The Voices of Olin's Class of 2030: College Essay Snippets Part 2

Welcome back to another volume of “The Voices of Olin's Class of 2030: College Essay Snippets”! The Common App is opening soon, and you may still be considering how to best write about yourself, so explore these genuine stories about how to communicate your passions, interests, and personality behind your application.

The college essay is an amazing way to reflect, explore, and highlight aspects of yourself not shown in other parts of the applications. Here's our first installment this summer. And as promised, here’s another handful of essays that stood out to us from the Class of ’30:   

Common App Personal Essay Prompt 1: 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. 

Example 1: Nicolo ’30 immediately hooks the reader with a snappy beginning and carries that engagement throughout the narrative: 

Full disclosure: I’m a serial killer. 

My victims? Old computers, jumbled up arcade joysticks, and junked code. My first kill? Meager low storage RAM spliced from a 2002 Gateway laptop’s guts resting motionless on my taekwondo trophy wall, my parents none the wiser that their no longer used work computers lay in pieces in my underqualified 4th grade grasp… Suddenly, my arsenal of blades, files, and drills expanded, and with that, my creativity did too… My rough around the edges way of thinking lingered in more than just circuitry– it took over my poetry, too. Never seeking to be precise, it started as quatrains and couplets caged in iambic pentameter, but it too was another one of my victims. 

Common App Personal Essay Prompt 7: Share an essay on any topic of your choice. It can be one you've already written, one that responds to a different prompt, or one of your own design. 

Example 2: Eli ’30 keeps readers excited about their growth through both the use of voice and a concrete story: 

One morning, about three years ago, I was sitting at the kitchen table eating breakfast (regrettably, not a buffet) when a question popped into my head: Which number seems bigger, 9 out of 10 or 90 out of 100? Obviously, the numbers are equivalent, but for some reason, 9 out of 10 seemed like a larger number to me - perhaps because 9 is closer to 10 than 90 is to 100. I became curious about what other people might think, and science research gave me the opportunity to design a study to test my hypothesis. However, far from satisfying my curiosity, my results led to more and more questions, fueling a four-year series of studies on medical communication. 

Similar to our previous installment, applicants also addressed our supplement essay, and some stood out for their authenticity and earnestness: 

Example 3: Kylie ’30 connects a deeply personal experience with technology to a passion for engineering (very useful at Olin!):  

In the Philippines, my mom would spend hours handwashing clothes. However, in America, a washer and dryer had completed our laundry within five button clicks and a one-hour wait. I was shocked to find that tedious and lengthy tasks could be streamlined effectively. My experience of seeing how technology could significantly impact the lives of people inspires me to pursue engineering. By keeping designs simple and costs low through thoughtful automation, I want to help bring useful technology to communities that would benefit from it the most. 

Example 4: Jonas ’30 shares more about themselves by expressing the benefits of taking risks and pushing outside your comfort zone:  

While I am a naturally shy person, I love to sing. I have been pushing myself to grow by joining our honors choir, the VT district choir, and auditioning for the New England choir and all-state ensemble. In addition to avoiding the spotlight, I had also been afraid of not being “good enough” to do these higher-level things. I found that I not only have been able to further my musical craft, which has been really fun, but I have also made a lot of new and different friends. The ability to connect with different people over an element of common ground and expand my social circle is another unexpected benefit and new skill I’ll take into my future. 

Now, take some time to think about what it is you want to convey in your personal statement, required supplements, or optional supplements that reveal new information about yourself for admission readers. Remember to expand upon new dimensions of yourself in each type of essay rather than repeating the same themes. Give admission readers more to think about and remember like these students did.  

Happy writing!