College Admission Essay Handout Packet

College Admission Essay Handout Packet We know that one of the biggest factors in determining the right school is affordability. Because we believe talent deserves opportunity, Rice offers need-blind admission to domestic students. Programs Rice supports include the College Prep Conferences and the National College Match program which runs October through December. Citizens and Permanent Residents OR students, regardless of citizenship, currently attending high school in the United States. I distinctly remember writing my Harvard essay at Thanksgiving on my phone. The inspiration just came in waves while I was spending time with my family. I talked about my grandmother, who passed around five or six years ago. She was someone who really influenced me in terms of seeing what one can do with a selfless attitude. It's natural to feel nervous about writing your admissions essay. Don't forget that you're only human, and it is human nature to overlook your own writing errors no matter how many times you go over your work. Applicants will not be disadvantaged if their high school structure and counselor’s caseload does not allow students the opportunity to build a personal relationship with their counselor. QuestBridgeRice is one of the original QuestBridge university and college partners , and we are now one of only 42 university and college partners with a proven commitment to providing access to low-income students. After you complete the essays, you may be asked to rewrite them for further editing. While this is usually the last step, it is still considered an important part of the admissions essay process. Editing the material is similar to editing for a newspaper or other form of writing. This means we do not consider finances when we review the application. Additionally, Rice meets 100 percent of demonstrated need â€" without loans â€" through the Rice Investment, one of the most notable financial aid programs in the country. On top of that, it is hard to understand what motivates an admissions officer to take a keen interest in an applicant. Connecting to a person though writing is a difficult and uncertain task. And even when independently written, what do the essays really show? For more information about need-based financial aid and the Rice Investment, please visit our Office of Financial Aid website. The counselor letter of recommendation serves to highlight the accomplishments of a student within the context of their high school. The letter must come from an applicant’s assigned school counselor, college counselor, principal, or headmaster. Yet, for every student accepted on the basis of an essay, there must be a rejected applicant whose entire high school career has been discounted for lack of a catchy punchline. Making things even worse, some elite colleges apparently give inordinate weight to the essays. Writing in The New York Times, one consultant called the essay “the purest part of the application” because it can show whether the student is kind, resilient, curious, creative, or fun. Even a prize-winning novelist would be hard pressed to convey just one of those qualities in a 500 word character sketch, and the chances of getting an accurate picture from a 17-year-old novice are essentially nil. She had only ever earned a high school education, and she didn’t have the opportunity to go beyond that. Seeing what someone can do with a high school education was amazing for me, to think about what I could do with the power of a prestigious college education. It was such an inspiration that I immediately wanted to start writing about her. My family was watching a football game, and I was pumping out this essay.