UU'S 2008 ACCEPTANCES
How to create your UU
Now that you know the ins and outs of writing your core essay, you may think that all that’s left to do is fill in the blanks of your online app and click ‘submit.’
Well, think again. The key to maximizing the perfect college essay is to view your entire application as a narrative, filled with complementary expressions of what makes you uniquely you. That’s where the two most misunderstood and undervalued sections of your application come in: the activity grid and the short answer elaborating on one of those activities.
First let’s ponder the Common App’s newly expanded activity grid:
Even though the Common App now provides double the amount of space as previous years, you're still confined to listing a mere seven prioritized activities. Beneath that are another three spaces for any paying jobs you've had.
If you’re artsy or athletic, you can somewhat increase the space allotted to you by clicking on the Supplements bar on your Common Application and downloading any specially designated forms some schools post for that purpose.
If you feel that stingy amount of area does you justice, then by all means fill in the blanks and click submit. Most applicants do. But not at Uniquely U.
See the invitation under the Core Essay upload section of The Common Application which invites you to include any additional information? First of all, unless you have next to nothing to add, ignore the “cut and paste” space. Far better to upload up to 500 KB’s worth of material in a wide variety of file formats (.doc, .wpd, .rtf, .xls, .pdf, or .txt). It’s also a good place to put your explanation of any special circumstances that may have affected your GPA, your Eagle Scout project, scanned newspaper clippings, even a graded paper you’re proud of. Uniquely U. recommends that you use the space to design your own activity sheet that says everything YOU need to say.
Why bother? Well, here’s one parent’s take:
“I love the activity sheet that my son submitted to colleges…. I thought Uniquely U.’s contribution there was at least of equal importance to the essay. Without that, his accomplishments wouldn’t have made the same impact – and, in fact, there wouldn’t have been room for them all!”
Here is the activity sheet about which she’s referring:
Page 1 & 2 of Concise Applicant Activity SheetOther UUers take a more informal, even chatty approach:
For tips on how to create your own activity sheet, press Next below.
