The Foreign Service Journal, June 2016

70 JUNE 2016 | THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL EDUCATION SUPPLEMENT understanding of geopolitical power struggles; they want to know about you. In the same vein, Grappo cautions against allowing parents to overedit your essay: “Nothing is a bigger turnoff than reading an essay that has lost its 17-year- old voice and sounds like a middle-aged parent.” Do’s Write about a subject you are pas- sionate about, a topic that can best high- light your writing abilities and personal- ity. Ultimately, your essay will be judged on what you can reveal about yourself and how you articulate it. “A good story is a great way to be remembered and shows the significance of having lived abroad,” Grappo reminds students. “I tell students not to focus so much on the ‘what’ of what happened but more on the ‘why’ it’s significant.” Answer the question or prompt given to you instead of what you wished they had asked. Usually schools try to keep the questions open to allow students to focus on what is important to them; remember to relate your essay back to the original prompt. Both Bracken and Grappo remind you to start your college essays early. You will likely be writing more than one, and the drafting process is crucial to submitting the best essay possible. Improving Your Odds Don’ts Don’t assume that coming from a world-renowned high school will guar- antee you a spot in an Ivy League univer- sity, even if you present an application with great extracurricular activities, high test scores and a strong grade point aver- age. The odds will always be against you when applying to an exclusive school. Bracken also cautions against relying on ratings like those compiled by U.S. News & World Report to select colleges. The factors that go into ranking colleges, such as acceptance rates, might not be relevant to the quality of the education you will receive. Do’s Bracken urges students to consider admission statistics relative to their geography when determining how likely