APPLYING TO COLLEGE
Many colleges offer a variety of application
options for students. Many offer individual
institutional forms as well as the Common
Application, applications on disk, and electronic
applications. If a student has a particular
preference, he should check to make certain that the
college offers the format he desires.
Regardless of the method of application, all
applications are expected to be original, neatly
presented, and truthful. The College Advisers can
preview applications and offer suggestions for
improvement, but the work must be the applicantsí
alone. Students are expected to mail their
applications directly to the colleges. A few colleges
(usually state institutions) require all documents,
including the application, be sent by the College
Advisers.
The Essay
The college application essay is an opportunity
for the student to make himself known to the reader
in ways that do not already appear in the applicant.
It is a chance for the student to express himself in
a way that will distinguish him from other qualified
applicants in the admissions pool.
Although many colleges seek this information in a
variety of ways, essentially they all want to know
what is important to the applicant. Once the student
has identified the topic which he would like to
address, the essay can usually be molded to fit the
majority of assigned topics. Dr. Gary Ripple, Dean of
Admission and Financial Aid at Lafayette College and
author of Do It Write: How to Prepare a Great College
Application contends, I have never seen a college
application essay question, no matter how it was
worded, that did not ask the same basic thing--who
are you, and what makes you different from all those
other qualified applicant we must consider? In other
words, the essay gives you the opportunity to
demonstrate why you are special.
The essay has the potential to impact profoundly
on the admission decision, and should therefore be
the best piece of writing the student is capable of
producing. As with the application itself, the
College Advisers can preview college essays, offer
feedback and suggestions for improvement, but the
content of the essay must be the studentsí alone.
Sample Essay Questions
Evaluate a significant experience or achievement
that has special meaning to you.
Discuss some issue of personal, local, or national
concern and its importance to you.
Indicate a person who has had a significant
influence on you, and describe that influence.
On a separate sheet of paper, please answer one of
the following two questions in an essay not to exceed
three hundred words. We are interested not so much in
whom or what you choose to write about, but in how
you use your choice to illustrate something important
about yourself and your values. A. If you could
choose one person, living, deceased, or fictional,
whom would you choose and why? B. Please cite and
discuss a literary quotation or brief passage that
has special meaning to you.
While we are very interested in your intellectual
abilities, your sense of imagination and creativity
are also important to us. With this in mind, please
respond to one of the following two requests.
A. You have just completed your 300 page
autobiography. Please submit page 217.
B. Create something on or with an 8
1/2"x11" piece of paper or other
thin, flat material. All means of expression,
written or otherwise, are equally encouraged.
(You must be able to mail this in a
10"x13" envelope.) The word
"hero" is loosely used to describe
a wide array of human beings. The writers of
ancient Greece used the word only to honor
warriors who sought glory on the battlefield.
Today, we acclaim as "heroes" such
varied kinds of people as astronauts,
firefighters, athletes, movie stars, and
ordinary citizens caught in extraordinary
situations. Are we correct in using the term
so broadly? Give an example of a real or
fictional person you consider a hero and
discuss what makes that person heroic.
Concepts and feelings are sometimes
represented by common household items. For
example, the theory of an expanding universe
is sometimes portrayed in terms of raisin
bread rising, or love as a red, red rose.
Illustrate how an object in your kitchen can
be used to represent a significant concept or
feeling. (Feel free to discuss more than one
object.)
The Constitution is conspicuously silent
about matters of education. For example, the
only requirements for elected office are
citizenship and a certain age level (Article
I, Sections 2, 3; Article I, Section 1). Is
there any kind of knowledge or understanding
most worth having for a good citizen who
wishes to hold elected office?
Transcript Requests
Each year, The Hill School sends hundreds
of documents in support of our studentsí
applications to college. Generally, a
transcript, General Estimate, Secondary
School Report, and a Testing Record are sent
to every college to which each boy applies.
In order for these documents to be compiled
and processed in a timely manner, students
must submit a Transcript Request Form to the
College Advisers according to a schedule
determined by the application deadline. Those
students who comply with these deadlines will
be given priority in disseminating the
materials to colleges. Students should be
aware of these traditional application
deadlines:
| Application Deadline |
TRF Deadline |
| October 15 |
October 1 |
| November 1 |
October 15 |
| November 15 |
November 1 |
| January 1 |
December 6 |
| January 15 |
December 15 |
| February 1 |
January 15 |
| All others |
February 1 |
TABLE OF CONTENTS
|COLLEGE PAGE|
