(no subject)
College essays are, in short, absolutely ludicrous. I do not want to have to start writing 250 to 500 words on how I see myself on so-and-so's campus or why I feel like I would be the best selection for such-and-such's school. Or of course, the most frequently asked question, and also the most annoying, "why do you want to go to ____?". If I were to answer properly, I'd get instantly rejected. Why am I applying? Because my college counselor told me to, because it's cheap, because it's near home, because I can get a shitload of money. I do not give a flying fuck about the school community, the academic programs, the football team. Honesty is apparently not a trait colleges are looking for. Personally, if I were a college admissions officer, I'd instantly accept anyone who was brutally honest in their essay. I don't want to read the same pathetic excuses for essays over and over again.
One essay question I recently encountered was "What event in your life has changed you?". This was the least pathetic essay question of the four offered, but also the most difficult for me.
The main rules of college applications are:
1) Don't delve too far into your personal life, colleges don't want to hear about sex, drugs, and rock n' roll.
2) Don't be completely pessimistic. If you hate everyone, I'm pretty sure the college will consider you as a risk and deny your application.
3) Never ever ever make yourself seem mentally and/or physically ill. Colleges don't want to see you as a liability, or as a potential drop out as you can't make it to classes due to your mental/physical issues.
For me, 3 is the rule I have the most trouble with. The event that changed me the most was my hospitalization this summer. It put a completely different perspective on my life and how I should deal with my personal issues differently and how much I really needed help. Alas, colleges don't want to hear how I fucked up and I was hospitalized, how I used to frequently cut myself, how I would have mental breakdowns. Colleges don't want to hear how I've struggled with depression since the 7th grade, how I've tried to kill myself nearly twenty times, how I looked to drugs as a form of escape and self medication. See? All that shit makes me look... psychotic. But, I swear, I'm really not. Give me my medication and a therapist and I'm pretty fucking normal and functioning.
But fuck that, colleges don't look at how I've recovered. They only see an opportunity for a relapse, another crazy college kid clambering around and causing chaos on the college campus.
Which is why I have to fucking lie and bullshit about... my trip to Germany, or something else.
Honesty is clearly not a virtue in the college world.
One essay question I recently encountered was "What event in your life has changed you?". This was the least pathetic essay question of the four offered, but also the most difficult for me.
The main rules of college applications are:
1) Don't delve too far into your personal life, colleges don't want to hear about sex, drugs, and rock n' roll.
2) Don't be completely pessimistic. If you hate everyone, I'm pretty sure the college will consider you as a risk and deny your application.
3) Never ever ever make yourself seem mentally and/or physically ill. Colleges don't want to see you as a liability, or as a potential drop out as you can't make it to classes due to your mental/physical issues.
For me, 3 is the rule I have the most trouble with. The event that changed me the most was my hospitalization this summer. It put a completely different perspective on my life and how I should deal with my personal issues differently and how much I really needed help. Alas, colleges don't want to hear how I fucked up and I was hospitalized, how I used to frequently cut myself, how I would have mental breakdowns. Colleges don't want to hear how I've struggled with depression since the 7th grade, how I've tried to kill myself nearly twenty times, how I looked to drugs as a form of escape and self medication. See? All that shit makes me look... psychotic. But, I swear, I'm really not. Give me my medication and a therapist and I'm pretty fucking normal and functioning.
But fuck that, colleges don't look at how I've recovered. They only see an opportunity for a relapse, another crazy college kid clambering around and causing chaos on the college campus.
Which is why I have to fucking lie and bullshit about... my trip to Germany, or something else.
Honesty is clearly not a virtue in the college world.