Friday, August 31, 2012

A note on essays

By Kelly M. Rawlings, Associate Director, Undergraduate Admissions, Virginia Tech

Kelly M. Rawlings, Associate Director,
Undergraduate Admissions, Virginia Tech
A note on essays:

…or, as we here in the Admissions office at Virginia Tech call them, "personal statements." Folks often wonder if a personal statement is the same thing as an essay. Not really. Or at least I hope not. 
I've read a lot of essays in my life. I used to teach AP English Literature in what feels like a former life. (Truth be told it was only 12 years ago.) As many of you are currently experiencing, AP English Literature tends to be writing intensive. And if you think it's difficult to write all of those essays, just think of your teacher who is lucky enough to actually grade and critique not just yours but those of all your classmates. Yeah, while you're hanging out with friends on a Friday night, he/she is probably at home with a red/green/insert-color-of-choice Sharpie in hand slaving away at trying to provide you with constructive criticism that will help you become a better writer. And this is important.  
Regardless of your future profession, I guarantee that you will need to possess a decent command of the English language and the ability to communicate effectively to advance in your career. So don't ever underestimate the importance of doing well in English. However, these are NOT the types of essays I hope to read on your college application. Been there, done that. 
What we want from you are not essays. We want personal statements. We don't have the luxury of personally interviewing our applicants. After all, we will receive about 21,000 freshman applications and there are only 12 of us who review them all. So these personal statements are your only chance to share your personality with us.  
My biggest and best tip: use your voice; your own, genuine, unique voice. Address the writing prompts as if you were sitting down and chatting with me over a cup of tea, or coffee, or Red Bull (except I don't drink that).  I'm a real person, really. I go grocery shopping at Wal-Mart (but only because we don’t have a Trader Joe's in Blacksburg), am addicted to Starbucks, admittedly can't wait for the season premiers of "Modern Family" and "Parenthood," tuck my boys into bed each night after reading "Brown Bear, Brown Bear What Do You See" more times than I'd like to admit, and will be one of the 66,000 fans jumping up and down to "Enter Sandman" as the Hokies enter  Lane Stadium for the opening game on Monday night. So please "talk" to me like I'm a real person. And in addition to using your own voice, make an attempt to employ these tips:
  • Don't introduce yourself in your essay. I'm holding your application that has, believe it or not, your name, high school, list of extra-curricular activities, etc. No need to review what I already know. 

  • Note the word limit.  There's a reason we prefer personal statements of 250 words or less. Reference above the size of the applicant pool. And each should answer at least one essay.  Many will choose to respond to the maximum of three. So let's say on average we get two from each applicant. That's 42,000 personal statements. That's a lot of reading; almost as much as your AP English teacher. So we appreciate brevity, clarity, individuality, and poignancy. And entertainment, but that brings me to my next point…

  • This is not the time or place to try to be funny if you're not naturally a funny person.  Enough said.

  • Similarly, this is not the place in which to demonstrate your extraordinarily colossal lexicon undeniably facilitated by the overemployment of the thesaurus option on your computer. Translation: don't use a thesaurus. Remember: we want your voice.

  • Lastly, proofread. This should go without saying. But every year I am reminded how apparently trivial this step is for many applicants. I'm often regaled with stories of how you "can't wait to walk the Lawn following in Jefferson's footsteps" or how you were "born to wear purple and gold."  Copying and pasting from another application is frowned upon. Really, that's just in poor taste. And it doesn't stop there. Please remember that THIS IS YOUR APPLICATION TO COLLEGE! Capital letters, spellcheck, the avoidance of acronyms, and punctuation are all, in fact, still greatly appreciated. 

  • In all seriousness, we do look forward to your personal statements. It is the highlight of my day when I come across a personal statement that makes me laugh out loud, shed a tear, or run down the office hall sharing that, "I just read the best personal statement. Listen to this!"  (And yes, we do that.) Personal statements are what make application review bearable; even enjoyable I daresay. So please, help me help you. Give some thoughtful reflection to your personal statements and make them just that, reflections of who you are as a person.

 
Application Dates & Deadlines
  • Early Decision Deadline: November 1
  • Early Decision Notification: December 15
  • Regular Decision Deadline: January 15
  • Regular Decision Notification: April 1
  • Deadline: February 15
  • Notification: June 1

Friday, March 16, 2012

Consider visiting us this spring

Spring has arrived in Blacksburg, Va. Hokies are eagerly finishing their spring semester. This time of year, you often see a lot of activity on campus, be it Hokies feeding ducks at the Duck Pond; biking, walking or jogging the Huckleberry Trail; or enjoying the many other recreational activities on campus or in the surrounding areas. You'll almost always find some sort of activity on the Drillfield – Hokies playing sports, the Marching Virginians practicing, a special event, or people simply studying while sunbathing.


For those of you who are contemplating whether to apply to Virginia Tech in the future, we hope you will consider visiting our campus. Many choose to visit during their high school spring break. Others decide to visit during one of our fall Open House programs (October 20 and 21 and November 10 and 11). However, we accept visitors most any time of the year. If you do decide to visit, please take a minute or two to register so you can be sure to reserve a space in one of our admission information sessions as well as one of our student-led campus tours.

(Note: For those of you who have applied for the fall of 2012, you are most likely waiting to learn of your admission decision. Those who applied will learn of their decision no later than April 1 – the national notification date.)


We hope you decided to check out our campus this spring. However it's really hard to pick a bad day or time of year because Blacksburg truly is a beautiful and welcoming place throughout the seasons.