The Foreign Service Journal, June 2005

J U N E 2 0 0 5 / F O R E I G N S E R V I C E J O U R N A L 77 S CHOOLS S UPPLEMENT Continued on page 83 Common Application, write the essays for those colleges as soon as you have their application for the upcoming year. • Choose an impartial adult to look over your essays. Parents are — ahem — not always known for being objective, so choose a teacher, family friend or anyone whose opin- ion you trust. The rule of thumb for essays is: show, don’t tell. Small, well- written details of one experience say far more about your character than a sentence like, “I’m a really creative person.” • Compile your résumé if you haven’t already done so. This is a list of everything you’ve done that would be of interest to college admis- sions officers: your volunteer work at the hospital, your school newspaper position, your varsity letter in basket- ball and your summer waitressing job. • Ask for recommendations in the spring of junior year, not in the fall of senior year. Teachers are swamped with requests for letters of recommendation in the fall, and at that point, they’re rushed by a dead- line. Asking them early gives them time to reflect and write wonderful things about you. Also, if you’ve recently moved, teachers at your last school are more likely to remember you the earlier you contact them! (Note: Be sure to send a handwritten thank-you note to anyone who helps you with your application.) • Take SATs and appropriate SAT II subject tests. • Take advantage of home leave by scheduling college tours and interviews, although interviews aren’t always required. Says Kathy McKenna, college counselor at St. John’s International School in Brussels and a former college admissions officer: “The interview is two-sided. It is the opportunity for students to find out why they should go to a particular college. Students are often concerned with which uni- versity is going to ‘want them,’ but it is equally important for them to