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I like words because you use them to say things!

I used words to write this essay! Words are made of letters!


What factors have led you to consider Macalester College? Why do you believe it may be a good match and what do you believe you can add to the Mac community, academically and personally? Feel free to draw on past experiences and use concrete examples to support your perspective.

I fear that by doing this, I may be blowing my cover. I don’t have any other options left; acceptance to Macalester is vital to me, to the mission, and indeed, to this great country itself.

I am a secret agent for the United States Department of Danger. There, I’ve said it. On the outside, I may appear to be a mild-mannered teenager with impeccable rhythm and fashion sense, but underneath I am really one of the most valued covert operatives in the world. I’ve taken down tin pot dictators and dime-store criminals from here to Timbuktu, and now I need to find a new base of operations. Macalester is ideal for this purpose.

In my business, you’ve got to travel, and nobody travels more than the students at Macalester. Your college’s international focus gets me more excited than a new hovercraft-mounted laser. Just about every Mac spends a semester overseas, even though – if the panel discussion gave me the right impression – they probably aren’t fighting crime while they’re there. Instead, they’re learning about self-reliance and how to adjust to a new and different culture. I had a similar experience in Mexico last summer. I’ve told everyone that I was living in a village alone and helping the inhabitants to learn English and the basics of hygiene. Too bad what really happened is classified, or else I could tell you how I took a bullet for Vincente Fox.

The international students at Macalester add a whole new flavor to the collegiate pie. When I visited the campus – we call it “Reconnaissance” at the Department – everybody mentioned how they took history with German geniuses, physics with British brains, English with Vietnamese virtuosos, and calculus with Malaysian masters. These students bring a whole new spectrum of viewpoints and backgrounds, which I intend to learn from. Not only is it essential in building a well-rounded opinion of events, but it also gives me a network of contacts and potential basements to hide in.

Macalester’s strong Political Science program is also a perfect fit, for obvious reasons. When you’re flitting through the circles of the most powerful men in the world, it’s important to know how the scene works and how best to exploit it. While attending a party on the Indian Prime Minister’s houseboat, I managed to impress a delectable dilettante with my intimate knowledge of the democratic process. Political Science? More like Political Chemistry.


That's just the first part. I would write more, but I used up all my words and I don't have enough money left to buy new ones.

By Pistolpete (Pistolpete) on Sunday, November 30, 2003 - 11:32 pm: Edit

One word: awesome.

By Jenlikewhoa (Jenlikewhoa) on Sunday, November 30, 2003 - 11:51 pm: Edit

lol i liked that

By Sauronone (Sauronone) on Sunday, November 30, 2003 - 11:56 pm: Edit

You, sir, are a genius.

By Jason817 (Jason817) on Sunday, November 30, 2003 - 11:57 pm: Edit

that is quite possibly the best application essay I have ever read.

"Too bad what really happened is classified, or else I could tell you how I took a bullet for Vincente Fox. "

should be "Vicente", no?

By Radiostar (Radiostar) on Sunday, November 30, 2003 - 11:59 pm: Edit

should be "Vicente", no?

Well, that's what they want you to think...

By Folk_Hero (Folk_Hero) on Monday, December 01, 2003 - 12:01 am: Edit

brilliant

By Gabushida (Gabushida) on Monday, December 01, 2003 - 12:06 am: Edit

SO cool :D

What are you gonna study? You'd make an AWESOME writer

By Aspirer42 (Aspirer42) on Monday, December 01, 2003 - 12:08 am: Edit

That might be pushing the envelope at some of your more stodgy Ivies and other universities, but for a unique LAC like Macalester it's nigh-perfect. Enjoy following in Kofi Annan's footsteps.

By Radiostar (Radiostar) on Monday, December 01, 2003 - 12:11 am: Edit

I'm looking into the custodial arts.

By Emyh (Emyh) on Monday, December 01, 2003 - 12:12 am: Edit

"I managed to impress a delectable dilettante with my intimate knowledge of the democratic process. Political Science? More like Political Chemistry."

i love that. such flavor.

By Nmoreno1 (Nmoreno1) on Monday, December 01, 2003 - 01:00 am: Edit

Very clever.

Timbaktu -- might want to change that.

but who am i to comment on something so great

By Bmckn (Bmckn) on Monday, December 01, 2003 - 01:48 am: Edit

Classy, I like it.

By Kode (Kode) on Tuesday, December 02, 2003 - 12:21 am: Edit

This reminds me very much of the "I am a dynamic person..." essay. Quite a marvel it is, actually. This is the kind of essay, I'd imagine an ad-com leaning back from his chair would read to his fellow ad-coms.

By Smorealum (Smorealum) on Tuesday, December 02, 2003 - 12:37 am: Edit

Lovely. I think you pull it off. Writing an application essay in highly facetious style is itself a risky endeavor with high stakes, and so the essay is a metaphor for itself (a nice touch).

One detail will be straightened out if you consult a dictionary and look up two words: "dilettante" and "debutante."

By Caramelapple (Caramelapple) on Tuesday, December 02, 2003 - 01:22 am: Edit

Yay, awesome.

I'm applying to Mac too. I've been wondering what I'd write for the essay... don't work I won't rip you off. Mine will pale in comparison.

*Snaps*

By Bluebins (Bluebins) on Tuesday, December 02, 2003 - 11:04 am: Edit

Kurt Vonnegut once said he scraps the first paragraph of everything he writes because you're just explaining yourself or qualifying or making excuses for what follows.

Since the only weakness is the very last sentence, "I would write more but..." --
You might consider replacing that sentence with your opening paragraph. That way the essay jumps right in and grabs instantly, closing with your reason for writing it.

Fine writing.

By Memememe (Memememe) on Tuesday, December 02, 2003 - 11:11 am: Edit

Yup. Scrap the first paragraph. "I'm a secret agent" is awesome for a start.

By Smorealum (Smorealum) on Tuesday, December 02, 2003 - 12:23 pm: Edit

I rather like the first paragraph where it is. It builds suspense, prepares the reader for some wierd stuff to follow, and (getting into the voice) explains the author's willingness to blurt out what follows. I don't know many secret agents, but "I'm a secret agent" is probably the last thing that one of them would say first. I see the first paragraph as the equivalent of glancing around furtively and then raising the old trench-coat lapel to guard against lip-readers with high-powered telescopes.

By Garland (Garland) on Tuesday, December 02, 2003 - 02:40 pm: Edit

Don't discount a creative writing minor--it could help you write misleading missives and memos on your next mission!

By Radiostar (Radiostar) on Tuesday, December 02, 2003 - 06:09 pm: Edit

Bluebins: You might consider replacing that sentence with your opening paragraph. That way the essay jumps right in and grabs instantly, closing with your reason for writing it.

Actually, that last sentence isn't the last sentence, and actually isn't in the essay at all. It's just my own special way of saying that this is still a work in progress.

Thanks for the comments, everybody. I'm taking notes.

By Stug (Stug) on Tuesday, December 02, 2003 - 08:34 pm: Edit

Clever, and you pull the humor off with ease!

By Stupid_Guy (Stupid_Guy) on Tuesday, December 02, 2003 - 09:05 pm: Edit

can someone please explain some humor in the essay? I wasn't able to spot any...

By Kewkiekid (Kewkiekid) on Tuesday, December 02, 2003 - 09:17 pm: Edit

WOW. i wish i could write like that.

By Smorealum (Smorealum) on Tuesday, December 02, 2003 - 09:32 pm: Edit

Stupid_guy,
He's kidding about the hovercraft-mounted laser. Department of Danger doesn't use hovercraft at all!
Hope this helps.

By Stupid_Guy (Stupid_Guy) on Tuesday, December 02, 2003 - 09:49 pm: Edit

aha, gotcha

By Twotoo13 (Twotoo13) on Tuesday, December 02, 2003 - 11:22 pm: Edit

i want to have your babies

haha, i'm jk

probably

By Peterline (Peterline) on Tuesday, December 02, 2003 - 11:28 pm: Edit

bluebins -
kurt vonnegut is my favorite author. i absolutly love his work

By I10rooteu (I10rooteu) on Wednesday, December 03, 2003 - 12:01 am: Edit

There was an essay by an applicant of New York University which resembles yours very closely. I don't know if you knew it, but I'm not sure how admission people will think if they know about the previous essay. It was an article in NYT. Other than that, it's hilarious, creative, and nice composition.

By Smorealum (Smorealum) on Wednesday, December 03, 2003 - 12:21 am: Edit

..root..,
I've read the NYU essay to which I think you are referring. The gist of it is that the author can leap twenty buildings at a single bound whilst composing a classical ode and resolving the remaining anomalies of string theory.

At the risk of overanalysis --- here's what you get for putting your essay on the Web, RS --- I'd say that RS's piece is at most a member of a kindred genre. I don't think that the resemblance is worrisome. Jeez, it's a good read, and it tells us about RS and about Macalester. As assigned.

By Muzicgal04 (Muzicgal04) on Saturday, December 06, 2003 - 04:15 pm: Edit

Wow. I applied to Mac ED and thought I was a relatively strong applicant.......your essay ruins any hope I might go there. while I'm sitting here applying to state schools...good luck.

By Kewkiekid (Kewkiekid) on Sunday, December 07, 2003 - 05:19 pm: Edit

i've read that NYU essay too, this totally reminded me of it.

By Muzicgal04 (Muzicgal04) on Monday, December 15, 2003 - 11:10 pm: Edit

Feeling a lot better now....that might be because I got accepted. However, radiostar I'm hoping you'll end up at Mac, because I would like very much to meet a person who thinks like that