50 Successful Ivy League Application Essays

  How important is the introduction?
A:
 Introductions are nice, but the whole essay has to work. It has to 
grab you from the beginning like a newspaper lead. It has to make you 
want to keep going.
Q:
  Can you think of an example of when an applicant wrote about 
an ordinary topic in an extraordinary way?
A:
 One student wrote about shooting a squirrel. I’m sure his guidance 
counselor told him to not write about that. However, the essay was 
about growing up to be a man, a meditation on what it means to grow 
up. While the topic may have seemed like the plot of a bad play, it was 

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Chapter 2: Ivy League Admissions Officer Q&A
15
a slice of life essay that told a lot about his family and about him. The 
topic doesn’t matter as much as what you do with it. 
Q: