What are the unique qualities of Northwestern - and of the specific undergraduate school to which you are applying - that make you want to attend the University? In what ways do you hope to take advantage of the qualities you have identified?
Thank you all in advance!
To me, Northwestern is a school of contradictions. Its big, no doubt, but the community feels personal. It is located in one of the busiest cities in the world, but manages to create a true campus feeling. The professors are top tier researchers and academics, but teach 97% of courses in the Weinberg College of Arts and Sciences. The opportunities are immense, with adjunct majors and internships abounding, but one never feels overwhelmed, due to the personal advisement that every student receives.
I plan to use these contradictions to my utmost advantage if I have the opportunity to attend Northwestern. I will throw my normally shy self into the community with verve I could never muster in high school. I will use the myriad opportunities Chicago presents to my advantage. I will immerse myself in the culture that Chicago has to offer. I will take on the adjunct major of International Relations, and together with a major in Economics, set off to conquer the link between economics and successful diplomacy.
All of these opportunities are specific to Northwestern; not only in their explicit qualities, such as the opportunity to be in the heart of the city that has defined modern economics for 30+ years, but also in their implicit ones. Many colleges claim to offer an engaging faculty, but too often these faculty members scuttle off to their offices, and leave TA's to do their dirty work. This disconnect between the learners and the learned permeates all aspects of college life at these universities. From many visits and testimony of friends that currently attend, this could not be farther from the truth at Northwestern. Faculty are engaging, brilliant people of all backgrounds and creeds, coming together to nurture the scared, nervous teenager that enters Northwestern's doors each year. Personal advisors are on hand to guide that same neurotic teen through the more than 2,000 courses offered at Weinberg, and the world just outside of campus is profoundly welcoming to the intellectually sophisticated, cultured, interesting, and downright brilliant adults that emerge from Northwestern after four years. Chicago welcomes them to their restaurants, opera halls, internships, and job positions at some of the worlds most prestigious institutions. Graduate schools welcome them with open arms. I would be proud to paint myself purple and to, one day, count myself among these scholars who emerge, blinking into the light, into a world they are able to view in ways they couldn't fathom before they walked through Northwestern's contradictory doors.
The opportunities are immense, with adjunct majors and internships abounding, but one never feels overwhelmed, due to the personal advisement that every student receives.
When you end the first paragraph, you should say something more specific and more powerful, something about the main idea of your essay or the most important idea to you.
This is a little too much like a brochure at the start. Try to shorten those sentences about the city and the school size, etc, and just mention them very briefly. Think of a contradiction associated with your major, and then write a profound thesis statement about the significance of contradiction in your chosen field.
This will be more impressive if you talk less about the size and location and more about professors, articles and research projects associated with the school, contributions made by students and faculty to econ. and pol sci. Know what I mean? Focus on the school as a portal into your chosen field, and write this essay accordingly. Instead of mentioning high school, mention the work you would like to do 5 years from now.
