The Practical Guide to Writing College Application Essays

Still writing those personal statements?
Read this Q & A from Alison R. for some tips.

Q: What on earth should I write about for my personal statement (you know, that one where they don’t give you a prompt)?

A: Yourself, of course! A personal statement is a snapshot of who you are. It doesn’t have to be the most amazing thing in the world, but it should show your readers something about you. Write about an experience, a pastime, your family, your favorite color. Pick something specific that no one else but you could write about, and write about it.

Q: What about when I do get a prompt?

A: First, make sure you understand what it’s asking; underline key parts or break it down if you have to. Then brainstorm a little, pick out some good ideas and write. Remember to make sure that your essay appropriately addresses the prompt and doesn’t go off on tangents. Also, make sure it fits the place it’s going to: Don’t gripe about big cities in your essay for a school in NYC, or anything similarly discordant.

Q: What about those “Why this college?” essays?

A: Ah, yes, those prompts that ask you to write about why you chose a college, why you should be admitted, and what you’d do there to make it a better place, in no particular combination. The key to writing these is figuring out what they want to hear, and this means research. Take ten minutes to find info on the history, mission and unique educational features of the college in question. If they have a motto or catchphrase, that’s even better. Write you essay with these things in mind, or even address them directly.

Q: Is it okay to recycle parts of my essays?

A: Definitely! This works especially well with the “Why this college?” essays, as they tend to be repetitive. If you hit upon something you really like, get it down in words and really want to reuse it, don’t be afraid to cut and paste. The only exception: Don’t let the same text appear more than once in the body of work you’re sending to one college. In other words, don’t show them that you’re recycling.

Q: How much time should I spend editing?

A: As much time as you need until you’re satisfied with your writing. That said, don’t be a perfectionist, and don’t just spew words for five minutes and say you’re done (as in, not edit at all). If time is not on your side, walk away from your work for five minutes and then reread it with fresh eyes. After you’re sure you’re finished, give a last once-over.

Q: Should I give my essays to someone else to read?

A: Yes! Give it to your English teacher at least a few weeks before your deadline for some professional criticism. Also show it to at least one other person - a friend, a family member - to proofread; a fresh set of eyes will catch the careless mistakes you won’t. Be ready to go back to editing, though.

Q: What should a finished essay look like?

A: Unless otherwise directed, each essay shouldn’t be longer than one page of double-spaced 12-point TNR font text with standard margins, nor less than a few lines shy of the one-page mark. Follow word count limitations if given. The paragraphs should be reasonably sized, with some variation; one-line paragraphs may work, depending on the context, but a single mammoth block of text will not. As for titles: Give each essay a reasonably creative but appropriate title, perhaps echoing the prompt, but don’t stress out over it for more than a few minutes. The most important thing is to make the final copy visually pleasing for good first impressions, even if you’re submitting it online.

Still need some help? Check out the suggestions from the admissions staff at William & Mary under “Essays Made Easy” or watch the YouTube video of their own essay prompt.

Also visit:

• arlingtonteens.com college page
• Arlington Public Library College & Career resources

Advanced Placement vs. International Baccalaureate

by Steven

With two outstanding college-level programs of classes to take, Arlington students are often forced to choose between College Board’s Advanced Placement (AP) program and the IB program of international studies.

Here are a few key differences:

• The AP program allows far more class choices and is far lessconstricting than the IB. For example, the IB rigidly requires candidates to complete at least one class in each of six areas during the last two years of high school, where the AP program allows students to pick and choose which courses they do and do not want to take.
  
  
• The IB program includes internal and external testing throughout the school year, including oral exams and essays, in addition to the final end-of-the-year test. This means additional work for students, but it also means that they receive additional feedback and it decreases stress for final exams.
  
  
• In terms of college credit, AP is still the safest choice. Most colleges recognize and reward AP exam scores of 4 and 5 (out of a total of five points) while most colleges only give credit for IB higher level classes, which are typically a year longer than their AP equivalents.
  
  
• The IB program is more holistic than AP, including a requirement that students write a 4,000 words extended essay in their senior year. This essay is beneficial in that it provides students with experience in writing research papers for college, but that benefit is usually lost due to the thoughtless timing of the essay as students are required to piece together the essay at around the same time they are struggling to complete college applications.
  
  
• Additionally, IB, unlike the AP program, requires students to complete (and arduously document) 150 hours of Creativity, Action, and Service hours (CAS). While it seems alovely idea to harness the energy of high achieving students to something in addition to academic work, in reality the average IB and AP student will complete far more than 150 hours of sports and clubs during their time in high school, meaning that the only real effect of CAS is to create hours of work to complete the often-bureaucratic documentation.
  
  
• Finally, teachers in both programs are often comparable, and usually teachers will teach both an AP and an IB class. In terms of students, the IB program seems to have a slightly higher proportion of high-achieving students. This is mostly because teachers and administrators tend to push advanced classes of younger students to complete the IB program, not always for the right reasons – the IB program usually involves students taking more tests, which carries state incentives and the promise of a higher ranking for the high school.

Overall, it seems that perhaps a mixture of IB and AP classes would best serve the typical advanced student in terms of college credit and class selection. Those considering the full IB diploma should carefully consider what they want from advanced courses before they undergo a program that involves significantly more pointless work than the AP while providing less recognition for that work from colleges.

For information on these programs, visit:
http://www.ibo.org/
http://www.collegeboard.com/student/testing/ap/about.html

Washington-Lee High School in Arlington, VA offers the International Baccalaureate (IB) program. Visit their site for further information.

Keep Boredom at Bay at Your Local Library

by Alison R.

Bored? Arlington’s public libraries offer a lot of choices for those in need of time to kill.

The Good Stuff: You know what it is – movies, music, audio books, featured titles, graphic novels and – most importantly – free Internet. All locations have computers available for public use; Central, Aurora Hills, Columbia Pike, Plaza and Shirlington all have free Wi-Fi. Playaways, handheld audio books, are available at all locations as well. Some branches don’t have music or video sections dedicated solely to teens, but the adult sections serve just as well, folding in YA movies as well as additional foreign films (anime fans, though, should check out Central’s YA DVD collection). The biggest collection of graphic novels is at Central, split into J, YA and adult sections. For reading ideas, check out the high school TAB blog and the teen library blog list of new books. You can also browse the Arlington Public Library Catalog and place holds at any time on ACORN.

Spanish Language Conversation Group: Looking for an informal place to practice your Spanish skills? The Spanish Conversation Class meets every Thursday at seven at Central Library on a drop-in basis.

English Language Conversation Groups: Looking for an informal place to practice your English skills? English Conversation Classes meet at Central, Shirlington and Columbia Pike at different times most Saturdays for non-native speakers on a drop-in basis.

Technology Classes: Did you skip technology in ninth grade? You’re in luck! Arlington offers technology classes of all types for all ages, from basic computer skills to online blogging and job hunting. Most classes are at Central, Shirlington and Columbia Pike. All classes are free and open on a first-come, first-serve basis; some individual classes do have basic requirements.

Art Exhibits: Do you enjoy the visual arts? Would you like to see great art for free without trekking into DC? The Central and Shirlington locations rotate art exhibits featuring local artists, including school competitions, and almost always have something to see.

Films: Shirlington offers the most frequent movie screenings (sometimes almost daily). There is also the Cross Cultural Cinema program, which screens international films about once a month, and each is followed by an audience discussion. All Cross Cultural Cinema screenings are at the Central Library Auditorium on the third Thursday of the month at 6:30 p.m.

Volunteering: Librarians are always grateful for extra help! Volunteering can be fun, plus you also get hours. General jobs include sorting, shelving, organizing and retrieving items; you can also do short book reviews, help with story hours, make posters and flyers and organize library files. An application form is required; and an additional Talent Release form is required for posting your name and work online. See the Teen Portal page on volunteering for more information.

For a complete list of events at all branches organized by event type, visit the Library News and Events page or the Library’s Teen Blog, TATAL Online.

Suggested Reading

Middle School: The official Reading List and the 2008 TAB picks of all the middle school groups

High School: The official 2009 TAB list; also check out the YA Authors Café blog and other teen author blogs

Teens in General: New Books at the library from the TATAL blog, the H-B Woodlawn Library Bookspot and YALSA’s booklist page

Why Aptitude Testing Is a Good Idea

The factors most people use in deciding which college, major or career to choose are as follows: Interests, academic programs, personal preferences, money (in or out) and personality test results, in any given order. That last one is about as scientific a factor as most people consider.

But some go further. I became one of them when I took an aptitude test over the summer at the Johnson O’Connor Research Foundation in DC. It began in 1922 to study human abilities and give people knowledge of their aptitudes and how they corresponded with certain careers. By now their testing is quite refined – it took me two three-hour appointments for to complete it all – and involves both computer-guided and person-to-person testing for such things as memory recall (numbers, words, patterns), how quickly you can discern patterns and your immediate reactions to certain words or pictures. My third appointment was to explain all my results to me. Here’s what I learned:

Aptitudes are often confused with intelligence, abilities and skills. But the Foundation defines them as “natural talents, special abilities for doing, or learning to do, certain kinds of things easily and quickly.” They also specify that aptitudes are hereditary and “highly stable over long-term periods,” unlike personality traits, which may change over time. Most importantly, they are the best indicators of how successful and fulfilling a person’s job will be, since every job requires and every person has a specific set of aptitudes. If the person and the job don’t match up, both are in trouble: Unused aptitudes make a person feel bored and unfulfilled; lacking aptitudes make the work seem difficult and unpleasant.

So what are these aptitudes? The Foundation tests 24 individual ones in ten different categories, and a person can score low, high or average on each of them. They include numerical and auditory abilities, color discrimination, motor skills, spatial visualization (3-D imagining), memory (for words, designs, numbers and changes) and artistic judgment (preference for simple but non-uniform designs).

So how does this help me? you may be wondering. Knowing your scores for certain aptitudes can help you choose a career that would best suit you. The Foundation has compiled data on which aptitudes are best for a multitude of jobs. High 3-D imagining, for instance, is imperative for architects and engineers. But high scores aren’t always the best – high ideaphoria, or flow of ideas, for instance, can be distracting. I should know: I have it, and a notebook, too, so I don’t forget all my good ideas. Having a lot of high aptitudes isn’t always best either – as they put it, aptitudes aren’t tools that you can pick up and put down at will: They are always in you hands and must be used. If not, your sense of fulfillment suffers.

There’s one more thing: At least one aptitude is directly linked to a learning disorder. Graphoria, or eye speed, indicates how quickly a person can do paperwork without sacrificing accuracy. People with low graphoria do paperwork at a painstakingly slow speed and often make simple clerical errors anyway. Since paperwork is an important part of schoolwork, low-grahporia students generally find school difficult. Because this disability is not well-known among educators, many students never know they have it. That said, tips for such students can be found online from the Johnson O'Connor Research Foundation.

Of course, if you want the full scoop you’ll have to get tested yourself – or go to the Foundation’s website and order their official book, Your Natural Gifts.