Memorable College Admission Essay

Memorable College Admission Essay :


Snow Junkie


Director of admission at Harvey Mudd College and former associate dean of admission at Pomona College


Do you feel that your life is boring? Sure you live in the suburbs and nothing exciting ever happens in the burbs. What could you possibly write about that is even remotely exciting?


Lots, says Peter Osgood director of admission at Harvey Mudd College and former associate dean of admission at Pomona College. In fact, Osgood keeps a personal file of all of the outstanding essays that he has read over the years.


He says one of the best essays in his fi le was written by a student from a typical suburban background. One of the student’s school requirements was public service. Osgood says, “He wrote about how he was working with some inner city kids and they were taking a break to frolic in the snow. One of the kids made what looked like a snow angel. ‘Hey, nice snow angel,’ the student naively said. No…the kid replied, ‘I’m a junkie sleeping in the snow.’”


Osgood describes how the essay went on to explain how this incident hit the writer “right between the eyes” and made him think not only about what these at-risk kids see every day but also how such experiences can have a powerful cumulative effect. Osgood found the essay to be very thoughtful and appreciated that the student was able to recognize his sheltered upbringing. You don’t need to have had a life or death experience to write a great essay. If you spend time examining your life, you will discover something that is meaningful and that will make a successful essay.


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