Hello,
I'm working on the supplement essay for the ILR school at Cornell. Cornell is a pretty big reach for me so the essay needs to be good. The prompt is as follows:
Describe your intellectual interests, their evolution, and what makes them exciting to you. In your essay please address how the ILR curriculum will help you fulfill these interests and your long-term goals.
Here is my essay:
I'm not quite sure why politics and government is one of my prime interests. It certainly isn't one of the more common ones for a teenager, yet for some reason it seems to be a crucial part of who I am. Perhaps it is the ability to institute sweeping reforms that create the "more perfect union" that we seek that interests me. Or it might be the non-stop, hustle and bustle atmosphere that can be found in the halls of any legislature. Whatever it is, my interest certainly hasn't waned through the years. I've been on the mailing lists for various political action groups since I was twelve, and before I started working after school it wasn't an uncommon sight to see me sitting in front of the TV watching CNN's The Situation Room all afternoon, or on Sundays, State of the Union. During the 2006 midterm elections, I made a plethora of phone calls for a political action group, calling on behalf of candidates all over the country. In 2008 I worked as a Field Organizer for my congressional candidates, helping to secure a big political victory.
Despite my strong interest in government, it isn't the only thing that defines me. While a Political Science major is certainly one I'm considering, I really don't know what I want. I've thought about Pre-Law and going on to study Constitutional Law, or maybe Psychology or Anthropology, two other areas of study that fascinate me. Or perhaps something completely unrelated. I've found my AP Statistics class very interesting, and haven't quite ruled that out as a possible area of study. Or maybe I'd find a career in Corporate America is what suits me best?
What could I possibly do, short of pursuing seven different majors all at once, that could satisfy my pursuit of knowledge? My mother, a Cornell alum, suggested the ILR school. However, her being my mother and me being a teenager, I brushed it aside. I didn't forget about it though, and one day I decided to look into it further. Reading through the curriculum and mission of the ILR program, I thought to myself, "Hey, this is perfect!" It blends together everything that interests me into a unique program that will certainly enable me to seek a career in almost any field that interests me, rather than taking a run-of-the-mill nine-to-five job to pay the bills. The ILR schools is everything I'm looking for in a college education; a unique, personalized program focused on a strong, versatile foundation compounded by studies in any other interest that I have. I can't think of anything else that is more perfect for me than the ILR school.
Any comments would be greatly appreciated!
I'm working on the supplement essay for the ILR school at Cornell. Cornell is a pretty big reach for me so the essay needs to be good. The prompt is as follows:
Describe your intellectual interests, their evolution, and what makes them exciting to you. In your essay please address how the ILR curriculum will help you fulfill these interests and your long-term goals.
Here is my essay:
I'm not quite sure why politics and government is one of my prime interests. It certainly isn't one of the more common ones for a teenager, yet for some reason it seems to be a crucial part of who I am. Perhaps it is the ability to institute sweeping reforms that create the "more perfect union" that we seek that interests me. Or it might be the non-stop, hustle and bustle atmosphere that can be found in the halls of any legislature. Whatever it is, my interest certainly hasn't waned through the years. I've been on the mailing lists for various political action groups since I was twelve, and before I started working after school it wasn't an uncommon sight to see me sitting in front of the TV watching CNN's The Situation Room all afternoon, or on Sundays, State of the Union. During the 2006 midterm elections, I made a plethora of phone calls for a political action group, calling on behalf of candidates all over the country. In 2008 I worked as a Field Organizer for my congressional candidates, helping to secure a big political victory.
Despite my strong interest in government, it isn't the only thing that defines me. While a Political Science major is certainly one I'm considering, I really don't know what I want. I've thought about Pre-Law and going on to study Constitutional Law, or maybe Psychology or Anthropology, two other areas of study that fascinate me. Or perhaps something completely unrelated. I've found my AP Statistics class very interesting, and haven't quite ruled that out as a possible area of study. Or maybe I'd find a career in Corporate America is what suits me best?
What could I possibly do, short of pursuing seven different majors all at once, that could satisfy my pursuit of knowledge? My mother, a Cornell alum, suggested the ILR school. However, her being my mother and me being a teenager, I brushed it aside. I didn't forget about it though, and one day I decided to look into it further. Reading through the curriculum and mission of the ILR program, I thought to myself, "Hey, this is perfect!" It blends together everything that interests me into a unique program that will certainly enable me to seek a career in almost any field that interests me, rather than taking a run-of-the-mill nine-to-five job to pay the bills. The ILR schools is everything I'm looking for in a college education; a unique, personalized program focused on a strong, versatile foundation compounded by studies in any other interest that I have. I can't think of anything else that is more perfect for me than the ILR school.
Any comments would be greatly appreciated!