Do you plan to tour a few colleges and universities? Your college essays will flow freely and authentically if you do these five things:
1. Invest thirty minutes to soak it in, then take some notes.
Pick a few vantage points to sit and simply soak in the activity at the school. Pick an outdoor location, an academic setting, and a social setting. Close your eyes for a moment and take a few deep breaths. Then soak in the scene. After about five minutes close your eyes again and take a few more breaths. Then take no more than five minutes to jot some notes: What did you see? How did it make you feel? Could you imagine yourself in this place, participating in the campus life that you observed?
2. Try to meet with some undergrads.
If you have an idea of a major you would like to undertake, try to speak with students majoring in that department. Visit the department. Write or dictate a quick memo on what it might feel like to take the major. What would you be doing and with whom? Why does that excite you?
3. Take in the campus life.
Visit the student activity center and dining halls. Investigate some clubs and groups you can imagine joining. Make a note to check out their social media. Snap some photos of notices, pin boards and hangouts.
4. Get off campus.
If you have a particular activity that you do, such as running, visiting art galleries, browsing used book, or exploring the Indie music scene, try to do those things during your visit. Take notes and pictures.
5. At every turn, use whatever it takes to help you to solidify your memories.
Take notes (voice dictation counts), snap photos, grab brochures. Don’t just buy T-shirts and sweatshirts! Most importantly, develop a scrapbook (concrete or digital) of your imagined future at each of the schools you visit.
These techniques will help jog your memory and conjure specific feelings about each school. They will help you you craft compelling admission essays.
Happy visiting!
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