(no subject)
So, yesterday, I spent the whole day writing a letter to Carnegie Mellon so that they'll move me up on their ranked priority waiting list.
This was my first draft:
PLEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEASE!!!!!!!
Here's what I actually wrote:
Dear Mr. Steidel,
Thank you for reviewing my application and graciously offering me the option of placement on the priority wait list. I enthusiastically accept this offer, as Carnegie Mellon University is overwhelmingly my first choice for my college education.
Although I knew that Carnegie Mellon was a top university with an excellent reputation in theater, I was not aware of many of the incredible qualities of the campus and its students until after I came to interview and visit the school in early March. Talking to other applicants, their parents, and especially while getting a tour of the theater facilities from two freshmen Technical Direction majors, Chris and Alex, I got a sense of what a truly special place Carnegie Mellon is, in a way that is impossible to discern from even the glossiest view book. After the official tour, including a look at the magnificent set of Nathan the Wise, Chris and Alex spent over an hour with my mother and me discussing all aspects of the school, and I was exceptionally impressed. Their insights, caring attitude, and obvious dedication to and satisfaction with the theater program sealed the decision for me. So many of the qualities that these students found important to their own school choices were exactly what I was looking for: a collaborative learning environment, excellent facilities, a challenging program and most of all, the opportunity to really make an impact through my work, because of Carnegie Mellon’s prominence in student theater and the professional quality of its productions.
I recently completed my run as Head Lighting for Wootton High School’s theatrical season which included the play Flowers for Algernon and the musicals You’re a Good Man, Charlie Brown and On the Town. The entire year has been a learning process and I have been able to progressively explore and develop my own style. I was thrilled when my lighting work in On the Town was personally singled out for acclaim in two student theater reviews that appeared in the Washington Post.
I am also a member of my school’s mixed a cappella group, Chaos. We recently placed first in the Mid-Atlantic regional semifinals for the National Competition of High School A Cappella and will be competing in the national finals at George Washington University in May along with five other groups from around the country. I am in a collaborative process with another member of Chaos in arranging a song by a former Wootton student to add to our repertoire.
Currently, I am producing Wootton’s Fourth Annual Student Directed One Act Play Festival, overseeing ten plays with seven directors and a collective cast of 26 students. I am directing two of the plays in the Festival which I chose specifically because I feel they will be a fun and interesting challenge to successfully direct. One of the plays is Mrs. Sorken, by Christopher Durang. It has only one female character who is supposed to be introducing a night of theater, but she has lost her notes, so she is making up her “facts” as she goes along. I am very confident in the actress I cast for the role, but I know she will still need significant direction in maintaining the specificities of the character. The other play I will be directing is The Universal Language by David Ives. Much of the play must be spoken in a slightly nonsensical language, and the challenge rests in the audience being able to understand the actors, even when they are not speaking entirely in English. I am deeply committed to the Festival, having been involved with it for the past three years, and am now gaining so much valuable experience in being responsible for all aspects of a production.
Throughout my theatrical experiences I have developed undying respect for and have built friendships with people involved in every facet of the process. I consider my ability to get along and work well with a wide range of personality types one of my strongest assets. I find that having such diversity in both my personal and working relationships truly enriches me and the experience of putting on a production. If you don’t care about the people involved, you don’t care about the product. I am confident that this skill will help me succeed in college and in this industry because I will undoubtedly encounter a rich variety of personalities and trust that I will be able to get along with (hopefully!) all of them.
When I toured Carnegie Mellon, I sensed the same close-knit environment I have grown so much in during high school and felt “at home” in a way that was different from the other campuses I had visited. For the last four years I have dedicated countless hours to and resolutely focused on developing my theatrical skills and achieving a record that would give me the opportunity to attend the best possible school for theatrical design. I believe that, for me, Carnegie Mellon is that place. I would deeply appreciate your offer of admission to the class of 2010.
Thank you so much again for your consideration and I look forward to hearing from you soon.
Sincerely,
Jeanette R. McAlpine
Wow, that was boring. I'm sorry. I was going more for visual effect. Anyways, I'm gonna make a sincere effort to update over break since I'm not anywhere nearby and also cuz I know you're all gonna need daily reminders that APRIL 17 IS MY 18 BIRTHDAY
, cuz you always do.
So yeah, I'm leaving noon-ish, feel free to call me up at any point this week. I still won't be on im until Sunday--yeah Lent, woot! So, yeah, see y'all.
k, cool.
This was my first draft:
PLEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEASE!!!!!!!
Here's what I actually wrote:
Dear Mr. Steidel,
Thank you for reviewing my application and graciously offering me the option of placement on the priority wait list. I enthusiastically accept this offer, as Carnegie Mellon University is overwhelmingly my first choice for my college education.
Although I knew that Carnegie Mellon was a top university with an excellent reputation in theater, I was not aware of many of the incredible qualities of the campus and its students until after I came to interview and visit the school in early March. Talking to other applicants, their parents, and especially while getting a tour of the theater facilities from two freshmen Technical Direction majors, Chris and Alex, I got a sense of what a truly special place Carnegie Mellon is, in a way that is impossible to discern from even the glossiest view book. After the official tour, including a look at the magnificent set of Nathan the Wise, Chris and Alex spent over an hour with my mother and me discussing all aspects of the school, and I was exceptionally impressed. Their insights, caring attitude, and obvious dedication to and satisfaction with the theater program sealed the decision for me. So many of the qualities that these students found important to their own school choices were exactly what I was looking for: a collaborative learning environment, excellent facilities, a challenging program and most of all, the opportunity to really make an impact through my work, because of Carnegie Mellon’s prominence in student theater and the professional quality of its productions.
I recently completed my run as Head Lighting for Wootton High School’s theatrical season which included the play Flowers for Algernon and the musicals You’re a Good Man, Charlie Brown and On the Town. The entire year has been a learning process and I have been able to progressively explore and develop my own style. I was thrilled when my lighting work in On the Town was personally singled out for acclaim in two student theater reviews that appeared in the Washington Post.
I am also a member of my school’s mixed a cappella group, Chaos. We recently placed first in the Mid-Atlantic regional semifinals for the National Competition of High School A Cappella and will be competing in the national finals at George Washington University in May along with five other groups from around the country. I am in a collaborative process with another member of Chaos in arranging a song by a former Wootton student to add to our repertoire.
Currently, I am producing Wootton’s Fourth Annual Student Directed One Act Play Festival, overseeing ten plays with seven directors and a collective cast of 26 students. I am directing two of the plays in the Festival which I chose specifically because I feel they will be a fun and interesting challenge to successfully direct. One of the plays is Mrs. Sorken, by Christopher Durang. It has only one female character who is supposed to be introducing a night of theater, but she has lost her notes, so she is making up her “facts” as she goes along. I am very confident in the actress I cast for the role, but I know she will still need significant direction in maintaining the specificities of the character. The other play I will be directing is The Universal Language by David Ives. Much of the play must be spoken in a slightly nonsensical language, and the challenge rests in the audience being able to understand the actors, even when they are not speaking entirely in English. I am deeply committed to the Festival, having been involved with it for the past three years, and am now gaining so much valuable experience in being responsible for all aspects of a production.
Throughout my theatrical experiences I have developed undying respect for and have built friendships with people involved in every facet of the process. I consider my ability to get along and work well with a wide range of personality types one of my strongest assets. I find that having such diversity in both my personal and working relationships truly enriches me and the experience of putting on a production. If you don’t care about the people involved, you don’t care about the product. I am confident that this skill will help me succeed in college and in this industry because I will undoubtedly encounter a rich variety of personalities and trust that I will be able to get along with (hopefully!) all of them.
When I toured Carnegie Mellon, I sensed the same close-knit environment I have grown so much in during high school and felt “at home” in a way that was different from the other campuses I had visited. For the last four years I have dedicated countless hours to and resolutely focused on developing my theatrical skills and achieving a record that would give me the opportunity to attend the best possible school for theatrical design. I believe that, for me, Carnegie Mellon is that place. I would deeply appreciate your offer of admission to the class of 2010.
Thank you so much again for your consideration and I look forward to hearing from you soon.
Sincerely,
Jeanette R. McAlpine
Wow, that was boring. I'm sorry. I was going more for visual effect. Anyways, I'm gonna make a sincere effort to update over break since I'm not anywhere nearby and also cuz I know you're all gonna need daily reminders that APRIL 17 IS MY 18 BIRTHDAY
, cuz you always do.
So yeah, I'm leaving noon-ish, feel free to call me up at any point this week. I still won't be on im until Sunday--yeah Lent, woot! So, yeah, see y'all.
k, cool.