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Attorney | Ex-Stanford Admission | Educator Michigan Law⚖️BC📚US Naval Academy
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Pivotalcontest.org: Pivotal's partnering with Oxford University’s Global Priorities Institute to run this contest. Anyone ages 13-19 can apply—as long as you haven’t attended university yet. Pivotal will announce the winners by the end of November. So, if you’re a senior, you can still update colleges you apply to early.
First Place: $15,000
Second Place: $7,000
Third Place: $3,000
The Questions:
1. AI: Suggest and explain one function that a national or international agency could perform to mitigate the existential risks from advanced artificial intelligence.
2. Policy: What is a policy that today’s governments can implement to greater consider the interests of future generations?
3. Ethics: Should people who care about the long-term future focus on reducing the risk of human extinction, or instead on trying to make the world go better in futures where humanity survives a long time?
Oxford Prof. Will MacAskill: “Pivotal is a prime opportunity for students to showcase their critical and creative thinking. I expect that it will help set up students on a trajectory to solve some of the world’s most pressing problems.”
Submissions due by October 10: pivotalcontest.org
#collegeadmissions #universityadvice #scholarship #financialaid #collegeessay
First Place: $15,000
Second Place: $7,000
Third Place: $3,000
The Questions:
1. AI: Suggest and explain one function that a national or international agency could perform to mitigate the existential risks from advanced artificial intelligence.
2. Policy: What is a policy that today’s governments can implement to greater consider the interests of future generations?
3. Ethics: Should people who care about the long-term future focus on reducing the risk of human extinction, or instead on trying to make the world go better in futures where humanity survives a long time?
Oxford Prof. Will MacAskill: “Pivotal is a prime opportunity for students to showcase their critical and creative thinking. I expect that it will help set up students on a trajectory to solve some of the world’s most pressing problems.”
Submissions due by October 10: pivotalcontest.org
#collegeadmissions #universityadvice #scholarship #financialaid #collegeessay
These are some of my favorite college essays lines of all time. No fancy words. No gimmicks. No long sentences. Think about that arresting first line. This student doesn’t come from wealth, but is rich in admissions currency: ideas. And then we hit that second sentence: A hot Cleaveland summer. Sometimes that’s all you need to say to convey a sense of place.
That seems like a hell of a line to use as your first sentence, right? Because the first sentence of your personal essay is you first impression. And if someone reads your opening line and finds it compelling, a cognitive bias can kick-in that makes the reader want to view the rest of your writing as compelling as well. But this author didn’t have those lines hitting lead-off. Was that the right call?
In my Writing Workshop and Masterclass, we explore essay writing in three steps:
First, we look at some successful structures for your essays—how the paragraphs can fit together. (Three Compelling Personal Essays.)
Second, we get closer look at what you can do within a paragraph to bring your writing to life (Ten Moves.)
Third, we look at what you can do in each sentence. And we study this problem: where does a beautiful line like this belong? (Ten Tactics.)
#collegeadmissions #universityadmissions #collegeessay #personalstatement
That seems like a hell of a line to use as your first sentence, right? Because the first sentence of your personal essay is you first impression. And if someone reads your opening line and finds it compelling, a cognitive bias can kick-in that makes the reader want to view the rest of your writing as compelling as well. But this author didn’t have those lines hitting lead-off. Was that the right call?
In my Writing Workshop and Masterclass, we explore essay writing in three steps:
First, we look at some successful structures for your essays—how the paragraphs can fit together. (Three Compelling Personal Essays.)
Second, we get closer look at what you can do within a paragraph to bring your writing to life (Ten Moves.)
Third, we look at what you can do in each sentence. And we study this problem: where does a beautiful line like this belong? (Ten Tactics.)
#collegeadmissions #universityadmissions #collegeessay #personalstatement
I heard Yale AOs on their podcast recently say over and over: “Reflect!” “Reveal yourself!” But not once did I hear them offer an example. How do you reveal yourself in a college application? What does it mean to reflect on an idea you care about? What does that look like?
Here’s one helpful move: Teach the reader about something specific—and ideally something novel—that you find important. But then ask yourself why you care about it. And then write that.
I’ve offered an example in the video from my Masterclass and Writing Workshop. (Link in bio.)
#collegeapps #collegeadmissions #collegeappszn #collegeessay #commonapp
Here’s one helpful move: Teach the reader about something specific—and ideally something novel—that you find important. But then ask yourself why you care about it. And then write that.
I’ve offered an example in the video from my Masterclass and Writing Workshop. (Link in bio.)
#collegeapps #collegeadmissions #collegeappszn #collegeessay #commonapp
Why do people do heroic acts? The hero I mentioned in the story is Wesley Autrey. A construction worker who was taking his two daughters (4 and 6) home before work back in 2007. Autrey’s response: “I don’t feel like I did something spectacular; I just saw someone who needed help.” “I did what I felt was right.”
The psychologist I mention is Stanford prof. emeritus Philip Zimbardo. You may know him from the Stanford Prison Experiment where he explored the opposite side of things: why do good people do bad things?
If you find these ideas interesting, consider checking out positive psychology.
You can read-up on Autrey with a Google search. Here’s a NYT piece on him from 2007:
https://www.nytimes.com/2007/01/03/nyregion/03life.html
You can learn more about Zimbardo from his 2008 Ted Talk here:
https://www.ted.com/talks/philip_zimbardo_the_psychology_of_evil?language=en
#positivepsychology #college #stanford #psychology #collegeadmissions
The psychologist I mention is Stanford prof. emeritus Philip Zimbardo. You may know him from the Stanford Prison Experiment where he explored the opposite side of things: why do good people do bad things?
If you find these ideas interesting, consider checking out positive psychology.
You can read-up on Autrey with a Google search. Here’s a NYT piece on him from 2007:
https://www.nytimes.com/2007/01/03/nyregion/03life.html
You can learn more about Zimbardo from his 2008 Ted Talk here:
https://www.ted.com/talks/philip_zimbardo_the_psychology_of_evil?language=en
#positivepsychology #college #stanford #psychology #collegeadmissions
Admission officers are like attorneys: we advocate for our students. Your mission: transform your admission reader from skeptical-judge to attorney-advocate. Here's a glimpse into how I advocated for students at Stanford during the committee process.
Looking back at my time as an admission officer through the lens of my experience as an attorney has helped me see the process in a vivid new way. And when your students apply to college, if you can give them these two perspectives--help them think like an admission reader judging them and an attorney advocating for themselves--they'll be in excellent fighting shape. And that's one reason I designed my Admissions Masterclass.
Talk: @ barcelonahighschool
#collegeadmissions #collegeapplications #stanford
Looking back at my time as an admission officer through the lens of my experience as an attorney has helped me see the process in a vivid new way. And when your students apply to college, if you can give them these two perspectives--help them think like an admission reader judging them and an attorney advocating for themselves--they'll be in excellent fighting shape. And that's one reason I designed my Admissions Masterclass.
Talk: @ barcelonahighschool
#collegeadmissions #collegeapplications #stanford
Letters of recommendation usually don't move the ball at the best colleges and universities. College admissions see so many that are standard positive.
So one way to stand out, is to think creatively about someone unusual who might write an optional letter of support.
Another reason this is smart: many of your traditional letter writers--teachers--have template-style letters because they write so many letters every year. So a letter from someone unusual is going to be different, original, and will help you stand out.
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#collegeapps #collegeadmissions #stanford #learnontiktok
So one way to stand out, is to think creatively about someone unusual who might write an optional letter of support.
Another reason this is smart: many of your traditional letter writers--teachers--have template-style letters because they write so many letters every year. So a letter from someone unusual is going to be different, original, and will help you stand out.
___
#collegeapps #collegeadmissions #stanford #learnontiktok
Overstatement suggests you're untrustworthy. Understatement suggests you're authentic. And when you're authentic, you're more likable, credible, and persuasive.
So, try to avoid overstatement. Especially when you're advocating--like in your college apps.
Don't call Stanford your "dream school" that's a "perfect" match and you've been "dying to go" ever since ... You sound like everyone else and you don't sound credible because you're talking in overstatement.
Aim for understatement. And argue with evidence, not conclusions.
From: My talk at internationalschoolofnice
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#collegeadmissions #collegeapplications #publicspeaking #stanford
So, try to avoid overstatement. Especially when you're advocating--like in your college apps.
Don't call Stanford your "dream school" that's a "perfect" match and you've been "dying to go" ever since ... You sound like everyone else and you don't sound credible because you're talking in overstatement.
Aim for understatement. And argue with evidence, not conclusions.
From: My talk at internationalschoolofnice
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#collegeadmissions #collegeapplications #publicspeaking #stanford