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Does anybody have any tips regarding how to actually answer these?

I'm having problems on the first one.

1. Tell us about a person who has affected your life in a significant way.

And also the third one.

3. Since we are interested in who you are as well as in what you can do, please briefly tell us about yourself. Please feel free to describe an experience to help clarify your point.

The third one is just... so broad and difficult to answer.

Please someone help me.

By Daggerlee (Daggerlee) on Thursday, January 01, 2004 - 11:29 pm: Edit

The 3rd one is definitely a doozy. Don't fall into a trap of writing something like "I am hard-working and deeply motivated. Through my work at the orphanage, I have realized that I can do things that I never thought I could before."

This is the time for you to look deep down inside. What I would recommend you do is just try to remember the most blatant thing in your memory, the most happiest, whatever stands out the most, and think about why that stood out for you; did it make you happy? How did that experience influence you? Those questions are only slightly less difficult than the Princeton one, but it ought to be a start. Then you can write an essay like this: "When I saw little orphan Annie jump into the hands of her adopters, my heart took a little thump. Who knew my contribution at the orphanage could touch so many others?" Not necessarily as cheesy, it doesn't even have to be as serious; "When I first made that whistling sound, all my hard work had been vindicated!"

It's tough, yes, but this is what colleges want from you: insightful self-reflection. Good luck, you've only got one more day.

By Papalemming (Papalemming) on Thursday, January 01, 2004 - 11:35 pm: Edit

Yes, thanks. It's not easy at all. I should have worked on this earlier.

By Papalemming (Papalemming) on Friday, January 02, 2004 - 12:19 am: Edit

It makes me happy to propose myself goals and to be able to accomplish them.

That's why what I do satisfies me. Not because I want it in a fancy resume.

Is that a start? I'm so lost.

Thanks a lot, Daggerlee.

By Voigtrob (Voigtrob) on Friday, January 02, 2004 - 12:23 am: Edit

Man, you're starting now? It has to be mailed tomorrow. ;P
I guess that doesn't help you, does it.
I would offer some suggestions but I got deferred ED, so I don't fully trust anything I have to say enough to put it up here, haha.

By Papalemming (Papalemming) on Friday, January 02, 2004 - 12:26 am: Edit

I don't think my chances are too big, anyways.

By Daggerlee (Daggerlee) on Friday, January 02, 2004 - 12:30 am: Edit

That's an excellent start. Think of a goal that you proposed to yourself and how you accomplished it. Describe that experience, as if you were telling a story to someone. "One day, I suddenly decided I wanted to swing dance. I saw it in this movie in History class, and I was infected from then on. I first started out...." and so on. You can take something insignificant, and point out even though it wasn't something academic, you still wanted to excel at it and master it.
Try to keep it personal, and true to your own experience. A good essay shows what the writer is trying to say, it never blatantly outright says it.

Hope this helps, good luck.

By Papalemming (Papalemming) on Friday, January 02, 2004 - 12:33 am: Edit

Thanks again, Daggerlee.

By Kishi (Kishi) on Friday, January 02, 2004 - 02:09 am: Edit

Hahaha. I'm glad I'm not the only one with four Princeton essays left. So would you say that number three is like a personal statement? In that case, can I stick my Common App essay in there? At first, I thought it was supposed to be like Stanford's roommate essay, but I'm glad that's not the case.

By Voigtrob (Voigtrob) on Friday, January 02, 2004 - 02:13 am: Edit

I went the other way, but I'll tell you I used my #3 as my commonapp personal statement. ;P

By Papalemming (Papalemming) on Friday, January 02, 2004 - 03:53 am: Edit

Here it is: my answer to question 3.

Comments and corrections (especially grammar) are greatly appreaciated. Again thanks, Daggerlee. I wish you good luck in your deferral decision.

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My ninth grade chemistry teacher approached me after class: “Gastón, you seem to be pretty interested in chemistry”. He proposed me a challenge, which I gladly accepted.

I’ve always been a competent student, however, years ago I didn’t do much beyond getting good grades. However, little did I know I would become so involved in my teacher’s proposal: the Chemistry Olympiads. This activity means much more to me than some good extracurricular achievements. It has been a great tool for learning about myself, about my interests and aspirations.

Occasionally, I received comments from classmates regarding the Olympiads and my involvement in them: “Don’t you have enough work with school?” “Do you have to go to classes on Saturdays? You are insane” “You should spend more time out and less time involved in that stuff” with “You are wasting the best times of your life” being the most radical remark.

While it is true I’m not a particularly outgoing person, my participation in the Olympiads does require a great deal of work and time sacrifice. Many times I have wondered about this. Why do I do it? Why am I more interested in this than in spending some time at the mall with my friends? The reason for this, I believe, goes beyond the interest I can have in chemistry: it is embedded in my personality.

It makes me happy to set my own goals, and to be able to accomplish them. I enjoy learning and working in the in-between steps. Though the final result is important, I think the real value of goal-setting lies in the process. I believe this is the reason behind my motivation in any activity and the satisfaction I can get from it. In the case of my participation in the Chemistry Olympiads, the biggest satisfaction comes from being aware of what I’ve learned and how hard I worked on these challenges.

“I know I was born and I know that I’ll die, the in between is mine.”

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Yeah, don't worry, I'll remove the cheesy Eddie Vedder quote at the end.

Whoo, that was dense. I spent hours doing that, I really hope I don't have to rewrite it.

Hey, is it too cliched to say my parents have influenced me a lot? I mean, it's true. I really cannot thing of anyone else. And yes, I know my parents are two people. That's another problem.

In fact, I would appreciate some help on question 1.

By Foreignboy (Foreignboy) on Friday, January 02, 2004 - 06:41 am: Edit

I had difficulty with question 1. 90% of people will end up writing about their parents, because if you use someone like Nelson Mandela, etc, it just won't sound sincere.

By Saccharine (Saccharine) on Friday, January 02, 2004 - 07:24 am: Edit

I wrote about my brother, not really original either.

By Nutmag345 (Nutmag345) on Friday, January 02, 2004 - 11:53 am: Edit

Well, for the third one, it's not who you write about, it's what you write. I wrote about my grandparents, but I thought that my content was pretty original (I still got deferred though).

Papalemming, your essay seems adequate and down to earth. I approached the third essay by relating a specific event in my life that I though was significant. That way, I wrote the essay in the form of a narrative, and I really liked that format.

Even though the Princeton app was long and hard, I just used those essays on all my other apps too (I just had to elaborate on some points a little more to make the essays longer). So in the end, I did benifit in a small way by applying early to princeton.

By Papalemming (Papalemming) on Friday, January 02, 2004 - 12:58 pm: Edit

Well, thanks Nutmag. I guess I'll use that one, then.

Ah, I still have essay 1 left.

And yeah, I totally agree with you Foreignboy. Writing about some important figure sounds shallow and phony. Even though it may be true.

Bah, I'll say Saddam Hussein influenced me.

By Papalemming (Papalemming) on Friday, January 02, 2004 - 01:08 pm: Edit

Well, thanks Nutmag. I guess I'll use that one, then.

Ah, I still have essay 1 left.

And yeah, I totally agree with you Foreignboy. Writing about some important figure sounds shallow and phony. Even though it may be true.

Bah, I'll say Saddam Hussein influenced me.