PROMPT: The Mason IDEA represents our unique institutional characteristics and captures the strength of who we are as a university. Four of Mason's most distinct characteristics comprise the Mason IDEA: innovation, diversity, entrepreneurship, and accessibility. Select one or more of the four components of the Mason IDEA and write about how you exemplify that characteristic.
My life can be summed up into just 4 words; Then. We. Moved. Too.
Diversity is my middle name. I belong to a unique group of cross-cultural kids; kids who have been raised outside of their parent's home culture for a significant portion of their lives. My upbringing consists of Asian, Middle Eastern, European, and African values, attitudes, and beliefs. Through traveling, I have witnessed a variety of cultures, values, and attitudes people worldwide hold. Most importantly, I have learned that they are in fact different and unique worldwide.
I have a love-hate relationship with the question "Where are you from?". I believe there is more than one reasonable answer to this question. The obvious answer would be my parent's birth culture, Sudan. However, there are times where I claim to be from Pakistan, Georgia, even from Cambodia. This is largely due to not spending a significant portion of my life in my home country Sudan.
I am fortunate enough to live a high mobility lifestyle thanks to my mom's high status job in the United Nations. [...]
My life can be summed up into just 4 words; Then. We. Moved. Too.
The first paragraph is eye-catching, but the separation of the four words kind of throws me off. I'm assuming that you're referring to the amount of times you've moved. Maybe elaborate a little?
[...] Most importantly, I have learned that they are in fact different and unique worldwide .
I would suggest removing the "in fact" portion, and maybe replacing "worldwide" with "in each country and culture", just because you already used the word.
[...]
I am fortunate enough to live a high mobility lifestyle thanks to my mom's high status job in the United Nations. Through all the tough years of moving due to security issues , I am able to flow in and out of countries and cultures with ease. Because of how I've grown up as a worldly child, I almost never feel out of place wherever I am. However, out of my current home here in Amman, Jordan; I will always and forever feel most at home in Sudan.
I am no stranger in being physically different from people around me. This is a major aspect of my identity. I have a significantly different perspective on the world than many of my peers - due to being raised in a genuinely cross-cultural world. In addition, there is something enriching about growing up in and among different cultures that creates a very touching and emotional experience.
Elaborate on the security issues? What made the years tough for you? If there isn't a word limit, go into detail about the different cultures you've experienced. Maybe rephrase the second part so it highlights your confidence in each country/culture. Explain why you feel most at home in Sudan. Remove the words "in addition", and explain how having an insight to multiple cultures creates an emotional experience.
Crossing cultures allows me to gain interpersonal and intercultural skills along with being extremely adaptive. Race, color, and gender are unimportant. Language and religion barriers are broken. I am essentially a chameleon, successfully camouflaging into new environments by adopting new attitudes, behaviors, and values.
Remove the word essentially, and change "successfully camouflaging into" with "adapting to". Add to the conclusion, something that wraps the whole essay up.
I hope I helped!
Can I use this essay for these specific college prompts?
common app prompt: Some students have a background or story that is so central to their identity that they believe their application would be incomplete without it. If this sounds like you, then please share your story.
george mason prompt: The Mason IDEA represents our unique institutional characteristics and captures the strength of who we are as a university. Four of Mason's most distinct characteristics comprise the Mason IDEA: innovation, diversity, entrepreneurship, and accessibility. Select one or more of the four components of the Mason IDEA and write about how you exemplify that characteristic. (i picked diversity)
penn state prompt: Please tell us something about yourself, your experiences, or activities that you believe would reflect positively on your ability to succeed at Penn State. This is your opportunity to tell us something about yourself that is not already reflected in your application or academic records.
georgetown prompt: As Georgetown is a diverse community, the Admissions Committee would like to know more about you in your own words. Please submit a brief essay, either personal or creative, which you feel best describes you.
university of maryland at college park prompt: Terps are diverse. They bring intellectual, social and cultural differences to our community. Describe the different parts of you which will contribute to our diverse campus community.
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My life can be summed up into just 4 words; Then. I. Moved. Too.
...I was in Phnom Penh, Cambodia for 4 years, then I moved to Islamabad, Pakistan. Sadly, I was evacuated to Doha, Qatar after encountering security issues. From there, I moved to Tbilisi, Georgia and stayed another 2 years and a half and now I am here in Amman, Jordan...
Diversity is my middle name. I belong to a unique group of cross-cultural kids; kids who have been raised outside of their parent's home culture for a significant portion of their lives. My upbringing consists of Asian, Middle Eastern, European, and African values, attitudes, and beliefs. Through traveling, I have witnessed a variety of cultures, values, and attitudes people worldwide hold. Most importantly, I have learned that they are different and unique in each country and culture.
[...]
My upbringing consists of Asian, Middle Eastern, European, and African values, attitudes, and beliefs . Through traveling, I have witnessed a variety of cultures, values, and attitudes people worldwide hold.
repetition
thank you.
do you think i could use this essay for each of the prompts? i really think that they all have a common idea.
Rima, you can use the same essay as a basis for the prompts of the other universities. It is important to always tailor your essays towards the specific requirements of the university. Do not be fooled, admissions officers know a generic prompt when they see one and they will ding you for it. So the best thing that you can do in this case is to analyze which parts of your generic essay you can use to beef up your original essay for the university. You will save yourself time by doing that and you will also be able to better prepare the essays since the topics have already been pre-chosen by you.
Even though the essay prompts seem similar to one another, there are significant differences in the content based upon what you know of the school and its expectations of their future students. So preparing a generic prompt is a shortcut to getting kicked out of consideration for admission. I know that it is hard to keep coming up with original essays but when you have the right guidance and assistance, such as this fantastic support group here, you will find that the task of refreshing your essays will be much easier than you thought :-) Remember I suggest that you use the generic essay as a baseline for developing fresh sounding essays for each university :-)