sweetnsimple786

Why is P&P so high on people's lists? I recently read it, and Austen's much wittier than I would have thought, but I definitely wonder what people see in the novel. Care to enlighten me?

I agree that it doesn't hurt to make your title more specific. I haven't read this work, so I don't know if you can go broader than that one aspect, but to answer your question, yes, that sounds like a formal essay to me. Just make a 1/2 to 1 page informal outline and run it by your teacher to be on the safe side.

When I think of commentary, I think of an essay based on a key passage of the text. The essay mostly sticks to what's in that particular passage. A formal essay, though, pulls analysis from the whole text. It's the type of essay I wrote before IB essays. Just a normal essay that can be about anything. Not sure how clearly I described that, but the way I see it, if you want to write an essay on the author's use of X to do Y in a text, it's probably a formal essay. I never had much practice with commentaries (except for the IOC, I suppose) so I considered analyzing a poignant passage to do a key passage analysis, where the passage is connected to the rest of the text. I also considered doing a formal essay just because it was a normal essay. Does that answer your question?

Hey - check this post out. So 2a is a comparative essay on two works. 2c is a formal essay, key passage commentary, key passage analysis, or something else that shows a detailed study based on one work.
So the difference between 2a and 2c seems to be the number of works you want to deal with. And it can't be any work you've studied for either option. Ask your teacher which of the works are eligible for 2a and which are eligible for 2c.

miamonique, on Jul 20, 2011 - 13:53, said:

I can't tell you what is "enough." An admissions officer who was assigned to read international students' applications last year said that she had to look at how students set themselves apart. I think she said that good grades, talent and hard work at a piano or another musical instrument was common. The things that parents made their children strive to do well in just made their applications look similar to the other applications, so it came to how a student could convey his or her interests and dedication differently. I can't tell you if what you're doing is enough. When I was applying, I felt I needed a lot of things on my resume. Like competitions and clubs and sports. Not being under that pressure right now, I can see how insecure I was about not having one thing I was spectacular at. That's why I did a lot of things. I don't think it's necessary to do many things. If you can bring out your passion for this environmental organization and your hopes its fundamental ideas, I think that's grand. Whatever you do, it's up to you to take it to a level that you're happy with. With basketball, what do you get out of the sport? Does it come easy to you to a certain extent? How do you balance being a team player and adding to the team your own strengths? Do what you're interested in, balance your time, explore if you can. And don't let the outcome of a college application make you regret what you did or did not do in your time now.

jmw, on Jul 24, 2011 - 11:30, said:

Detailed overview? heh
So from the people I've talked to, it seems most of the people who get in aren't sure why. I'm one of those people. If I submitted the same application this year, I wouldn't be surprised if the outcome was different. So what I did is not something you can make a checklist out of. But here's the highlights as I recall:
I participated in math team for several years. I wasn't the best, so I wasn't particularly competitive. I enjoyed the team aspects and personal satisfaction from competing.
I started Spanish Club and learned a lot about how difficult it is to get everyone on the same page. It gave me a chance to develop organizational skills.
I also volunteered at my mosque and around town a lot. I did some student council vice pres and presidential things that grouped together faith, leadership, and a sense of community in my life. One of the latter things that influenced me was learning about the efforts of a mental health group that I helped with for my senior year. There were things that I did longer that didn't have as much of an impact, like playing some sports and starting another club. Looking back it didn't matter as much in terms of personal growth.
As far as academics, I didn't really have any stellar IB grades to give to colleges. I had a few 5s in AP courses. I was taking the most rigorous classes I could, and I got a combined 2190 in SAT1. Not mind-blowingly high. I don't know how to feel about SAT scores, really. On the one hand, it's a good score. On the other hand, I don't try to say that I did a great job like people who got 2300s. For SATII I took chem, physics and math 2 and got from 730 to 790. GPA wise, I was ranked first in my class. But rank and scores don't determine much after you pass the threshold.

As for chances.. it sounds like you'll pass the threshold. Your essays and recommendations will give the admissions team an idea of who you are beyond scores. Don't underestimate yourself as a person. It's a good way to keep your expectations low so you don't get hurt, I've found, but you should also be able to recognize that you've got a limited amount of time and you're spending it in ways that you enjoy (I hope) and ways that will be beneficial to your future. Even though your chances as an international student are more difficult than chances of a domestic student, don't tell yourself you have to get a 45. Or a 44, etc. From the bottom of my heart I want to assure you it's not about perfection. Potential, ambition, IB values, some unique background that you possess to enhance the entire class.