERSON IMPLIES THAT "I" NEED TO DO THESE ACTIONS. I'VE ALREADY HAVE MY COLLEGE EDUCATION. IN OTHER WORDS - AVOID THE USE OF SECOND PERSON. YOU COULD SUBSTITUTE "I" FOR "YOU" AND IN THIS ESSAY IT WOULD MAKE SENSE. GRADE 88/100. The Big Decision " For the two and a half months from
early January to mid-March when the committee convened for the last
time, Ralph was virtually like a hermit" (Steinberg 121). It was the
period when all the colleges decide who will and wont be attending
their school the following semester. For many high school students the
application process can be a very tedious and pain staking task that
they must complete to get into a college that will give them the
opportunities necessary to be successful in life. In order to get into
a good college one must have done well the entire time they attended in
high school as well as having many extracurricular activities,
including multiple hours of community service. For some colleges, such
as Wesleyan College, mentioned in The Gatekeepers by Jacques
Steinberg, student-counselor communication can start as early as middle
school for the lucky kids who can afford it.
As the Wesleyan counselors told the
students, " The first thing we look at is your transcript, we're first
looking at the rigor of your curriculum. We are looking for five
courses each year. We're looking for four years of single language.
Only the are we gonna look at your performance" (Steinberg 77). The
decision of your admittance is not based entirely on your grades and
SAT scores. It is a culmination of the your performance in the
classroom, SAT scores, community service, and personal background and
interests. So, even though someone might be weak in one area they could
recover and compensate by being exceptional in the other area. For
instance, Aggie from The Gatekeepers didn't have the best GPA
or SAT scores, but "The personal rating came much more easily given all
Aggie's extracurriculars and the fact that she had been elected onto
the student counsel. For the first time, he was permitted to award her
points for having overcome a tough background" (Steinberg 142) A good
college admissions essay can be the deciding factor between this person
and another person. College counselors don't want to read an essay that
encompasses everything the writing thinks they want to hear. Its
more beneficial to just be honest because "the odds were good that at
least one person on an admissions committee somewhere would share the
applicants view of the world" (Steinberg 135).
"One
of the first major decisions for a young person is selecting a college,
and it shouldn't be made solely on information such as the school's
reputation, a guidebook, or a Web site. In order to find out what a
college is really like, students should take a personal tour of the
campus" (Rennekamp par 2,Petersons par 1, college board par 2, ULS
par1-14, Learnmore par 1). Upon completion of this book, my outlook on the way the college admissions process is conducted was changed dramatically. Confusing word usage, clarify at least to some degree. -William Taylor 9/12/08 2:16 PM I
believed the admission process was much easier. I thought if you get
good grades and do well on the SAT you could get into into college you
wanted. But this is not the case, colleges recruit based on what they
need, which is why when you go to college and look around everyone is
different. Not everyone is a genius because that is not
what colleges want, they want a diverse and interesting population of
students that can change the world in one way or another.I am
considering attending the University of California at San Diego (UCSD)
as my first choice. this novel has changed and enlightened my views on
the application process, I now have a couple more factors to
consider when I am setting up my applications.
The time you spend in college should
be one of the best times in your life. The decision of which college
you attend should be well-thought out and based on many reasons. This
is not something you can just sit down for an hour and know what you
want to do. Take the time because this decision will affect you the
rest of your life. Once you know where you would like to attend, then
you can start the stressful application process where everything is
considered if you can meet the important requirements. Unclear sentence structure... -William Taylor 9/12/08 2:13 PM From there you graduate and move onto bigger and better things.
Good
essay, not great but good. Use more descriptive language and try to
make the direction of your argument a little more clear. Maybe More
examples and stronger commentary. Also, remember proper MLA formatting
such as double spacing and do not use contractions. I give your essay a
5-William Taylor 9/12/08 2:06 PM
|