College Admssion Essays: Defining Others' Influence

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I’ve always wanted to answer one particular college application question. Unfortunately, no one asked that question when I was writing my admission essays (not long enough ago to qualify for a slab of rock and a chisel, but close). Here goes:

If you could have dinner with any figure, living or dead, who would it be and why?

My answer? The nineteenth-century British writer Jane Austen, hands down. She was capable of perceptive social criticism — actually, complete snottiness — but she also had good manners and common sense. How wonderful to sit in her dining room (still in existence in the village of Chawton, England) for a meal and a chance to shred the character of everyone in the neighborhood! The only drawback would be the certain knowledge that I was providing her with an opportunity to mock me.

You may not get the “ideal dinner companion” question either, but chances are at least one of your applications will ask about the people who have influenced you. In this chapter I tell you all the secrets of essay questions about others — which, like all admission essays, are really about the star of the show, you.

Defining Others' Influence:

Many applications, including the widely accepted common application, inquire in one way or another about a person who has had a significant influence on your life. Some want you to stay within the bounds of reality:

• Who speaks for your generation? What is he or she saying?
• What woman in your family do you most admire?
• Discuss how one particular teacher influenced your development.
• Describe a situation in which you had to work with a person who is different from yourself.

Other questions allow you to step into the realm of fantasy:

• Which person (alive or dead) would you like to interview and why?
• If you could work for a year with a non-political person who is not personally known to you, whom would you select? Why?
• If you could be anyone else for a day — a living, historical, or fictional figure — who would it be? Explain your reasons.

Before answering any of the “person who influenced you” questions, spend a few minutes thinking about the “significant others” in your life. The Personal Inventory in the appendix is a good place to start, but you may also garner some candidates from a review of the family photo albums or, in the case of historical or literary figures, from a trip to the library or a session on the Internet. When you have some possible subjects, answer these questions about each one. (If the question addresses a real person, stick to the facts. If the question allows you to daydream, send your imagination into the arena.)

• When and how did you first become aware of this person?
• What qualities or accomplishments do you associate with him or her?
• What would your life be like without the presence of this person? This last exercise in subtraction should give you a good definition of what this person has added to your life.
• List several significant occasions with him or her — times when you interacted in a special way. How did you feel during these interactions? What did you learn?
• List some normal activities that you shared with this person. How did you feel during these interactions? What did you learn?

By the time you’ve finished “auditioning” several possible subjects, someone should emerge as a nifty topic. As you make the final selection, follow one key principle:

The essay is not really about Mr. or Ms. X; it’s about you in relation to Mr. or Ms. X.

Remember: You’re looking for a subject that gives you ample room for discussion of your character, development, or values. After you’ve chosen your subject, the hard part is over. Now all you have to do is write the essay!