Writing an Admissions Essay

So I'm 18 and I'm applying for college, but I'm unsure of myself in writing my essay.

I'm very intellectual and read and think all the time (politics, philosophy, psychology, etc.), so much so that I want to become a professor.

I'm thinking about addressing this prompt on the Common App:

>Some students have a background, identity, interest, or talent that is so meaningful they believe their application would be incomplete without it. If this sounds like you, then please share your story.

I figured it would be a good idea for me to write about my intellectual appetite, however, I'm afraid I'll come off like a pretentious pseudo-intellectual dork (which I am not, I'm gravely serious about the intellectual process and about becoming a professor) and it will be off-putting to the admissions staff.

I don't have trouble writing. I'm regarded as an excellent writer. But I'm worried about the sort of feelings I may provoke in the admissions staff about me identifying myself as an "intellectual", something which coming from someone with no qualifications sounds pretentious and may be a silly thing to write about on this prompt.

trust me, you suck ass at writing. admissions office knows this. just make up a story about overcoming the odds or some shit. no one will ever remember your admissions essay.

It would be nice to have an essay that actually helps me get in though.

I refuse to write some cliche garbage.

Honestly, don't try to sound smart or intellectual unless you can show, with results of some sort, that you're smart or intellectual.

Admissions offices are mainly looking for one type of student: the person who will bring the college lots of fame and/or money in either the distant or (preferably) near future. They don't just want people who are smart and talented -- they want people who can put the name of their school in bright and shining lights, as free advertising. The good thing is that there are many ways to be *that* kind of student; the bad thing is that high schools rarely, if ever, cultivate those mentality/skills.

So, going back to you:

Would your intellectual appetite work as a basis for your personal essay?

Maybe.

If you can show that you're not just a consumer of those subjects but have "interesting" ideas of your own, then sure, go ahead. Of course, you'll come off as young and dumb, but that's perfectly fine -- being willing to embarrass and reveal yourself to strangers is probably a good thing. Being earnest about learning and being interested in the *applications* of what you learn, though, outweigh whatever awkwardness you might create in your admissions audience.

So, keep that shit in mind and write your damn essay.

Thanks for the advice.

Who fucking cares about the admissions essay. Just write some bullshit that will get you in. If you really are intellectual, and you really want to be a professor, people will notice. Put the work in, faggot

If you're trying to show how brilliant you potentially are, focus more on seriousness and earnestness than talent. You're going to look dumb no matter what you do at your age. But you can set yourself apart from all the ten million rich kids who see university as a vacation where they'll spend half their lives. Convey that you see it for what it is: a few years to bootstrap your knowledge and critical abilities and maybe produce some neat scholarship.

Everyone wants to be a smart dude, and every kid who went to a fancy private school is going to look like a precocious little apple polisher. And you're all going to be dilettantes because you're teenagers. But if you convey that you're aware of dilettantism as a phenomenon, and aware that university is an opportunity to transform yourself into a real scholar, that might help. Dogged (but not naive) determination and unusual dedication are potentially interesting personality traits.

More cynically, if you're looking at hard data that they will appreciate, emphasise skills you already have. Like languages that you know. Maybe classical ones, even.

I had to write grad school applications and it was dehumanising as fuck even when the pool was pretty small and the stakes were higher. At least there it was kind of plausible to be tooting your own horn. I can't imagine writing US entry exams for undergrad. How do you plausibly claim to be special, out of billions of identical teenage dipshits, without overstating it?

Don't act smart, you're 18, you're not.

What you've described is something I have become aware of in recent years. Like a lot of "smart" teenagers, I was a little narcissistic prick, spouting my "wonderful" opinions on every topic I pleased.

The more I read and the more I matured I outgrew this mindset. As you can tell from my original post, I am absolutely terrified of being identified as a quack. And it's very difficult to not appear that way when you have no qualifications whatsoever.

But I feel myself to be very intellectually honest and aware of the limits of my mind.

I applied to school last year using that same prompt, with basically the same idea. Here's my essay: it was about my interest in ancient history, specifically Mesopotamian civilization.

It's awkward, flamboyant, and pretentious as f u c k, but I got admitted to a top liberal arts college anyway. Don't worry about it.
It's a good thing, too, since I only applied to one school.