College Essay S 2010

Were I to not do the job, the vehicle components would still be produced.

Were I to not do the job, the vehicle components would still be produced.

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The significant experience topic on the Common Application raises unique issues that are discussed in these 5 writing tips.

Like all college admissions essays, however, essays for Common Application option #1 must accomplish a specific task: they must be written clearly and tightly, and they must provide evidence that the writer has the intellectual curiosity, open-mindedness and the strength of character necessary to be a contributing and successful member of the campus community. Also, the title captures a key element of Drew's essay—Drew is not writing about a great success he had, but a personal failure.

I like to think that in the future I’ll use my engineering skills to better the world and tackle noble causes like climate change and sustainability.

My bad decision this past summer has inspired me to look ahead and find ways to make my ideals and my love of engineering work together.

Drew is a fairly serious and introspective guy, so we don't find much humor in his essay. The opening description of Drew's closet and the repeated mention of mowing lawns add a little lightness to the writing.

Drew's essay has been carefully edited and revised.You can learn a lot about me from a quick glance in my closet.You’ll find no clothes, but shelves filled with motorized Lego kits, Erector sets, model rockets, remote control race cars, and boxes full of motors, wires, batteries, propellers, soldering irons and hand tools. No one was surprised when I decided to apply to college for mechanical engineering.I’m convinced that even the most innocent involvement in the science of war makes one complicit in war itself. Were I true to my ideals, I really should have walked away and spent the summer mowing lawns or bagging groceries. They made valid points about the value of the experience and the ways that it would lead to bigger opportunities in the future. My summer job made me recognize that the military is a big employer of engineers, whether directly or indirectly.In the end I kept the job, partly from my parents’ advice and partly from my own desire to be doing real engineering work. I didn’t want to let a professional opportunity slip away. Undoubtedly I’ll be confronting similar yet more serious ethical decisions in the future.When last May a friend of my father’s asked me if I wanted a summer job working for his machining company, I jumped at the opportunity.I would learn how to use computer-operated lathes and milling machines, and I would gain valuable hands-on experience for my college studies.I’m a big critic of our mismanaged involvement in the Middle East.I’m appalled by the number of lives that have been lost in military conflicts, many of them young Americans like myself.What I learned about myself during my summer work wasn’t exactly flattering.Indeed, it makes me realize that I need college so that I can develop not just my engineering skills, but also my ethical reasoning and leadership skills.