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Significant Experience | Important Issue | Influential Person | Future Goals

Significant Experience
Evaluate a significant experience, achievement, or risk that you have taken and its impact on you.
This question is actually a combination of two common questions: Describe a significant achievement and describe a time when you grew as a person.

Accomplishment questions show the admissions committee what you value, what makes you proud, and what you are capable of accomplishing. A common mistake in answering this question is repeating information that can be found elsewhere in the application. You should not try to squeeze every achievement on your resume into the essay. If you do choose to write about an accomplishment that the committee can read about somewhere else on your application, be sure to bring that experience alive by demonstrating what it took to get there and how it affected you personally. Do not be afraid to show them that you feel proud. This is not the place for modesty. On the other hand, do not fall to the other extreme--you can toot your own horn, but do it without being snotty. You will not have to worry about either extreme if you spend the bulk of your essay simply telling the story.

If you feel like you have not done anything worth focusing on, then remind yourself that the best essays are often about modest accomplishments. It does not matter what you have accomplished as long as it was personally meaningful and you can make it come alive. Unless specified, the accomplishment can be professional, personal, or academic. Did you get a compliment from a notoriously tough boss? Did you lose the race but beat your own best time? Did you work around the clock to bring your C in physics up to an A? Do not think about what they want to hear--think about what has really made you proud.

For the second part of the question, they are asking you to open up about who you really are. Although you do want to show that you have matured, do not overplay what a terrible person you once were just to make the point of what a great person you are now. No one changes that much. Besides, the "before" portrait might be the one that sticks in the admissions officer's head. Also, focus on your current personality rather than on the "old you" or on every last detail of the event. The reader wants to know what you are like now, not what you were like a long time ago. Finally, describe real events and scenarios to prove that your growth resulted from the decisions you made and the actions you took. Significant events and people can serve as inspiration. Real change, though, always results from the work, effort, and initiative you have put into yourself. Take some credit.

While looking at your application, you are probably asking yourself: "Why in the world are these admissions people asking me this question? What do they want me to write about?" While there is no one answer to either of these questions, there is some reason behind the most popular questions posed by applications.

Important Issue
Discuss some issue of personal, local, national, or international concern and its importance to you.
This question is among the hardest to answer. Even here you need to stay personal. If a cause is important to you or you have a strong opinion about it, relate it back to your life. What about you, your experiences, or your upbringing has made this issue resonate for you? Why do you care? Does the issue affect you personally in any way? Be sure to write about both sides of the issues to show that you can think objectively and logically. Showing that you are passionate is great; showing that you are one-sided or bull-headed is not. Finally, be sure to refrain from making sweeping generalizations about issues that would be out of your range of experience.

Influential Person
Indicate a person, character in fiction, an historical figure, or a creative work (as in art, music, etc.) who has had a significant influence on you, and describe that influence.
This type of question attempts to learn more about you through the forces that have shaped you. Many students make the mistake of believing that this is an essay about a person. They go on at length, describing the influential person in detail without making a connection between him and themselves. The school doesn't care about your uncle, or some fictional heroine. They care about you. What about that person made an impression on you, and how? What action did you take to turn this impression into personal development and change?

Colleges learn a lot about your values and standards through your description of your mentors. It's like getting to know a person by the people he chooses to hang out with. If you are skeptical, consider the different impression you would have of the candidate who admires a dynamic, colorful athlete compared to someone who looks up to an accomplished but soft-spoken academic. Neither is better nor worse--just different.

There are no wrong answers here. Far more important than whom you choose, though, is how you portray that person. In other words, do not choose someone because you think it will impress the committee. Name-dropping is not only very obvious, it is very ineffective. Heed this one word of caution, though: Applicants very commonly pick one of their parents. Describing your father gives you the advantage of knowing your subject well, but it also means doing some extra work to make your essay stand out from the crowd.

Future Goals
Why do you want to spend two to six years of your life at a particular college, graduate school, or professional school? How is the degree necessary to the fulfillment of your goals?
Knowing the schools to which you apply is an essential step in answering any essay, but questions such as these ask you to write about them directly. In answering these questions, mention specific factors that tie in with your area of interest. Doing this will help you to avoid the insincere, ingratiating tone that is a danger in this type of essay. Each point will be honest and well-supported, thereby lending credibility to the essay and, in turn, to you. Another challenge is finding a balanced yet truthful tone. Do not be cocky or self-effacing. Show a solid, well-researched knowledge of the school. Be honest and be thorough.

Move on to Lesson Two: Brainstorming a Topic

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Â Significant Experience | Important Issue | Influential Person | Future Goals Significant Experience Evaluate a significant experience, achievement, or risk that you have taken and its impact on you. This question is actually a combination of two common questions: Describe a significant achievement and describe a time when you grew as a person.

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Archived - Getting Ready for College Early

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Archived - Getting Ready for College Early

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Archived - Getting Ready for College Early

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Likewise, students need to plan ahead to take challenging courses?starting with algebra and geometry in the eighth and ninth grades?and hold themselves to the highest academic standards. This is a big job, but there is help here, too?mentors and before- and after-school programs can provide extra help.

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My highschool plan is to get all the math and sciences credits; such as Anatomy and Physiology, Biology, Chemistry, Algebra 2, and Trig before I graduate. I plan to attend programs like VHOP (Village Health Occupations Program), and the CNA program they offer here at Edge. I plan to get good grades, and maintain a good GPA, and get good scores on my ACT or SAT.  I’d like to apply to scholarships and make sure to take the FAFSA.

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Having a highschool diploma is the first step to becoming an Anesthesiologist and to earn that him/her needs to keep their grade point average (GPA) up, and taking all the required classes. The good science classes include the following: Biochemistry, Chemistry, Anatomy and Physiology, and many more. They would also need a lot of math classes such as: Algebra 1 and 2, Geometry, Trigonometry, Pre-Calculus, and Calculus 1 and 2. Another good idea is for them to take a certified nursing assistant (CNA) course during senior year.

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High school is prepares someone for their post-secondary plan, like applying for scholarships which students should start doing sophomore year. During junior year they would be busy studying for the ACT and the SAT which she/him will take their senior year. Senior year they will also be applying for their FAFSA which is financial aid that people need for college.

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it is important to have a very precise post-secondary plan. First things first is going to college. Depending on the college the student chooses to attend the credit requirements are different, but they should get as many as they can.

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Majoring in the correct subject is equally important so majoring in microbiology or chemistry would be a good choice. After he/she has all their credits and picked their major, they would need to graduate with a bachelor's degree. After attending college another important factor of their post-secondary plan is med-school.

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They have a choice on what med school they’d like to attend, but most colleges have a good medical program there that him/her can attend. During or after medical school they need to complete an internship which is usually two years. Then after their internship they would need to partake in a four year residency program. Anesthesiology is a hard subject, but having a post-secondary plan is essential for them.

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For someone who works as an anesthesiologist their physical work conditions are pretty tiring, since they are always inside. They will be in very close contact with their patients while they are working, usually within inches.

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This occupation has some risks though and are often exposed to radiation and they’d have to wear a led apron.

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Working with anesthesia requires a lot of patients and they must be 100% accurate. Someone working as an anesthesiologist sets their daily tasks without consulting their supervisor. They know what is best for their patient so they control the anesthesia they get. Being their own boss, the job can be stressful but overall a great job.