5 Tips to Craft a Stand-Out Personal Statement

5 Tips to Craft a Stand-Out Personal Statement

by | Sep 3, 2019 | Admissions

The question that keeps many high school seniors up at night: how to sum up your whole life in a 650-word essay? The personal statement allows application readers to understand applicants in a fuller context, but it can feel nerve-racking to present your perspective to someone you’ll probably never meet. With all of the different requirements involved in a college application, the personal statement is one that never changes. So how do you write a personal statement that makes you seem intelligent but not arrogant, well written but not manufactured? Read on for five tips that I found helpful.

#1: Look up sample essays to see what you want to write about

With all of Common App’s options for personal statement questions, it can be a bit overwhelming to know which one you want to answer. That’s where Google and a simple search for essay samples comes in handy. Before starting your essay or if you ever find that you’re stuck, read some sample essays. They can serve as inspiration, and colleges release them for this specific reason. I would first search to see if the school you’re applying to has any essay samples. If not, no worries. All of the example essays online are pretty amazing, so I’m sure you’ll find one that will inspire you.

After I read through sample personal statements, I found that there were essay types that appeared frequently: the anecdote, the thought experiment, and the thought journey. These are the categories I created for myself to make sense of what I was reading.

The anecdotal essay, like any typical anecdote, shares a story. For example, an essay about a summer on a horse ranch would be an anecdotal essay. The take away from this essay is normally a valuable piece of knowledge gained or a show of an issue overcome. This essay type tends to be very popular. However, it can be tricky to give the reader a lot of information about yourself through one moment or experience. When writing an anecdotal essay, choose an experience that was impactful to multiple areas of your life, not just the one that contributed to your love of veterinary science, to keep with the horse ranch example.

The thought experiment is an interesting essay type. You don’t see it very often, but it can be very powerful.

I feel like I’m describing a rare Pokémon. My little brother just started watching the show, because apparently third graders still trade Pokémon cards? Who knew.

As an example, say you write an essay about what it would be like if the world completely stopped using plastic. What would have to change? How would that affect you, society, the environment? The topic of your thought experiment should usually connect back to your interest (the “point” that I talk about in my next tip!). This essay type shows that you’ve already put deep thought into something you’re interested in and that you could potentially study in college. You’ll want to make sure you’re not just spitting out a bunch of facts on the topic; the topic should be personal and connect back to your life in some way.

My personal favorite of the three is the thought journey. The thought journey takes an experience you’ve had, say walking home from the bus stop every afternoon, and discusses your thoughts and observations about the experience. The take away from this should be how the experience has shaped you as a person. You could include imagery from the walk( how the sun would hit your skin and drench you in sweat), or you could include what you thought about on your walk home, and how that time spent thinking influenced how you saw the world.

This is by no means an exhaustive list of essay types and many students chose to mix and match between types. However, I think these three types are a great jump start to get you thinking about essay topics! The personal statement questions also allow for a lot of freedom (especially the write whatever you want option!), so don’t feel bound to any one question, either.

#2: Give your application a “point” and mention it in your personal statement

In order to make a compelling application, there should be a common theme throughout that unites all of the different components. For example, if you’re trying to get into a film program, a good majority of the content represented in your application should be about your passion for film. Of course, you don’t want to come across as single-minded, but schools like to see that you have a clear main direction in what you want to study, even while having multiple other interests.

You’ll want to be like that *beautiful* illustration I made for you below. In your application, you should appear well rounded but with a very pointed interest that will be your reason for wanting to go to school. I would say about 60% – 70% of your application should represent that interest (if you’re looking for a more quantitative goal to hit). I’ll call this portion of your application the “point”.

Is it a fallen ice cream cone? The basic outline of a unicorn? You decide!

Your personal statement doesn’t have to include the majority of the point if you feel the rest of your application represents it. This would be for the people that have a bunch of clubs and accomplishments in the point area. If that’s you, feel free to let your personal statement represent some other aspect of you. However, if you see your application lacking in a point, use your personal statement to sharpen up one. I’m not saying to start your personal statement with ‘this is why I want to be the greatest filmmaker of all time’. But whatever experience or topic you chose to write about should be alluding to this reason. This isn’t a hard and fast rule, but I think it’s a good guideline to keep in mind.

#3: Vocabulary, grammar, and structure matters

Good vocabulary and grammar polish off an essay perfectly. When you find yourself using “really” or “very” a lot, try being more specific with your adjectives. Use interesting words in your essay that will grab readers intention, like “ignite” or “passion”. There is even research on the vocab content of Stanford vs. Harvard essays (link here!). Most importantly, write in a way that is authentic to yourself. Just make sure you’re not sounding like a sixth-grader still learning to write a five-paragraph essay.

Speaking of essay structure, try to stay away from being limited by the five-paragraph structure. Group your paragraphs by ideas rather than feeling like you need to reach a certain paragraph limit. The shortest paragraph in my personal statement was three sentences, and my longest was seven sentences for a total of seven paragraphs in my 634-word essay. Adding variety to your paragraph structure can keep your writing fresh for a reader.

I recommend having multiple people you trust read your personal statement over as well. Ask them to think about vocabulary, grammar, and structure while reading your essay. Also, download Grammarly! It’s a browser extension that catches grammar and spelling mistakes. It can be helpful while writing your personal statement and to catch mistakes while you’re filling out the Common App.

#4: Feel stuck? Write something anyways

I remember just staring at a blank Word document plenty of times when I began a college essay and having absolutely no clue what to write. When you find yourself in this situation, you’re most likely just scared that what you write will be bad or not perfect. However, the best way to figure out what to write is just to write! Literally, write anything that comes to your head and brain dump it all into an ideas page.

There are also plenty of free websites online that will force you to write when you’re feeling stuck. My personal favorite is Write or Die. The website is designed to keep you writing, and if you stop for more than a few seconds, the screen will turn red. There are plenty of different consequences for stopping, with the scariest being everything you wrote in the current session will be deleted. If that won’t get you writing, I don’t know what will.

If you find that you still feel stuck even after taking a break, try writing out your thoughts on a piece of paper rather than typing it out. Sometimes the change in method can help to unblock your ideas.

#5: Let your perspective shine through

I touched on this a bit in my How To Submit a BOMB College Application post (link here!), but I’ll say it here again: the personal statement is your chance to be reflective. I think this point is best illustrated by this essay my English teacher made my whole class read senior year. This senior literally wrote about Costco, but she wrote about in such a profound way that showcased her interests and her unique perspective on the world. When I first read the essay and other example essays that I looked up online (which I definitely recommend you search up as well!), I was intimidated because they are all sooo good. But have faith in yourself because your perspective is just as interesting as any other person’s! The Costco essay shows you don’t have to have some kind of life-changing experience to write a good college essay. I based my essay on washing my hair if that gives you any comfort!

Realize, you already have all the tools you need to write a banging personal statement, from your family background to the crazy, interesting thought that ran through your mind yesterday. You just have to consider what perspective you want to bring to the table.

Sincerely,

Lindsey

Have a question on writing a personal statement? Leave them in the comments below, and I’ll get back to you!

Hi! I’m Lindsey, a computer science student at Princeton University.  Welcome to my blog! I wanted a space to capture my thoughts online about school, fashion, and anything else that might interest me in life. I hope you learn a little something while you’re here. Enjoy!

How to Find Your Personal Style

How to Find Your Personal Style

by | Aug 28, 2019 | Style

A project I’ve been working on this summer is finding more clothes that I actually like to wear. You know, clothes that can be easily thrown together into a decent outfit when I’m tired and only have 20 minutes to get ready. I’m still experimenting with my own personal style, but here are a few tips that have helped me so far!

#0.5: Love yourself and your body!

Alright, before you find your personal style, there’s something we all need to address: confidence. For years, I would wear similar outfits to people who’s style I admired, but I always thought it looked AMAZING on them and completely meh on me. It can be so easy to compare your appearance to those of others.

I’ll share something with you that helped me: beauty is completely subjective, like any other social construct. So why do we even put beauty on such a high pedestal! Is beauty more important than kindness, compassion, empathy? Nope. I am a wonderful, kind, intelligent human being that deserves to feel confident in herself. That’s what you need to realize about yourself as well! So, though I’m sure that you’re completely GORGEOUS, you don’t have to feel or be “beautiful” to be confident.

It’s also important to remember that everyone has insecurities and things they wish they could change about themselves. We are our harshest critic! So take stock of what you’re working with and learn to love it! Confidence isn’t learned overnight, and once you find it, you’ll always have to work at keeping it. But once you do, it’ll be so much easier to feel amazing in your clothes, whether you’re wearing sweatpants or a dress. Alright, back to finding your personal style.

#1: Find inspiration online

Now that you’re (hopefully!) committed to loving yourself, you are now ready to look at inspiration online! This step can be both really fun and kind of intensive, so give yourself a couple of days to just explore! My recommended platform for making image collections is Pinterest (though search results on Pinterest can tend to lack diversity, that’s a whole other problem *sips tea*).

If you have no idea where to start, look up a few of your favorite celebrities or just “fashion” if you really want to go broad. From there, save a couple of outfits that interest you, and then narrow in on what exactly you like about the images. Is it the color? The fit? A specific item of clothing? Look at how other people have styled these pieces and save any photo you like or that you think you can try and style yourself.

Instagram and YouTube is also a great source of inspiration for fashion. Keep one of your saved collections specifically for fashion inspiration. For YouTube, you can save all your favorite fashion videos in a playlist (if you’re looking for a great fashion channel, try checking out bestdressed). Again, you’re not looking at these photos to compare yourself to them or their body shape. You’re looking at their clothing, the way they style it.

#2: Find patterns

The point of building your collection of inspiration is to find patterns, so you can hone in on what you really like!

Once you have your collection of photos for inspiration, now’s the time to analyze what exactly you like about each photo. Do you see a specific article of clothing pop up frequently, like high waisted jeans or converse? That’s a pattern! Also, take note of what colors appear most because those are the colors you are most drawn to! Write all of your observations down on your phone or in a notebook, something you can have easy access to while you’re shopping.

This is a quick look at what my Pinterest inspiration board looks like! You can see that I am more attracted to looser fits and lots of neutrals with pops of color.

#3: Assess what you already have in your closet

We all tend to have way more clothes than we actually need or like. So go through your closet and pick out the clothes that you tend to gravitate to and actually like wearing. Or if you’re not sure which of the clothes in your closet you actually wear, just take note of the clothes you find in your laundry basket at the end of the week.

After observing what you are and aren’t wearing in your closet, consider donating the clothes you don’t like that much. Obviously, you don’t want to get rid of all of your clothes at once, but any excess you see in your closet can definitely go. Do you really need 30 T-shirts in your draw when you see that you only consistently pick 15 of them to wear? Probably not.

#4: Go shopping!

Make a list of clothing items that you’d really love to add to your closet. First, start with a list of more basic, general pieces of clothing like a button-down or a pair of white sneakers.

Personally, a great pair of pants that fit really well and are comfortable makes me feel more confident in any outfit. When building your wardrobe, consider starting from the bottom up! Compared to shirts, we wear pants over and over; they basically serve as the base of our wardrobe. So make sure to invest in pants that you love to wear because you’ll be mixing and matching them with a bunch of different shirts!

Once you have a list of basics that serve as the building blocks of your new wardrobe, look for essentials that give your style some personality, like a pair of colorful Nike Air Max 97’s (ahhh, dream shoes). Think of these “essential” items as your statement pieces that make your wardrobe more you.

Another important thing to remember when buying a new set of clothes is to not buy everything at once. Allow yourself to truly consider what you buy, so you don’t waste money and regret a purchase when you realize it doesn’t quite fit your style. Also, when buying any piece, think about three outfits you could make with it, using items you already own (or five outfits if you want to really maximize your closet).

And there you go! Good luck; play around withing mixing different styles and trends. Most of all have, have fun wearing what you want to wear!

Hi! I’m Lindsey, a computer science student at Princeton University.  Welcome to my blog! I wanted a space to capture my thoughts online about school, fashion, and anything else that might interest me in life. I hope you learn a little something while you’re here. Enjoy!

8 Things I Wish I Knew My First Year of College

8 Things I Wish I Knew My First Year of College

by | Aug 21, 2019 | College

It’s back to school season! Mixed feelings for everyone, and for first-year college students, this time of year can be especially emotion-inducing. Whether you’re feeling excited, nervous, or scared for this new step, life can feel overwhelming when you first enter college. From my experience, here are some tips to avoid some of the biggest freshman pitfalls.

#1: Cut the expectations

I recently heard a piece of advice that hit me hard. To put it in a way to revive our school time senses, here is a mathematical equation to keep in mind as you enter your new school year: happiness = reality – expectations.

Before I entered my first year, I hyped myself up by watching a bunch of school time movies. In the movies, school is always a magical place full of love and friendship and drama that always resolves itself in the 2-hour running time.

What they don’t choose to highlight are the less sparkly moments of college, like the homework, late-nighters, and uncertainty that can come from a new environment. College can be a great time, but it is not a movie set where everything just magically works itself out. So do yourself a favor, and try to go into the year with a realistic mindset.

#2: Take care of your health, physically and mentally

The freshman fifteen is a thing. The weight gain isn’t as much of a concern as creating unhealthy habits is. The fact of the matter is, that unless you make a conscious decision not to, you will eat more your freshman year. With all of the free food that can be found around campus, it can be hard not to. Especially if you’re up at 2 am and that free offer of pizza suddenly sounds sooo good. My personal favorite late-night snack was sweet potato fries and a double chocolate cookie. Definitely not the healthiest. Giving into unhealthy cravings is fine every few days, just not every day. After a while, you realize that you really don’t need that Chick-fil-a at 12 o’clock at night.

The key is to set realisitc health expectations for yourself. If you exercised frequently in high school, keep it up in college. If you didn’t exercise in high school (because I definitely did not), then consider starting, or at least make sure you’re getting that exercise in on your long walks to class! Truthfully, I didn’t step foot in the gym once my whole freshman year, but those walks to class definitely do help to get exercise in!

As for mentally, make sure you’re taking time for yourself so that you don’t burn out. When you’re tired, you don’t have to go out to that party on the weekend. You could stay in with your friends, pop some popcorn, and watch a movie! Or if you just need some alone time, put on a face mask and watch that movie by yourself!

Never feel guilty for needing to take a break. That’s the trap I fell into. I’d feel so guilty while taking a break that I’d feel like I needed another break just to recover from the break I just took!

Yep, it was pretty problematic, but I realized I wasn’t the only one that felt that way. We have become so conditioned to always be doing SOMETHING, whether it be scrolling through our phones or being productive. Get comfortable with having some quiet time with yourself to just take a breath and calm down. Find what you need and like to do to feel relaxed and avoid burnout. It’s all about making sure you stay charged up physically, socially, and emotionally.

#3: Never forget who you are

I thought about this one while I was at a theater watching Crazy Rich Asians with my friends. It was at the part where Nick’s mom said something along the lines of, children forget who they are when they’re away from home for too long. It was such a small moment in the movie, but my emotionally drained self was sitting in the theater for the rest of the movie like

I mean, I also cried during both wedding scenes, so that movie was just a real roller coaster of emotions for me (great movie, 10/10 do recommend). In college, you get so busy that sometimes you forget what your priorities are. What you believe, what you stand for. So I recommend writing a letter to yourself. Something you can go back to when you find yourself treading through a grey area: where you stand on religion, sex, drinking, work-life balance, partying, etc. It’s good to remind yourself what you believe.

Also, talk to your family! Don’t completely ice them out! It can be great to hear from home and remind yourself of where you come from now that you’re in a completely new environment.

#4: Don’t get too caught up in plans for the future

I spent a LOT of time trying to plan and see into the future my freshman year. It mostly came out of a concern about my major. First, I didn’t know whether I should be an engineering computer science major or an arts and science computer science major. Small distinction, but it would determine whether I would have to take the engineering pre-reqs (physics, chemistry, etc.) or just the general liberal arts distribution requirements (the pre-reqs were pretty killer, let me tell you).

This AB vs. BSE debate turned into whether I even wanted to be a computer science major in the first place. For a week, I was convinced that I was going to become an English major. I had even planned out all the courses for the next 3 years I would be in college for each potential major paths. I was being way too extra. I was so concerned with my major and potential jobs after graduation that I was taking mental energy away from my school work, and my grades suffered because of it.

Don’t feel like now that you’re in college, you suddenly have to have every step of your life figured out. Focus on the present and doing what you love and are interested in, and things will work themselves out. I’m still uncertain about my major, but I have decided to trust God with my future and focus more on my present.

#5: Focus less on your love life

This goes along with the whole life-is-not-a-movie thing. Sure, there may be a couple of cute guys on your hall or in your classroom, but that doesn’t mean you are meant to be together. I learned this lesson after a post-birthday meltdown when my crush forgot to wish me a happy birthday.

Yep, not my finest moment. Freshman year should be about you and setting yourself up for success for the rest of college. So don’t let any crush stand in your way and distract you. Trust me, it’s not worth it.

#6: Talk it out

I am a HUGE overthinker. It’s so easy for me to get trapped in my head over small decisions. I found that talking to people who understand what you’re going through can be really helpful. I don’t think I would have stuck out my second-semester physics class if I hadn’t talked to my professor after class one day. She encouraged me and gave me tips I could use to do better in class (having a professor you can actually talk to is a great thing to think about when deciding on classes).

So whether it’s a family member, professor, upperclassmen, or friend that you go to, talk through your thought process. Once a decision has been externalized, it can take a lot of the stress out.

#7: You actually have to hang out with people to make friends

In high school, you make friends mostly out of convenience. You see the same people almost every day, so you end up making friends without too much effort.

In college, you only meet up a couple of times a week for most classes. Even if you share a major with someone, it’s not guaranteed that you’ll see them all the time since everyone’s schedule is so different.

So in order to make and maintain friendships, you have to be purposeful. Start a study group with classmates in the first semester. They can help with school work (as long as the group isn’t too overly talkative) and give you people to hang out with outside of class, which is great to have in the first couple weeks of school when you feel like you know absolutely no one.

You also want to make sure you are meeting up with people outside of an academic context. Invite some classmates to lunch with you before or after class. Make plans to hang out with people in the evening or on the weekends, after you’ve finished your work of course.

Realize that everyone is looking for friends in college, so as long as you stay friendly and open, you will find people to talk to. It also takes time to find a good friend group. I feel like I didn’t really get to know people until midway through spring semester, and that’s okay. Giving yourself the time to adjust to your new environment. That way, you’ll learn more about yourself and what you are looking for in your friends.

#8: Re-evaluate your study practices

In highschool, procrasitantion was the way to go. I mean, it shouldn’t have been, but I always got away with it, so I kept doing it. Somehow, even when I had three different projects due in a two-day span, and I hadn’t started at all the day before the first two were due, I still managed to get everything done. My procrastination in high school reached superpower levels (and increased my stress levels too).

In college, though, procrastination really doesn’t fly. With all of the other job, club, and self-care commitments, if you procrastinate, work may just not get done. The key is to stay organized. Buy a physical planner (because studies show that writing your goals down makes you more likely to accomplish them) and consistently use it. Schedule in more time than you need to complete a task if you feel like you’re going to procrastinate. I found that working on something for at least 15 minutes one day is better than not working on it at all.

Also, if you find that you’re studying hard and you’re still not getting the grades you want, re-evaluate. Talk to your professors to see where you can get help or boost your grade. Getting good grades in college requires you to stay on top of your game, even more than you were in high school.

Those are all the tips I wish I knew the summer before freshman year! I was going to include packing light, but I think overpacking is part of the fun naivety of freshman year. Freshman year of college can be rough for anyone, but if you take care of yourself and stay vigilant, you can get through it relatively unscathed. There will always be bumps in the road, but that’s supposed to be what makes life interesting, right? Now, go and flourish in college; have a great first year!

Sincerely,

Lindsey

Hey! I’m Lindsey,

a computer science student at Princeton University.  Welcome to my blog! I wanted a space to capture my thoughts online about school, fashion, and anything else that might interest me in life. I hope you learn a little something while you’re here. Enjoy!

June & July Reading Wrap Up

June & July Reading Wrap Up

by | Aug 5, 2019 | Books

I’ve had a lot of time to read this summer, and it’s honestly been amazing! During the school year, I always get so caught up in school work and friends and taking care of myself and sleep (because I am not the one to be staying up till 4 am to finish a book or TV show) to read, so I make sure to take advantage of all the actual free time during the summer and actually read.

#1: I Am Not Your Perfect Mexican Daugther by Erika L. Sanchez

3.5 Stars

This is the first book I read this summer! I took a YA creative writing class my spring semester, and Ms. Sanchez was the professor of the class! She’s a really sassy, interesting person, and I knew that if I got to meet and interact with a published author every week, I had to have her sign a copy of her debut book.

The book, centered around the life of Julia (pronounced the Spanish way, she’d like to have you know) begins with the funeral of her sister, Olga. Olga was their parent’s favorite daughter, while Julia is known as the troubled, disrespectful little sister. The story follows Julia dealing with grief, family drama, and self-discovery in the aftermath of her sister’s death.

Julia wasn’t my favorite character ever, as she was pretty abrasive and even rude at times. However, by the end of the book, she definitely grew as a person, and I began to understand her more. I learned a lot about Mexican culture from reading the book, which is always one of my favorite parts of reading, discovering new perspectives.

#2: Lady Renegades by Rachel Hawkins

4 stars

This is the third and final book in the Rebel Belle series. I started this series in the summer of 2015, and I loved it. The series follows Harper Price, an overachieving HS junior, whose life completely changes after she accidentally becomes a Paladin, which is basically a member of an ancient line of supercharged bodyguards. She finds out she must protect David Stark, her school’s head reporter and basically her nemesis. The drama of the book increases as she realizes David has some magical, future-telling powers of his own that could literally explode their little Southern town.

I didn’t love the last book (but keep in mind I read it 4 years after the rest of the series, yikes), but these books are really fun and entertaining, and the plotline was really unique. I’ve never read a fantasy book from the perspective of a sweet-tea-drinking Southern Belle. I loved all of the relationships and characters in this series, and I would definitely recommend if you’re wanting a bit of lighthearted fantasy adventure in your life.

#3: Cress (The Lunar Chronicles) by Marissa Meyer

5 stars

This was the third book in the Lunar Chronicles series, one of my absolute favorite series of all time. The whole series is loosely based around sci-fi retellings of fairytale classics. The series is set in a futuristic world where there is deadly plague called letumosis killing thousands around the world, and the Earth is in conflict with Luna, an advanced society of people with mind control powers living on the moon. Alright, the premise sounds kind of out there, but trust me, it’s absolutely amazing!

The first book in the series starts with Cinder (based on Cinderella), an orphaned cyborg mechanic living with her cruel stepmother and stepsisters in New Beijing in the Eastern Commonwealth (a futuristic country based on China). After one of her stepsisters contracts letumosis, she ends up meeting Prince Kai, and the plot thickens from there.

I actually re-read Cress because it is my favorite in the series. This book builds off of the story of Rapunzel, with the main character, Cress, being trapped by an evil a Lunar mistress on a satellite orbiting the moon. Cress was one of my favorite characters in this series because she’s this sweet little hacker genius. The book was such a nostalgic read, and I had a bunch of fun reading it. So, if you take away anything from this list, READ THIS SERIES! And hit me up when you do, so we can geek out over it together!

#4: More Than Enough by Elaine Welteroth

5 stars

I’ve followed Elaine Welteroth’s career since around 2014 when I first started reading Teen Vogue, and I admire her so much! She was both the youngest and first black chief editor in her company’s history! Her personality, her drive, her intelligence, her faith (and don’t even get me started on her hair!) are all awe-inspiring.

More Than Enough is a memoir, so it follows Ms. Welteroth’s journey from little entrepreneur to the mogul she is today. I particularly loved the chapters on the uncertainties she faced in college, dealing with relationships and careers. If you enjoy reading the words and life stories of inspiring, hardworking people, I would definitely recommend this book!

#5: Shatter Me by Tahereh Mafi

4 stars

This is the first book in the Shatter Me series, and it’s been out for quite a while. When I was asking around for some summer reads and someone recommended the series to me, I finally decided to give it a try. I was not disappointed!

The book is set in a dystopian world and follows 17-year-old Juliette, who has been imprisoned after accidentally killing a little boy. “Accidentally” meaning her touch is deadly, a problem she’s been dealing with her whole life. The government in this dystopian setting is called the Reestablishment, and the action begins after they decide to take Juliette out of jail to use as torture weapon.

I’ve read a bunch of dystopian novels, but I’ve never read one with a superpower premise, so it was definitely a fresh take for me. Tahereh Mafi’s writing style is beautiful and poetic, which makes the story even more interesting to read. The sixth and final book is being released next year, so I have plenty of catching up to do!

#6: Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn

4 stars

The movie for this book came out 2014, so that’s when everyone and their mama started reading Gillian Flynn. But I’m usually pretty late to popular required reading, so I’m reading it here in 2019. I also may have read the Wikipedia summary of the movie back in 2014, but I’ve been wanting to read something from Gillian Flynn for a while, so I figured why not read the book anyway. And books are usually different from the movie right?

Anyways, this plot was definitely worth the hype. It’s about Nick Dunne, whose wife, Amy, disappears on their fifth wedding anniversary. Nick is attractive and charismatic but aloof, so her disappearance gains national attention and becomes a case of “of course, the husband killed her”. But the police can’t find a body, so where is Amy?

The story switches between Nick’s perspective and Amy’s diary entries, and there is definitely a case of unreliable narrator here, as you wonder who is telling the complete truth.

The story was a bit slow at times, but the build-up was definitely worth the ending. The plot is also similar to A Simple Favor, the 2018 movie starring Blake Lively and Anna Kendrick. If you love psychological mysteries, I would definitely recommend this book if you haven’t given it a try yet.

#7: Anna and the French Kiss by Stephanie Perkins

4 stars

All I can say about this book is awwww. It’s a YA romance classic, and I’ve heard so much about it that I decided to finally give it a try. The story is about Anna, whose narcissistic but well-meaning father decides to send her off to a boarding school in Paris. Though she is less than thrilled to be sent away from her family and friends for her senior year of high school, she soon meets a cool group of friends, including the charismatic Etienne St. Clair (who, of course, has a girlfriend). Throughout the school year, Anna learns to love Paris and becomes really close friends with St. Clair, which is tricky when she starts to have feelings for him.

The story as a whole was really cute, and the Paris setting was beautifully described. I felt like I was taking a tour through Paris along with Anna, which definitely fed my travel bug. If you’re looking for a well-crafted light-hearted romance, this is definitely the book for you!

#8: The Girls by Emma Cline

3 stars

This book, the author’s debut novel, got a lot of attention when it came out in 2016. When I saw it on the library shelves, I decided to give it a try. It is based on the infamous Manson Cult from the 60s.

The book starts with Evie, a 14-year-old girl who one day sees a group of free-spirited, poorly dressed girls running through the park. While at the convenience store, she meets the leader of these girls, Suzanne, and she becomes completely infatuated with her. Suzanne takes her to the ranch, headed by its inhabitants’ “spiritual” (but really just manipulative) leader Russell. The story follows Evie’s summer spent on and off the ranch as she deals with the aftermath of her parent’s divorce and lost friendship.

I was mostly interested in this book for its themes revolving around growing up as a girl, in a world where so much of our youth is spent trying to impress the opposite sex and just people in general with our appearance. The story itself was kind of slow at times, and the writing was also a bit too flowery for my tastes. However, I appreciated the book for its reflective and thought-provoking qualities.

And those are the books I’ve read this summer! I hope you consider picking up one of them to read!

Sincerely,

Lindsey

Hey! I’m Lindsey,

a computer science student at Princeton University.  Welcome to my blog! I wanted a space to capture my thoughts online about school, fashion, and anything else that might interest me in life. I hope you learn a little something while you’re here. Enjoy!

How To Submit a BOMB College Application

How To Submit a BOMB College Application

by | Aug 1, 2019 | Admissions

It’s that time of year again: high school seniors are on the rush to finish their college applications before the early and regular decision deadlines. It’s a stressful time, an exhilarating time. It feels like your best life at the perfect college is just around the corner if you just do all of the “right” things.

First off, if you’re reading this as a current hs senior or junior, I would like to say CONGRATULATIONS! Because you’ve made it through the all-nighters, projects, exams, and finals that the first half of hs threw at you, and you’re now an upperclassman. So I’m serious, before you continue reading, queue up Congratulations by Post Malone and throw yourself a little dance party. You deserve it!

Another thing I would definitely recommend you do before you start stressing about the whole application process (or if you’re already in the thick of stressing about it, and you need a little boost of morale) is to read Where You Go Is Not Who You’ll Be by Frank Bruni. The gist of the book is, well, the title. We all spend so much time stressing about getting into the perfect college. So repeat after me and ingrain this in your mind: I am an amazing person with an amazing mind, and I will do amazing things in this world no matter what college I get into. If you don’t yet believe this statement, work towards believing it! How can you write about how qualified you are to go to college without first having confidence in yourself?

Pep talk aside, now for what you really came for: how to submit the best college application you possibly can. I like to break the application process into 4 major components: the SAT, the personal statement, individual college essays, and the extracurricular list.

Get Organized + Fill Out Basic Application Information

Ok, this is the crucial first step for success before you begin everything: get out your planner, Google Calendar, or whatever you use and record all the important dates and deadlines. Have a special color for college-related stuff. I also recommend having a spreadsheet of all the important college information you keep googling, like app requirements, average SAT scores, and tuition cost for each college. Giving yourself deadlines by which you need to complete certain essays and other portions of the application is also a great way to keep more organized and less stressed.

I would fill out the background information on the Common App ASAP. It’s something simple you can do to jump-start the process and make you feel like you’re getting things done. Feeling lazy, and don’t want to work on anything else? Check this task done, and your cluttered brain will thank you.

SAT + SAT Subject Tests

Arguably the least enjoyable part of the whole application process, at least it was for me. That’s why it should be dealt with ASAP. Studying takes up a lot of brainpower, so if you can get it done during the summer, I definitely recommend it.

The SAT is like any other test which means you have to practice A LOT before you can get the score you want. The key to studying is being consistent and setting goals for yourself. For me, studying 3-4 times a week for 2-3 hours each session worked the best. I also took a practice test every other weekend, if not every week (3 hours to take the test + 1 hour of grading and reviewing mistakes). With such a big-time commitment, that’s why SAT prep is best done in the summer without the pressures of other school work. I’ll make a separate post about studying for the SAT, so watch out for that in the future.

Many selective schools and scholarship programs require students to take two SAT subject tests. Your chosen major will determine which ones you should take. For example, since I was applying to get into engineering schools, I took the Math II and Biology subject tests. The best time to take a subject test is after taking the corresponding AP class, like AP Biology for the Biology test. If you understood the material in a class setting, I’ve heard the subject tests are a breeze. Haven’t taken the AP class that corresponds to the subject test you need to take? I found myself in that exact situation my senior year, so don’t sweat it: pick up a prep book and study the material yourself. Try not to stress too much about subject tests, especially if you haven’t taken a class for the subject material. Application committees will recognize that and take it into consideration.

The Personal Statement

I’ve heard about this essay since I was a little kid. This seemingly huge, daunting task where you feel like you’re asked to sum up the whole of your life experience into about 600 words. That’s how I felt when I started thinking about this essay, which is obviously not the best headspace to be in. The better way to tackle the personal statement is to write about certain aspects of yourself. You’re not trying to encompass your entire being into the essay, but you definitely want to highlight the best facets of yourself.

I started thinking about what I would write during the summer, which is definitely the best tactic for writing a well fleshed out essay. The more time you think about the prompt and your ideas, the better the essay will be. You can find inspiration for a personal statement almost anywhere. Did a particular ray of sunlight hit your eye on your walk to the bus and remind you of that one impactful summer spent at the beach that contributed to your interest in environmental science? But for real, this was the state of mind I was in while trying to come up with my personal statement topic. Every chance encounter or observation made me think, “wow, you could write a great college essay about that”. Of course, don’t go throughout life looking for an essay angle, but this step of the process was built for you to be reflective.

This is your chance to unlock your inner writer because we all have one within us that can draw from our unique collection of memories, ideas, and experiences. Your experience might not be unique, but your perspective on it can be! I plan on writing a whole separate post about personal statements, so stay tuned for that as well!

Individual College Essays

Each college or university has its own essay questions for students to respond to. The more selective schools will normally have another 600-word one along with a 250 -word. Some schools will just have a series (around 3-5) of 300-word short answers. These questions are designed specifically to let the admissions committee know why you are a great candidate for their particular school.

To do your best on these questions, you must thoroughly research the school and show your interest in particular programs, faculty, notable alumni, spots on campus, etc. You are applying to the school for a reason, and this is your chance to show the reader of your application the reason why you want to come to their school, and why they want YOU to come to their school. How will you contribute to their unique school environment? Are you interested in a particular campus organization that is similar to the one you’ve done in hs or that wasn’t offered at your hs? The more specific you are with your intentions, the better!

Extracurricular List

This may seem like a small section hidden away within the Common App, but treat it seriously! It is basically your resume of the ten most notable activities and achievements in hs. You can even create an actual resume to attach to your application under additional information if you would like to include anything extra (Google Docs has a great resume template, and there are plenty of others online to look at specifically for students).

When trying to choose which activities to include, focus on the ones where you’ve had a significant time commitment and that you actually enjoy. So, being on the golf team that one time in sophomore year because you thought it would be cool to have on your resume (*cough, cough me*), probably shouldn’t make the list.

As for the actual writing of the descriptions of each activity, you should follow a good resume protocol. As the word count for each description is limited, they should be concise, so you don’t have to write full sentences. A good habit is to start with an action word (lead, organized, completed) or your organization title. You should also make sure to include any activity you did specifically within the organization. For example, “Student council representative for four years, where I organized pep rallies and student campaigns” instead of just “I served on my student council for four years” . Of course, be more specific on what “campaign” you helped organize, but you get my point.

And there you have it, folks! Those are the main components of completing a college application. Hope this was helpful. Remember, don’t stress and don’t procrastinate! I definitely did too much of both my senior year, and it’s really just not worth it. Enjoy your senior year and make memories! Realize you have to complete all these tasks, but if you stay organized, you’ll come out of this season of life feeling like the champ you are.

Sincerely,

Lindsey

Did I miss any information you think would be helpful? Comment down below and let me and other readers know your best advice and tips!

Hey! I’m Lindsey,

a computer science student at Princeton University.  Welcome to my blog! I wanted a space to capture my thoughts online about school, fashion, and anything else that might interest me in life. I hope you learn a little something while you’re here. Enjoy!