UF Application Essay
3885 characters 400-500 words
In the space provided, please write a concise narrative in which you describe a meaningful event, experience or accomplishment in your life and how it will affect your college experience or your contribution to the UF campus community. You may want to reflect on your ideas about student responsibility, academic integrity, campus citizenship or a call to service.
As a student in the International Baccalaureate Program, I have experienced the hardships of balancing work and play in addition to many extracurricular activities. As a freshman entering high school, I was still in the mindset of school being effortless. I guess that is why I wanted to be a part of the IB program. I wanted to surround myself with people who care about their futures and strive towards greatness. I have to say that the transition was not easy for me. During the first semester of my freshman year, I suffered greatly due to my weak foundation and I have my grades to prove it.
I realized that this was what the real world was like. My father always told me, "There is no free lunch; everyone has to work to deserve greatness." I never realized the significance of that statement until I entered the IB program. I realized that these "A's" were not going to be handed to me like they were in middle school. I had to work hard to achieve them.
Being in the IB program truly helped me create a strong foundation for college and beyond. Though I struggled in the beginning, I have shown a large improvement in grades and organization since my freshman years. With the guidance of my devoted teachers, I have been able to "step out of the box" and learn more about what is happening from an international perspective. I learned that life is not limited to what is happening in Tampa, or Florida, or even the United States. My IB classes helped me learn how each subject can be applied globally.
In addition to the large workload IB provides, I also participated in many extracurricular activities, each of which contributed to the growth of my responsibilities. In my junior year, I ran for the position of Corresponding Secretary to be an officer of NHS. After my win, I took on the responsibility of recording all the different events that will take place and conveying the information to all the members. In addition, I worked collaboratively with 11 other officers to organize inductions for incoming juniors which is actually much harder than it sounds. As a result, it gave me insight into just how much responsibility my colleagues and I had to lead hundreds of students.
My IB career has definitely changed my perspective on my responsibilities as a student and a leader in my school. Through the IB program, I have set up a foundation that will last a lifetime. The massive workload that IB requires has helped prepare me for college and my extracurricular activities have helped me to develop the leadership role that I will need to succeed in college and life.
I think this is a well written essay. I felt like I knew a little more about you as a person in the context of you studies. Like you, I did not write about a major life experience.
My main recommendation is to eliminate the following section. This information should be included in your short answer section and I feel it detracts from the overall idea of your essay.
Also, it would be GREAT if you could give me some critiquing. It is the thread titled "My Life as a Quadratic Equation". Thank you.
In addition to the large workload IB provides, I also participated in many extracurricular activities, each of which contributed to the growth of my responsibilities. In my junior year, I ran for the position of Corresponding Secretary to be an officer of NHS. After my win, I took on the responsibility of recording all the different events that will take place and conveying the information to all the members. In addition, I worked collaboratively with 11 other officers to organize inductions for incoming juniors which is actually much harder than it sounds. As a result, it gave me insight into just how much responsibility my colleagues and I had to lead hundreds of students.
