The Foreign Service Journal, June 2016

68 JUNE 2016 | THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL EDUCATION SUPPLEMENT website for answers first. Bracken also reminds students to never “apply Early Decision unless you are 100-percent certain that it is your first-choice school.” Remember, applying ED means that you’re legally bound to attend that school if you are accepted. You can only apply ED to one school, so choose wisely. If you do not have a clear preference, resist the temptation to use this tool, or you may find yourself trapped into attending a school that is not your best fit. Do’s Bracken does advocate for applying Early Action whenever possible. These applications are non-binding, and you can still give you a leg up in the numbers game. She also strongly recommends “making sure colleges know you have been on their campuses. Many schools keep a tally of the number of times you have demonstrated an interest in them.” Schedule an interview with an admissions officer or alumni volunteer (often available in your home city—even overseas) and sign up for the college’s mailing list. Bracken advises: “If you have a par- ticular major in mind, it can be incredibly helpful to make an appointment to meet with a faculty member in that depart- ment when you visit, or via Skype if you are unable to visit. Be prepared to ask questions that cannot be found in exist- ing school literature.” Writing Your Essay Don’ts Do not write a college essay that any- one else could write. Grappo warns all FS kids to “avoid writing the banal ‘I am a citizen of the world because I am a TCK’ essay.” This sort of essay says little about who you are. Think about what the college essay should accomplish: create a picture of who you are, as opposed to the empirical data (grade point average, test scores) you submit to the college. Thousands of applicants can boast of spending part of their life overseas, but far fewer can articulate what they found meaningful or moving about the experi- ence. Your college admissions office does not want to read an essay about your