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Finding
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Guide
for College Entrance/SAT
Essay
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Online
Test Practice
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Preparing
from High School
Years
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& Financial
Aids
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Abroad
Opportunities
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Preparing
from High School
Years
College
Board.Com
.
Information about PSAT, SAT, AP, CLEP,
college search, scholarship finding,
planning for college at sophomore,
junior & senior years.
College-Bound
Resources:
Information on colleges, scholarships
and financial aid, essay tips listed by
Reagan HS..
How
to Prepare for
College:
Suggests a calendar listing things to
do for each year from Freshman to
Senior, and how to choose and apply to
college.
How
to Prepare for College, Prospective
Students:
This information will help students,
parents and school counselors make
decisions.
Mapping
Your
Future:
Find out how to choose a career, select
a school and pay for college. You can
also pick up useful tips on job
hunting, resume writing, and job
interviewing techniques and many other
related subject Internet links
here
Occupation
Outlook:
A nationally recognized source of
career information, designed to provide
valuable assistance to individuals
making decisions about their future
work lives.
College
Search & Financial Aids
Information 
College-Bound
Resources:
Information on colleges, scholarships
and financial aid listed by Reagan
HS..
*
Petersons
College
Search
from Thomson Gale HISD online
Subscription. If you access from home,
ask your school librarian for the
username and password.
*
Advice
for Finding Financial Aid Resources for
Asian Pacific
Americans.
Resources in books and on
Internet.
Apply
for Scholarships &
Loans
: FAFSA
-Free
Application for Federal Student Aid,
How to complete the FAFSA and
FAFSA PIN
#
Registration
/school code.
College
Board.Com-
One of the best site for information
about PSAT, SAT, AP, CLEP, college
search, scholarship finding, planning
for college at sophomore, junior &
senior years.
American
Universities:
: : Lists universities & community
colleges in the USA by state and
alphabetically.
Canadian
& International
Universities:
Lists American universities and others
in the world
College
Center-
Resources for choosing your college and
finding financial aid/scholarship
information.
College
Links-
Find college information, take a
virtual campus tour, financial aid and
scholarship information, test
information & practice for SATs,
ACT, KAPLAN, Princeton
Review.
CollegeSource
Online-
(Use
the Houston Public library card number
as
password.).
Directory information for colleges and
college catalogs online in complete
cover-to-cover format.
*
Find
Money for College
-Petersons.
What
everyone should
do,
timelines
for HS juniors & seniors,
online scholarship
search
to match all scholarships that you
would qualify for, the
calculators
caculate the savings you need, college
costs, estimate your Expected Family
Contribution (EFC), provides federal,
state & private
student
loan
descriptions
and tools to compare
the various federal loan
programs-
Perkins, Stafford, & Federal
Plus
IPEDS
College Opportunities
On-Line
- Links to nearly 7,000 colleges and
universities in the United States. If
you are thinking about a large
university, a small liberal arts
college, a specialized college, a
community college, a career or
technical college or a trade school,
you can find them all here. Apply for
Scholarships & Loans : Free
Application for Federal Student Aid
(FAFSA) , How to
complete the FAFSA and pin
number/school code., and
more.
Study
Abroad Opportunities
Freeman
Asia
Program.
Scholarships for college students who
are interested in studying about
Asia.
Gilman
International
Scholarship
From the State Department for 4 year
college students who want to study
abroad.
NSEP.
National Security Education Progam.
David Borden undergraduate scholarships
for study abroad. Study abroad in West
Europe, Australia, New Zealand
& Canada.
Study
Abroad
Resources.
Other scholarships for students to
study at 4 year colleges or
higher.
Interships
Internship
Programs.
Post resumé online here to find
those who provide interships or find
interships programs at different
places.
Guide
for College Entrance/SAT Essay
Sample
Essays
Read
the following application essays. See
if you can figure out the essay's
strengths and weaknesses. Click the
menus below to view critiques of the
essay as you go along.
Sample
1.
Sample
2.
Sample
3.
Sample
4
with unedited and edited versions and
critics.
Sample
College Essay
Questions
Generally,
there are three types of questions: The
"you," the "why us," and the
"creative." Here are tips and actual
sample questions for each type. Don't
assume that the questions are currently
being used by a college (most colleges
adjust questions
annually).
The
"You" Question
Many
colleges ask for an essay that boils
down to, "Tell us about yourself." The
school just wants to know you better
and see how you'll introduce yourself.
For example:
- "Please
complete a one-page personal statement
and submit it with your application."
(James Madison University)
- "How
would you describe yourself as a human
being? What quality do you like best in
yourself and what do you like least?
What quality would you most like to see
flourish and which would you like to
see wither?" (Bates College)
- "Describe
any interesting experience you have had
during your college admission
search."
- "Creative
people state that taking risks often
promotes important discoveries in their
lives or their work. Discuss a risk
that has led to a significant change
(positive or nagative) in your personal
or intellectual life."
- "Describe
the most challeging obstacle you have
had to overcome. Discuss its impact and
tell what you have learned from the
experience."
- "To
learn to think is to learn to question.
Discuss a matter you once thought you
knew "for sure" that you since have
learned to question."
Your
Approach
This
direct question offers a chance to
reveal your personality, insight, and
commitment. The danger is that it's
open-ended, so you need to focus. Find
just one or two things that will reveal
your best qualities, and avoid the urge
to spill everything.
The
"Why Us"
Question
Some
schools ask for an essay about your
choice of a school or career. They're
looking for information about your
goals, and about how serious your
commitment is to this particular
school. For
example:
- "Why
is UVM a good college choice for you?"
(University of Vermont)
- "Please
tell us about your career goals and any
plans you may have for graduate study."
(Westfield State
College)
- "Tell
us about yourself, your reasons
forapplying to USF and your reasons for
seeking a college
education."
- "Describe
your selecting UH and your personal and
professional goals, plans for after
college."
- "We
would like to know what experiences
have led you to select your
professional field and
objective."
- "Please
relate your interest in studying at
George Town Uni. To your future
goals."
Your
Approach
The
focus is provided: Why did you choose
this school or path. This should be
pretty clear to you, since you probably
went through some kind of selection
process. Make sure you know your
subject well. For example, if you say
you want to attend Smith College to
major in dance, the school will be able
to tell how carefully you've chosen
(Smith doesn't have a dance
major).
3.
The "Creative"
Question
Some
colleges evaluate you through your
choice of some tangential item: A
national issue, a famous person, what
you would put in a time capsule, a
photograph. Here the school is looking
at your creativity and the breadth of
your knowledge and education. For
example:
- "Do
you believe there's a generation gap?
Describe the differences between your
generation and others." (Denison
University)
- "Indicate
a person who has had a significant
influence on you, and describe that
influence." (Common Application)
- "Discuss
some issue of personal, local, national
or international concern and its
important to you." (Common
application)
- "In
your opinion, what is the greatest
chanllenge that your generation will
face? What ideas do you have in dealing
with this issue."
- "What
is the value and importance of
community service in our society and
tell us what it means to
you."
- "Who
do you feel has serve as the strongest
Afro-American role model in this
century and why?"
- "John
Keats said "Even a proverb is no
proverb to you Til your life has
illustrates it" Please tell us about an
experience in your own life which
illustrated a proverb, maxim, or quote
that has special meaning to you" (Duke
U.)
- "You
have just completed a 300-page
autobiography. Please submit page 217."
(U.of Pennsylvinia)
- "For
some prognosticators, the end of the
world was insight by the year 1000. How
do you forsee your world of
2020?"
Your
approach
Again,
you have something to react to, a way
to show yourself and write about your
real views. Just don't forget the
importance of writing an informed
essay. For example, don't write about a
fantasy lunch with a famous writer and
get the titles of her novels wrong.
Also, when thinking about how creative
to get, use common sense. Being
creative to the point of wacky is a
risk you may not want to
take.
Three
Steps to a Great College Essay
You,
in 500 words or less
The
college application essay is a chance
to explain yourself, to open your
personality, charm, talents, vision,
and spirit to the admission committee.
It's a chance to show you can think
about things and that you can write
clearly about your thoughts. Don't let
the chance disappear. Stand up straight
and believe in yourself!
The
Essay Writing
Process
OK,
boot up your computer and let's get to
it. To write a college essay, use the
exact same three-step process you'd use
to write an essay for class: first
prewrite, then draft, and finally,
edit. This process will help you
identify a focus for your essay, and
gather the details you'll need to
support it.
1.
Prewriting
To
begin, you must first collect and
organize potential ideas for your
essay's focus. Since all essay
questions are attempts to learn about
you, begin with
YOU.
- Brainstorm
Set
a timer for 15 minutes and make a list
of your strengths and outstanding
characteristics. Focus on strengths of
personality, not things you've done.
For example, you are responsible (not
an "Eagle Scout") or committed (not
"played basketball"). If you keep
drifting toward events rather than
characteristics, make a second list of
the things you've done, places you've
been, accomplishments you're proud of;
use them for the activities section of
your application.
- Discover
Your Strengths
Do
a little research about yourself: ask
parents, friends, and teachers what
your strengths are.
- Create
a "Self-Outline"
Now,
next to each trait, list five or six
pieces of evidence from your life --
things you've been or done -- that
prove your point.
- Find
Patterns and Connections
Look
for patterns in the material you've
brainstormed. Group similar ideas and
events together. For example, does your
passion for numbers show up in your
performance in the state math
competition and your summer job at the
computer store? Was basketball about
sports or about friendships? When else
have you stuck with the hard work to be
with people who matter to you?
2.
Drafting
Now
it's time to get down to the actual
writing. Write your essay in three
basic parts: introduction, body, and
conclusion.
- The
introduction gives your reader an
idea of your essay's content. It can
shrink when you need to be concise. One
vivid sentence might do: "The favorite
science project was a complete
failure."
- The
body presents the evidence that
supports your main idea. Use narration
and incident to show rather than tell.
- The
conclusion can be brief as well, a
few sentences to nail down the meaning
of the events and incidents you've
described.
An
application essay doesn't need to read
like an essay about The Bluest Eye or
the Congress of Vienna, but thinking in
terms of these three traditional parts
is a good way to organize your main
points.
Three
basic essay styles you should
consider
- Standard
Essay
Take
two or three points from your
self-outline, give a paragraph to each,
and make sure you provide plenty of
evidence. Choose things not apparent
from the rest of your application or
"light up" some of the activities and
experiences listed there.
- Less-Is-More
Essay
In
this format, you focus on a single
interesting point about yourself. It
works well for brief essays of a
paragraph or half a page.
- Narrative
Essay
A
narrative essay tells a short and vivid
story. Omit the introduction, write one
or two narrative paragraphs that grab
and engage the reader's attention, then
explain what this little tale reveals
about you.
3.
Editing
When
you have a good final draft, it's time
to make final improvements to your
draft, find and correct any errors, and
get someone else to give you feedback.
Remember, you are your best editor. No
one can speak for you; your own words
and ideas are your best
bet.
- Let
It Cool
Take
a break from your work and come back to
it in a few days. Does your main idea
come across clearly? Do you prove your
points with specific details? Is your
essay easy to read aloud?
- Feedback
Time
Have
someone you like and trust (but someone
likely to tell you the truth) read your
essay. Ask them to tell you what they
think you're trying to convey. Did they
get it right?
- Edit
Down
Your
language should be simple, direct, and
clear. This is a personal essay, not a
term paper. Make every word count
(e.g., if you wrote "in society today,"
consider changing that to "now").
- Proofread
Two More Times
Careless
spelling or grammatical errors, awkward
language, or fuzzy logic will make your
essay memorable -- in a bad way.
Personal
Statement & Essay
Tips
College
Essay Writing Tips:
- Write
an Effective Application
Essay
A
great application essay will present a
vivid, personal, and compelling view of
you to the admission staff. It will
round out the rest of your application
and help you stand out from the other
applicants. The essay is one of the
only parts of your application over
which you have complete control, so
take the time to do a good job on it.
Check out these tips before you
begin.
DOs
- Keep
Your Focus Narrow and
Personal
- Your
essay must prove a single point or
thesis. The reader must be able to find
your main idea and follow it from
beginning to end. Try having someone
read just your introduction to see what
he or she thinks your essay is
about.
- Essays
that try to be too comprehensive end up
sounding watered-down. Remember, it's
not about telling the committee what
you've done -- they can pick that up
from your list of activities --
instead, it's about showing them who
you are.
Prove
It
Develop
your main idea with vivid and specific
facts, events, quotations, examples,
and reasons. There's a big difference
between simply stating a point of view
and letting an idea unfold in the
details:
- Okay:
"I like to be surrounded by people with
a variety of backgrounds and interests"
- Better:
"During that night, I sang the theme
song from Casablanca with a baseball
coach who thinks he's Bogie, discussed
Marxism with a little old lady, and
heard more than I ever wanted to know
about some woman's gall bladder
operation."
Be
Specific
Avoid
clichéd, generic, and
predictable writing by using vivid and
specific details.
- Okay:
"I want to help people. I have gotten
so much out of life through the love
and guidance of my family, I feel that
many individuals have not been as
fortunate; therefore, I would like to
expand the lives of others."
- Better:
"My Mom and Dad stood on plenty of
sidelines 'til their shoes filled with
water or their fingers turned white or
somebody's golden retriever signed his
name on their coats in mud. I think
that kind of commitment is what I'd
like to bring to working with
fourth-graders."
DON'Ts
- Don't
Tell Them What You Think They Want to
Hear
Most
admission officers read plenty of
essays about the charms of their
university, the evils of terrorism, and
the personal commitment involved in
being a doctor. Bring something new to
the table, not just what you think they
want to hear.
- Don't
Write a Resumé
Don't
include information that is found
elsewhere in the application. Your
essay will end up sounding like an
autobiography, travelogue, or laundry
list. Yawn.
"During
my junior year, I played first singles
on the tennis team, served on the
student council, maintained a B+
average, traveled to France, and worked
at a cheese factory."
- Don't
Use 50 Words When Five Will
Do
Eliminate
unnecessary words.
Okay:
"Over the years it has been pointed out
to me by my parents, friends, and
teachers -- and I have even noticed
this about myself, as well -- that I am
not the neatest person in the world."
Better:
"I'm a slob."
- Don't
Forget to Proofread
Typos
and spelling or grammatical errors can
be interpreted as carelessness or just
bad writing. Don't rely on your
computer's spell check. It can miss
spelling errors like the ones
below.
Choosing
a College Essay
Topic
What
You Write About Says Something About
You
Underlying
all essay questions is choice. The
essay question may be direct and ask
you to choose something about yourself
to discuss, or it may be indirect and
require you to write about something
such as an event, book, or
quotation.
Why
Your Choice of Essay
Matters
The
college regards your choices as a way
to evaluate your preferences, values,
mental processes, creativity, sense of
humor, and depth of knowledge. Your
writing reflects your power of
persuasion, organizational abilities,
style, and mastery of standard written
English.
Here
is what colleges look
for:
§
Your Preferences
Your
essay topic reveals your
preferences.
Your
essay topic reveals your preferences.
Are you an arts person or a hard-facts
science type? Certainly, there is a
difference between the person who'd
like to talk about the cold war with
Machiavelli and someone who'd like to
get painting tips from Jackson Pollock.
§
Your Values
Choice
also reflects values. The person who
drives a beat-up, rusty, 1971
Volkswagen is making a statement about
how she wants to spend her money and
what she cares about. We say, "That
dress isn't me" or "I'm not a cat
person." In choosing, you indicate what
matters to you and how you perceive
yourself.
§
Your Thought Process
Choosing
shows how you think. Are you whimsical,
a person who chooses on impulse? Or are
you methodical, careful, a person who
gathers background information before
choosing? Questions about you and about
career and college reflect these
choosing patterns, and even a question
about a national issue can show your
particular thinking style, level of
intelligence, and insight.
Think
About Topics
The
topic you select for your essay can
also reveal much about who you are.
Yale's application instructs: "In the
past, candidates have used this space
in great variety of ways.... There is
no 'correct' way to respond to this
essay request...." No answer is wrong,
but sloppy, general, insincere, or
tasteless responses can hurt your
cause.
Some
of the best essays, the memorable and
unusual ones, are about very similar,
just more focused, topics. Essays about
your family, football team, trip to
France, parents' divorce, or twin can
be effective as long as they're focused
and specific: a single Christmas Eve
church service, a meal of boiled tongue
in Grenoble, dipping ice cream on a
summer job.
Recipe
for a Draft
How
to Kick-Start Your College
Essay
Sometimes
the hardest part of writing a college
admission essay is just getting
started. Here's a quick exercise to get
pen to paper (or keyboard to
computer).
§
Step 1:
Think about yourself
What
are your strengths and weaknesses? What
are your best qualities? Are you a
plugger? An intellectual? A creative
type? Curious? Passionate? Determined?
§
Step
2: Choose a
positive quality you'd like to convey
to the admission
committee
Don't
pick an event or something you've done.
President of the Nuclear Awareness Club
is not a personal quality. Focus on a
quality of your mind or of your
character. Complete this sentence: "I
am a very _________ person."
§
Step 3:
Tell a story
Set
a timer for 20 minutes. Pretend you're
taking an exam at high school and the
question is, "Tell a story about an
experience or time when you showed you
were a very _________ person." Use the
characteristic you identified in Step
2. Write or type non-stop for 20
minutes; force yourself to keep telling
the story and what it reveals until the
timer goes DING.
You're
Done
Okay.
That's it. You've got a rough draft for
your college application essay. Look at
the college application forms and see
what questions they ask. No matter what
the questions are, you've already
identified the important characteristic
you want to convey to each
college.
This
article is based on information found
in The College Application Essay, by
Sarah Myers McGinty.
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