Hi Stacy,

I'm curious. What do you think goes through the heads of members of the admissions committee when they read the essays?

Obviously, they read plenty of essays, maybe several a day. It has to become routine after a while. Is there any hope of really standing out with a compelling essay? One that would make the reader say to himself: "I have to meet this person"?

I guess I'm asking - is there any point in actually trying to make them like you, or should you just focus on answering the question and on listing as many impressive achievements as you can?

I know word count is crucial, but do you think I should waste some words on "color" and "mood"?

When I read a book I always measure it by how much I would have liked to meet the hero, or how much I would have liked to see a sequel. Is there any hope of duplicating that with the admissions committee of are they so tired of reading applications that they won't notice?

Thanks!
Gil