Essay(申请文书)要展现你的“个性化”，文书本身也要具有“个性化”。这一点是我在课上和讲座中经常强调的。一个被耶鲁大学录取的同学的两篇文书为例，第一篇文书关于“我是如何有流汗问题的”，第二篇是写“她在为学校的校报写她的一个熟悉人的讣告的情感伤痛”。第二篇文章在展示他的“serious”严肃认真的“个性化”，第一篇做到了内容本身“个性化”，内容看似有点“傻”，但是做到了与众不同。
申请的 personal essay文书准备要趁早，很多成绩优秀的同学申请是败在了“文书”上，很多“文书”的失败是败在“rush”上，就是很赶！”rushe ”essay是不会有质量的，强烈建议今年申请的同学要提前准备自己的文书，今年“Common Application”的题目如下，今年二月份就已经放出，之前博文有过关于这几个题目的分析。
&lquo;Some stuents have a backgroun or story that is so central to their ientity that they believe their application woul be incomplete without it. If this souns like you, then please share your story.&rquo;
&lquo;Recount an incient or time when you experience failure. How i it affect you, an what lessons i you learn?&rquo;
&lquo;Reflect on a time when you challenge a belief or iea. What prompte you to act? Woul you make the same ecision again?&rquo;
&lquo;Describe a place or environment where you are perfectly content. What o you o or experience there, an why is it meaningful to you?&rquo;
&lquo;Discuss an accomplishment or event, formal or informal, that marke your transition from chilhoo to aulthoo within your culture, community, or family.&rquo;
