American unis, what a pain

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I only had one on the common app (Tufts), and then it had like three extra essay questions. Hmm, let me see what I can dig up for you ...

Northwestern
1) Please respond to one of the essay topics below with an*essay of 400-500 words.

a. Pablo Picasso said, "Computers are useless. They can only give you answers." Write about a time when rather than being handed an answer, you had to work it out for yourself. What did you learn from the process?

b. James Joyce wrote in "Dubliners," "Mistakes are the portals of discovery." Describe a mistake or mistaken idea of your own that led to a discovery.

c. An old expression says, "what is right is not always popular and what is popular is not always right." Give an example of a time when you made a choice that was not popular, but you felt was right. Why did you make this choice? What happened as a result?

d. The last two lines of Robert Frost's poem, "The Road Not Taken," are: "I took the one less traveled by/And that has made all the difference." Discuss an instance when you departed from your plan while pursuing research, independent work, or a non-academic activity. What difference did it make?

2) What are your reasons for wanting to attend Northwestern (no more than 300 words)?

Tufts
1) "Education does not accomplish anything if it does not stretch your mind, if it does not force you to think about things in different ways, if it does not challenge you to examine some of your assumptions," writes Provost Jamshed Bharucha in Tufts' admissions viewbook. Describe the aspects of Tufts' curriculum or undergraduate program that prompt your application to the university's class of 2010. - 200 words

2) Tell us about the environment in which you were raised--your family, home, neighborhood, or town--and how it influenced the person you are today. - 200 words

3) a. At your retirement party in 2054 (or thereabouts) a colleague praises your accomplishments by quoting Nelson Mandela. "Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate," Mandela said. "Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness that frightens us most. We ask ourselves, 'Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous?' Actually, who are you not to be? You are a child of God. Your playing small does not serve the world." What are your passions and talents? When you retire in that far-off year, what do you hope your legacy will be?
This question is inspired by Tufts' commitment to "active citizenship."

b. Scholar James O. Freedman refers to libraries as "essential harbors on the voyage toward understanding ourselves." What three books would you insist on including in your personal library? Why are these works important to you?

c. In the past year, coverage of the war in Iraq and celebrity trials dominated television, print and electronic media news. As a result, many issues of local, national and global importance have been bumped from the front-page or from the headlines altogether. Select one story from 2005 that you feel was overlooked. Address this matter in an editorial for the December 31st edition of the New York Times.

d. People define themselves in many ways. Musical tastes and politics, a religious or ethnic identity illustrate a sense of self. Others reveal their personalities and beliefs by wearing a colored wristband or placing a bumper sticker on the car. The minutia that adorns a refrigerator or a locker offers insight into someone's personality. Do you have a tattoo? Are you a vegetarian? Do you hate flip-flops? Who are you?

Reply 21

dede

Double posting is faaaabulous, dahling.

Reply 22

Blush Babe

dede

The best college essays that I ever read was by my friend, who works at some center that deals with diversity. An extremely gangster, scary, ghetto guy came out to her - she was the first person he ever told.

Did she write about what he told her?

And I didn't know the rule about double posting.

BB

Reply 23

dede

Blush Babe

Did she write about what he told her?

And I didn't know the rule about double posting.

BB

What rule about double posting? I just edited it b/c it was a maaaassive post and when it double-posted it took up too much room ...

And my friend wrote about what he told her, yeah, but she also worked in info about the work she does at the center and why it's important to her. This guy coming out to her was one of the coolest experiences she had had at the center, and so she used it to introduce it and end it and tie it all together.