Admission essay question -- should DD think twice about her topic?

Anonymous wrote:Any decent school would frown upon somebody admitting to organized religion being their main goal and purpose in life.

However, I'm sure your daughter wouldn't be happy at those schools anyways. Tell her to apply to religious schools.

It is a sad commentary on our country's university if this is indeed the case.

Episcopalian is about as liberal as one can get on the US religious spectrum.

If the mention of her goals to be a minister in that denomination is viewed as a disqualifier by university admissions then something is very broken with the entire system

Universities are supposed to be about the free and open exchange of all viewpoints...not just the liberal ones.

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07/01/2014 18:59

Subject: Admission essay question -- should DD think twice about her topic?

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Anonymous

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Any decent school would frown upon somebody admitting to organized religion being their main goal and purpose in life.

However, I'm sure your daughter wouldn't be happy at those schools anyways. Tell her to apply to religious schools.

It is a sad commentary on our country's university if this is indeed the case.

Episcopalian is about as liberal as one can get on the US religious spectrum.

If the mention of her goals to be a minister in that denomination is viewed as a disqualifier by university admissions then something is very broken with the entire system

Universities are supposed to be about the free and open exchange of all viewpoints...not just the liberal ones.

And by liberal I mean the extreme radical views.

Not tye old school open minded liberals who were not afraid of opinions that differed from their own.

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07/02/2014 14:26

Subject: Admission essay question -- should DD think twice about her topic?

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Anonymous

I think this topic is a great one. Especially if her essay seems sincere and is well-written.

Idealistic is not surprising or unwelcome in an 18yo. It's the ones that try to sound worldly that are annoying.

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07/02/2014 14:33

Subject: Admission essay question -- should DD think twice about her topic?

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Anonymous

It's a keeper!

Essays show who you are. Universities are always interested in students who stand out with interesting topics.

Grades show how capable she is. If she has excellent grades plus an interesting essay topic, then she's good to go.

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07/02/2014 23:26

Subject: Admission essay question -- should DD think twice about her topic?

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Anonymous

OP, I hope your daughter went with her essay topic.

I worked in admissions and still review grad applications for a college. I'm not religious at all, yet I would have really enjoyed a genuine and unique topic such as this and her essay would have been memorable.

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07/03/2014 07:42

Subject: Admission essay question -- should DD think twice about her topic?

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Anonymous

Wanting to be a minister shows she is slow of mind.

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07/03/2014 07:53

Subject: Admission essay question -- should DD think twice about her topic?

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Anonymous

It is very obvious that there is one poster who has invaded several threads looking for reaction to their nasty remarks, Their style is the same wherever they perch. They offer and contribute nothing other than just taking up space so best to just ignore them and, hopefully, they'll just go away.

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07/03/2014 09:15

Subject: Admission essay question -- should DD think twice about her topic?

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Anonymous

Anonymous wrote:DD is in the midst of drafting her admissions essays, and wrote a beautiful paper on her career goal of becoming an Episcopalian minister. To my (admittedly biased) eye, DD did a lovely job of using one or two Scriptural passages as a launching pad for describing her own personal and spiritual development, her desire to serve God and others, and her specific reasons for choosing the schools she is applying for admission to. (DD is applying primarily for admission to SLACs).

DH agrees that the initial draft is very strong, but is very concerned regarding DD's choice of topic. His concerns are several: Will DD seem overly idealistic? Whar if the admissions officer has a low opinion of organized religion? Does this career goal mark DD as being less 'ambitious' than other candidates for admission? Bear in mind, DH is entirely supprtive of DD's career goals. I would even go so far as to say he is moved by her decision. But, as DH pointed out last evening, DD must get into College first -- and he is worried that this particular essay topic may have a negative impact on her chances for admission.

For her part, DD is gently but firmly adamant that her essay well represents who she is and what she values. DD is of the opinion that any school that would negatively judge her goals is a school that she would not want to attend. I think in a perfect world, she would be right, but I worry nonetheless that DH may be right, and DD would be better served by avoiding religion or politics as topics for her admissions essay.

generally steer away from religion or politics as an essay topic.

For her part, DD is gently adamant that this essay represen

I think it sounds wonderful. Her bold is a good thing -- many schools have religious backgrounds that they are not putting forward at this time (but they still respect religion) Like many schools are Catholic, many are Episcopal, ect ect. They just don't say it. She can work in a sentence about her experience at the corrections institute -- all professionals understand confidentiality. She sounds like a great candidate. GL.

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07/03/2014 09:15

Subject: Re:Admission essay question -- should DD think twice about her topic?

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Anonymous

If the topic is accurate reflection of "who" DD is....go with it. The essay is intended to let the reader see who the student really is.