While the college essay process is stressful to many, it is exciting to me. We're in the heart of essay season-and I love drawing stories out of my students. It allows me to really get to know them, which helps me refine their college lists in terms of major or social environment.
Look for essay advice and suggestions from college admissions officers over the next few weeks. Writer's block? I'm here to help you pull your ideas together at lesscollegestress.org.
Tip #1-If someone else could write this, make it less generic.
Chris Peterson, Assistant Director at MIT Admissions. The tip below is paraphrased from the post “How To Write A College Essay” on the MIT blog.
Be specific. Consider these two hypothetical introductory paragraphs for a master's program in library science.
“I am honored to apply for the Master of Library Science program at the University of Okoboji because as long as I can remember I have had a love affair with books. Since I was eleven I have known I wanted to be a librarian.”
vs.
“When I was eleven, my great-aunt Gretchen passed away and left me something that changed my life: a library of about five thousand books. Some of my best days were spent arranging and reading her books. Since then, I have wanted to be a librarian.”
Each paragraph was 45 words long and the words had the same intent (applicant has wanted to be a librarian since she was a young girl). But they are extraordinarily different essays, most strikingly because the former is generic where the latter is specific. It was a real thing, which happened to a real person, told simply. There is nothing better than that.
My visit to Ithaca College May 8th confirmed why it appears on so many students' lists. The Communications, Business, Humanities & Sciences, and Health Sciences and Human Performance, and Music Schools all have terrific track records. All that, and students are very happy and involved here.
The Roy H. Park School of Communications is a major draw: The Hollywood Reporter ranks its film school #18, The Princeton Review's #3 rated school newspaper, The Ithacan, and #6 college radio stations. Students major in film and television production, journalism, recording technology, speech and sports communications, and public relations and go on to great careers. David Muir, ABC World News Tonight anchor, is a prime example. Click link for a list of involved alumni who reach out to help Park School students: https://www.ithaca.edu/rhp/gallery/7556/
Take note: Ithaca's Business Administration School was rated #6 BEST BUSINESS SCHOOL IN NEW YORK by Bloomberg Businessweek in 2016., based on a survey of graduates and company recruiters. Graduates can expect to a 93%PLACEMENT RATE/ADMISSION TO GRAD SCHOOL, based on a 92 percent response rate from alumni. No wonder Business Administration is IC's most popular major.
The Health Science & Human Performance College offers 5 year Masters options in PT and OT. Not ready to commit to a major? The department's preprofessional program has introductory courses -- in communication disorders, health and physical education, sport management, and more for freshmen. Other first-year students are focused around primary professional areas -- clinical rehabilitative and therapeutic disciplines, health, exercise science, recreation and leisure services, sport management and media, or education. Students discover where their true interests lie.
That brings us to a signature program: Ithaca's excellent Exploratory Program for students who are undeclared. Dr. Elizabeth Bleicher emphasized why this program is so effective in helping students find themselves in their own time. Students find where they belong organically-with support. Here, Exploratory students participate in the "TED of Marketing," PTTOW! as interns in NYC: https://www.ithaca.edu/ic-news/releases/students-thrive-as-pttow-interns-42683/
College Factual ranked Ithaca College's Music Program # 11 OUT OF 375 nationwide. The School of Humanities and Sciences, the largest and most diverse of IC’s five academic schools, encompassing 52 undergraduate degree programs and 45 minors in the creative arts, humanities, social sciences, and natural sciences.
That's a snapshot of the academics. Ithaca College is located in a naturally beautiful locale of hills, lakes and waterfalls near the center of an urbane town filled with great restaurants and shops. According to The Princeton Review, students are liberal, politically active, and very social. It's no wonder there's something for everyone here.
Stop Two, Day One: Union College, a small liberal arts school on the green edge of urban Schenectady, NY, is beyond any category : you have to experience it yourself.
Famed for its Engineering Program and rated #5 for top STEM programs for women by USA Today and College Guide, Union believes in the power of a liberal arts education to create intuitive graduates with the wider focus necessary to tackle tomorrow's questions. US News places it in the top 40 of National Liberal Arts Colleges, Money Magazine ranks it in the top 20 for earning the most in LACS, Payscale ranks it the 10th best college value, and Princeton Review ranks it #17 for Best Alumni Network.
Union runs on a trimester schedule (https://www.union.edu/admissions/trimesters/about/) Trimesters allow more time off between Thanksgiving and New Year's than a traditional schedule, and classes end in early June. This allows students to do more, try more, and double major more (75% do).
The Arts and Sciences truly intersect at Union. Classes such as The Illustrated Organism (studio fine arts and biology), and facilities such as the Phasor Lab, a professional-grade engineering and music studio, integrate the two. No audition is required to participate in theatre, and students can enjoy a miniterm in Paris or a full term in Florence. Three floors of Visual Arts in the Feigenbaum Center and an in-depth program at the Taylor Music Center offers World Music and Arts as well as Music Technology and other standard music disciplines. Students can minor in Dance, coupled with diverse majors.
The robust Engineering Program features Biomedical, Computer, Electrical, Environmental, and Mechanical Engineering. Our presentation was so effective that I finally understood what students learn and do with each of these disciplines after college!
Students at Union connect and socialize with their professors as well as enjoy Greek life-40% go Greek and participate in over 100 clubs. Union may be small, but it's never boring. Some travel to Australia and New Zealand to do research, and many take part in Princeton Review's #6-ranked most popular Study Abroad program.
The students I met were very social, comfortable with each other and adults. At dinner, we were treated to an a capela performance of "Riptide" smart conversation, and laughs. Union students are hard workers who appreciate an academic/social balance-they are proof that knowledge is the product of a logic and creativity.