Why Us Question

816 Words4 Pages
Ways to Respond to the Why Us Question This is perhaps the hardest college admission essay prompt to which to respond. Note that UNC-Wilmington’s college admissions essay prompt (at least the one from the 2010-11 application, and it’s been the same for several years) is such a prompt: UNC-Wilmington: Reflecting on your personal and educational goals, please write about how you believe UNC Wilmington will allow you to grow as a student and as a person. Tips to Consider in Writing Your Response to the Why Us Question · Personalize, personalize: you must find a way to tell a story about yourself and relate it to the school or one of its programs. · Go to the school’s Web site and read about programs, groups, clubs on campus that interest…show more content…
· Be honest at all times. Admissions officers can smell phoniness. How Not to Respond to the Why Us Question · Don’t simply tell the college admissions officials what they already know about their school. · Don’t sound like a laundry list of what makes this school a good school. Excerpted from Talk College Confidential[->0] This same question is likely to come up in interviews, discussions with admissions staff, etc. It's a quick way to judge the applicant's knowledge of the school, the depth of their thought process, and their level of commitment and interest. Clearly, an answer that shows specific familiarity with one or more aspects of the school (preferably non-obvious) and which ties together past interests with future objectives is the best. E.g., "Why do you want to attend Columbia?" Fair: The academics are top-notch, and I'd like to be in New York City. Slightly Better: The art history program is top-notch, and the cultural opportunities in New York City are…show more content…
I want to attend an intellectually stimulating college[->2] community, where I will reap the benefits of working vigorously. Agonia College offers the most demanding courses of study, and consequently the student body is self-selected, filled with student-scholars who are genuinely interested in academics. I plan to major in economics with a political international relations background[->3], and Agonia has an excellent economics department, if not the best in the world. I prefer Agonia’s practice of teaching the pure sciences and humanities at an intellectual level, rather than teaching courses related to careers, which are for graduate school. Going to school in New York City, I have been exposed to a dynamic urban environment, and feel that the campus of Agonia has a similar vibrant metropolitan vibe to it and many opportunities[->4] to attend cultural events. The city of Chicago would complement my education at the university
Open Document