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Hi everyone !

I'm an international student and I currently have to contend with the "Recent book/movie/art experience that has affected your intellectual development", that sort of stuff.

My question: does the book/movie/etc. have to be universally known ? If I choose something like a French film, will that be a major problem (even if I summarise the basic idea) ? Or, even worse, what happens if I choose something completely unknown to the adcom (such as, say, a book by an internationally obscure author) ?

Thanks for any help.

By Entropicgirl (Entropicgirl) on Saturday, October 09, 2004 - 01:33 pm: Edit

I think the point is for you to show what it means to you--to show how the work made you think, how it changed you, etc. Essays are primarily a way to show adcoms who you are. So I wouldn't be too worried about choosing something a bit out of the mainstream--just pick whatever will allow you to best show who YOU are.

I WAS wondering about this for Princeton's little "pick your favorite...xyz" section, though. Some of my favorite stuff they might not have heard of, but my guess is the section is just supposed to be a jumping-off point for interviews (if that), in which case it doesn't really matter much. Any thoughts?