Full transcript
0:00So I'm going to dive into the next section, which is a sort of dos and don'ts of writing
0:05the why major essay.
0:09As some of the questions asked, like Carnegie, Mellon or Penn, uh, you want to share how
0:15you developed that academic interest, you know, where did it come from?
0:19How did it grow and evolve over time and how has it led to what you're interested in now?
0:26Um, so think about, you know, your emotional resonance with the subject.
0:31Why are you excited about chemistry?
0:34Why are you excited about English?
0:37Um, I keep using chemistry in English because they were the ones that I applied with back
0:41in the day.
0:42Um, but.
0:43You can sort of sub in whatever you're interested in right now, even if that's undecided, like
0:49Yale said, you know, you're gonna change your mind all the time.
0:52I did.
0:53I changed my mind twice.
0:54I was a chemistry and English double major.
0:55Then I was a biology major and then I was a neuroscience major.
0:59So I went through all sorts of transformations.
1:01That's okay.
1:02They're not asking you to choose something to set in stone.
1:04Just something that you are interested in right now.
1:08So you want to talk about where that interest came from.
1:11Um, While it might be tempting to write about just your passion and how emotionally important
1:19it is with all this flowery language.
1:21That is definitely my pitfall.
1:23Um, it's best to be as specific as you can.
1:27Did you have certain experiences that led you to understand the field in a new way or
1:32early exposure?
1:35Something that really happened with an anecdote attached to it is even better, um, for explaining
1:41where this passion grew from.
1:44Um, and this can be coursework.
1:47This can be things you did in school because that's where you interact with a lot of intellectual
1:52and academic ideas and fields, obviously.
1:56Uh, but it can also be things that happened.
1:59Of your experience in the classroom.
2:02So it can be something where you were always interested in writing poetry.
2:08And so you started to write on your, in your spare time, you wrote a few books and by books,
2:15I mean, short stories, um, And you realize that you just love to write.
2:20And so that's what drew you to English.
2:22Uh, whereas you didn't discover your interest in chemistry until 10th grade when you had
2:27your first lab class, uh, and you liked to solve the puzzle of figuring out which of
2:33these anonymous, clear liquids were, which because you could mix 'em together and get
2:38different precipitates.
2:40Um, so all different types of experiences can factor into this.
2:46Um, it helps to share anecdotes at the beginnings of these essays, um, because they are catchy
2:53hooks, um, and they draw the reader in, but they also provide context for your academic
2:59interest.
3:00They say, this is how I interact with it.
3:01This is where it came from, or this is how I've grown it over time.
3:05For example, if you are interested in going to Yale and studying English, uh, you could
3:11start your essay by describing a childhood ritual where you and your dad went to the
3:17library every week.
3:19And you would go sit in the new arrivals section of the library and you just start pulling
3:24books off the shelves.
3:25Uh, and you wanted to just look at the backs of them and see if they were something that
3:30were interesting to you.
3:31You didn't have a different favorite genre.
3:33You just wanted to.
3:35Um, and so that can be, uh, a cool anecdote to open on not saying that's happened to me
3:41or anything.
3:42Um, but, uh, it's, you know, something that's personal, something that's interesting and,
3:47um, really pulls somebody into a moment as they're reading the essay.
3:53If you have space, you can also add in specific subtopics that interest you within the major.
3:59So for example, if you're a sociology major, I'll, you know, step out of my own shell for
4:03this one.
4:04Um, but if you are a sociology major, uh, maybe your specific interest is in gender
4:11relations or in racism.
4:14Um, and for me, if you're interested in neuroscience, you're a specific.
4:19Just as in PTSD, uh, or psychosis.
4:23And so you can work that in to show exactly what it is within the field that interests
4:29you, not just biology as a whole, but gene sequences.
4:32Um, and this can make it seem more individual, more personal, uh, and gives you the opportunity
4:38to share.
4:39What's actually exciting to.
4:41Um, so this is where I would sit with these kinds of things, especially in essays that
4:46give you three or 400 words like Carnegie Mellon, and.
4:50The most impactful essays are gonna tell a story.
4:54So you should refrain from listing every single extracurricular activity that relates to your
4:59chosen major, especially, you know, considering that you already have an extracurricular activity
5:04section on the common app.
5:06This is not your resume.
5:07Um, they'll already know about these things.
5:10You want to tell more of a narrat.
5:12You wanna find ways that will connect your initial anecdote, that you open the essay
5:16with, uh, to your desire to pursue the major and your goals for the future?
5:21Uh, for example, if you were a kid who loved the library, um, maybe this led to you getting
5:29a job at a local bookstore.
5:31Uh, and you are organizing author readings for the community.
5:35That's something that actually is not part of my life, but in my experience, but it is
5:40a really cool narrative, um, that may resonate with a reader because they show you that,
5:46you know, it shows you that somebody progressed from loving to read, to loving, to, you know,
5:52see the process and have authors come and talk about their work.
5:57And.
5:58It shows a consistent, uh, and persistent a connection to the field.
6:05Um, apologies.
6:07If you can hear my dog barking upstairs, um, he.
6:11I was very excited to participate in these presentations lately.
6:16Um, another thing you'll want to emphasize another do for these essays is detailing your
6:22reasoning and goals.
6:24So once you have some experiences and specific details laid out, uh, and your passion is
6:30clear, you want to describe your goals and how majoring in this field is going to help
6:36you achieve those goals.
6:39Maybe your early experiences with authors inspired you to start a novel.
6:43And now you want to major in English to, uh, and further study.
6:48Great works of literature, give you a good background.
6:51And the foundation needed to find success as a writer to, you know, finish that novel
6:55or start a new one and have it be culturally.
7:01Resonant and based in some of the greats and, you know, have this really strong technique.
7:07I feel like majoring in English and writing a book are pretty easy to connect.
7:14That's not something that you're gonna have to dig too hard to do.
7:20Then you also, if you have room, um, want to explain your school of these goals.
7:27The reason should be be, you know, this college is highly ranked for this major or, um, this
7:37college is very prestigious overall, um, or this college leads to high paying careers.
7:43Um, what you are looking for is diving into the curriculum.
7:47What kinds of classes are being taught?
7:49What kind of methodologies are being used and are there specific classes or specific
7:53resources like a study abroad, uh, in London?
7:58That is specific to learning about Shakespeare and Shakespeare's works.
8:03Um, So there's a Yale in London experience.
8:09Um, so if you're passionate about becoming a writer, you can take time to explain how
8:13Yale's English program will set you on the road to success.
8:16Um, maybe you want to go to this Yale in London study abroad program, or maybe you want to
8:21pursue the writing, the creative writing concentration as a senior to further your creative writing
8:27skills.
8:28Um, there are.
8:30Poets or writers on staff who you are really excited to work with.
8:34Like Claudia Rankin.
8:37And so you can dive into all of these things, um, to express why a schools program is going
8:44to be the right fit for your academic and intellectual goals.
8:48You can also mention a desire to take a particular course study with a particular professor,
8:55uh, work on the school newspaper.
8:57You can say, you know, the Yale daily news is a really well respected college newspaper.
9:01Um, so I'd really love to learn from the editors and the writing.
9:05There, uh, and be able to practice my writing for a community for an audience.
9:11Um, but be careful that not that you're not just name dropping things or people, uh, only
9:16mention a specific faculty member, for example, if their work is actually relevant to your
9:22interests, otherwise it could look disingenuous, uh, for you to say, I would like to work with
9:26this person and then just move on, you know, what is it about their work that is exciting
9:30for you and relates to your interest in the.
9:34Uh, if you're a biology major, um, you wanna work with somebody because they're groundbreaking
9:40work in CRISPR gene editing technology, uh, is really aligned with your interest in, uh,
9:47studying a particular disease process.
9:51Um, these kinds of specifics add, you know, authenticity to the work that you are putting
9:58into these essay.
10:01So to summarize what you should be doing for this essay, telling a story, um, that spans
10:07the past and the present and the future.
10:11These are my past experiences with this field that have led me to have this passion right
10:16now.
10:17And I plan to use that passion to achieve these goals in the future.
10:21And this program is going to help me do that by doing X, Y, and Z, or giving me these resources
10:28or kinds of access.
10:31That is sort of what this essay should start to shape itself into over time and over several
10:37drafts.
10:38Um, but there are a couple don'ts I want to mention just quickly, I don't wanna dwell
10:42on the don'ts.
10:44Um, But I wanna make sure that they get out there so that you are not tripped up by these,
10:50uh, common mistakes.
10:52Um, one, as I mentioned before, don't discuss the school's prestige admissions officers.
10:57Know their school is great and the.
11:00That anybody can Google specific data like rankings.
11:02Um, so saying, you know, this school has a top ranked physics program, or this is the
11:08best school for biological research on the west coast.
11:11You know, this isn't super meaningful for them.
11:13It's not very personal to you.
11:15Uh, they want to know things that you connect with about the school, why you're a good fit,
11:20uh, and not so much why it's some, this program is something to aspire.
11:25Um, similarly, you don't wanna talk about post graduation salary career goals is a good
11:31focus.
11:32You know, I want to get into medicine, uh, because it's a field that I'm passionate about.
11:38But talking about just, you know, financial gain, uh, is not great because these schools
11:45don't see them as themselves, as a stepping stone to a salary.
11:49They see themselves as preparing you for the world and preparing you for a career.
11:53Um, it's not just a rung on the ladder.
11:57It is an experience in and of itself.
11:59And talking about money often under like devalues the college experience to a reader.
12:07And as I said before, don't name drop, don't just, you know, drop professor's names in
12:11there, or courses or programs demonstrate your understanding of them.
12:15Um, if you talk about a professor, talk about their research and the certain project and
12:19why you want to be part of it.
12:21Uh, if you talk about a course or a program, demonstrate how it fits into your academic
12:25goals and your ultimate trajectory at the.
12:29These are the best ways to ensure that you're coming across as genuine, uh, passionate and
12:35excited about a particular school's offerings.