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| 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
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