Module Content

How it works: Pick a skill and show how it connects to many different parts of your life. It could be a hobby (like knitting), or a more abstract skill (like finding connections between seemingly unrelated things). You might describe something common (like your problem-solving abilities) or something more uncommon (like your kombucha-making skills).

Note that here I'm talking about activities that are not typical extracurricular activities (like playing a sport or instrument). We'll discuss extracurricular activities later (in method #7).

Here are some common examples of skills/superpowers:

Here are some uncommon examples:

Note: Uncommon examples aren’t necessarily always better. I’ve seen common skills that became great essays. But note that it’s much more difficult to write an outstanding essay with a common topic, simply because you have to outshine all the other essays on that topic. Ultimately, remember: It’s less about what your topic is and more about how you execute it, or what you choose to call it. Macguyvering, for example, sounds more interesting than “solving problems.” We’ll get more into the how-to in a few minutes. First, let’s take a look at two sample essays.

Building and Problem-Solving

Since childhood, I have been an obsessive builder and problem solver. When I was 6, I spent two months digging a hole in my backyard, ruining the grass lawn, determined to make a giant koi pond after watching a show on HGTV. After watching Castaway when I was 7, I started a fire in my backyard--to my mother's horror--using bark and kindling like Tom Hanks did. I neglected chores and spent nights locked in my room drawing pictures and diagrams or learning Rubik's Cube algorithms while my mother yelled at me through the door to go to sleep. I've always been compulsive about the things I set my mind to. The satisfaction of solving problems and executing my visions is all-consuming.

But my obsessive personality has helped me solve other problems, too.

When I was 8, I taught myself how to pick locks. I always dreamed of how cool it must have been inside my brother's locked bedroom. So I didn't eat at school for two weeks and saved up enough lunch money to buy a lockpicking set from Home Depot. After I wiggled the tension wrench into the keyhole and twisted it counterclockwise, I began manipulating the tumblers in the keyhole with the pick until I heard the satisfying click of the lock and entered the room. Devouring his stash of Lemonheads was awesome, but not as gratifying as finally getting inside his room.

As the projects I tackled got bigger, I had to be more resourceful. One day in history class after reading about early American inventions, I decided to learn how to use a Spinning Jenny. When my parents unsurprisingly refused to waste $500 on an 18th century spinning wheel, I got to work visiting DIY websites to construct my own by disassembling my bike and removing the inner tube from the wheel, gathering string and nails, and cutting scrap wood. For weeks, I brushed my two cats every day until I had gathered enough fur. I washed and soaked it, carrded it with paddle brushes to align the fibers, and then spun it into yarn, which I then used to crochet a clutch purse for my grandmother on mother's day. She still uses it to this day.

In high school, my obsessive nature found a new outlet in art. Being a perfectionist, I often tore up my work in frustration at the slightest hint of imperfection. As a result, I was slowly falling behind in my art class, so I had to seek out alternate solutions to actualize the ideas I had in my head. Often times that meant using mixed media or experimenting with unconventional materials like newspaper or cardboard. Eventually I went on to win several awards, showcased my art in numerous galleries and magazines, and became President of National Art Honors Society. Taking four years of art hasn't just taught me to be creative, it's taught me that there are multiple solutions to a problem.

After high school I began to work on more difficult projects and I channeled my creativity into a different form of art: programming. I'm currently working on an individual project at the Schepens Institute at Harvard University. I'm writing a program in Matlab that can measure visual acuity and determine what prescription glasses someone would need. I ultimately plan to turn this into a smartphone app to be released to the general public.

The fact is that computer coding is in many ways similar to the talents and hobbies I enjoyed as a child--they all require finding creative ways to solve problems. While my motivation to solve these problems might have been a childlike sense of satisfaction in creating new things, I have developed a new and profound sense of purpose and desire to put my problem solving skills to better our world.

Four Qualities This Essay Demonstrates:

I believe most great essays illustrate four qualities: core values (as we've discussed), insight (in other words an illuminating answer to the question "so what"), vulnerability (it feels personal), and craft (it's well-written). Here's how this essay shows each of these:

1. Values. Note how, even though the author keeps the main themes of building and problem-solving clear in the essay, she demonstrates other values along the way too:

1. Projects in the backyard → experimentation, working with hands

2. Picking locks → commitment, humor

3. History class → resourcefulness, adaptability

4. Art-making → creativity, leadership

5. Programming internship → engineering, helping others

2. Insight. I love the line, "She still uses it to this day," which not only offers insight into the impact this gift had on the author's grandmother, but also suggests that this was a meaningful moment in the author's life. I also love the line, "Taking four years of art hasn't just taught me to be creative, it's taught me that there are multiple solutions to a problem," which is a quality that the reader will know will apply to many areas of her life besides art.

3. Vulnerability. I find this essay to be vulnerable not in that she reveals deep, dark secrets (which is just one way to be vulnerable), but in that she describes a wide range of personal details: her early lock-picking adventures to steal Lemonheads from her brother, the lengths she went to in order to create an 18th century spinning wheel, and her confession of her perfectionist tendencies. These are all details that reveal values and that didn't appear elsewhere in her application.

4. Craft. I find the author's choice of details reveal a nice level of craft, in particular: "After I wiggled the tension wrench into the keyhole and twisted it counterclockwise, I began manipulating the tumblers in the keyhole with the pick until I heard the satisfying click of the lock and entered the room. Devouring his stash of Lemonheads was awesome, but not as gratifying as finally getting inside his room." The specific, visual details draw me in while the last sentence gives me insight into her perspective and sense of humor.

Here's an example of an essay written on a more uncommon topic:

Beatboxing

I am an instrument.

My being reduced to sonic waves, my face contorts repeatedly, straining to squeeze out rapid vocal oscillations. Obscure sounds sputter through my throat as combinations of inward snare and hi-hat. After years of training in Indian classical music, beatboxing felt foreign.

My first memories of Indian classical music come from family road trips. During summer trips to Yosemite, I spent hours absorbed in the unique sounds of ragas from Indian classical music. We greeted the sunrise with surya-namaskar, 108 repetitions of the same verse honoring the Sun God. I began to appreciate the beauty in vocal expression, and in sixth grade, embarked on a formal study of Indian classical music. The lessons started with the same invocations that I had come to associate with beautiful wilderness mornings. Tranquil, clear, deep.

As a teenager, I transitioned into mainstream American music. I joined the school's a capella group, which I had admired since freshman orientation. Given my Indian classical singing, I was inclined to be the resonant voice of the tenor. I longed to relive the ragas in my tenor role. When tryouts rolled around, I thought I was a shoo-in, but my choir director had different plans. She wanted me to be the beatboxer, to unify the group and guide the singers to greater heights. She wanted me to be an instrument.

Being an instrument was harder than being a singer. It required incredible skill and discipline, as well as a concrete understanding of both vocal anatomy and yogic breathing. While I struggled initially, I refused to let down my group. I committed to mastering the mechanical intonations and buzzing sounds, uninterrupted coordination of the lips, tongue and throat. For inspiration, I looked to different cultures emblematic of the roots of rhythm. I discovered the percussive African Güiro, drew from the Cuban Clave, Puerto Rican Reggaeton and Colombian Cumbia, merging these diverse sounds into synchronous patterns. I even returned to my roots as a Punjabi, using sounds of the dholki and tabla.

My performances became a colorful melange of vocals and rhythm. I was thrilled with my progress -- until one quiet child changed my understanding of beatboxing. Every month, our acapella group taught music to the giggling fifth-graders at Bella Vista Elementary, in Oakland. There was one girl, however, who rarely looked up or sang with the rest of the group. Her name was Rachel, and she had autism. When we encouraged her, she shied away. Slowly though, as I beatboxed more and more, she began to tap her hands on her knees. The next session, she was bobbing her head from side to side. Finally, on Halloween, I saw a different Rachel. As I beatboxed, she began to make the kick drum---BOP!---and joined me in a raucous cacophony.

I then realized, words are superfluous. Creativity can transcend musical harmony. Beatboxing became more than something for my enjoyment; it was now a tool to connect with others and help them. Rachel opened my mind to the power of the human beat, taking me beyond just rhythm. In a sense, my love of beatboxing has influenced an insatiable curiosity for personal connection -- in music, language, and human expression. More than anything, being a beatboxer has humbled me. I have found joy in my supporting role, in its power to propel everyone forward.

As I prepare for college, I intend to learn with an open mind and a willingness to embrace failure. To continue to beatbox in all aspects of my life, combine fun with responsibility, and to move beyond stereotypes of situations or roles. I have come to believe that the pursuit of excellence is not a linear path of mastering skills but a commitment to explore new possibilities.

I still enjoy singing, but I am happiest as an instrument.

Four Great Qualities This Essay Shows:

1. Values. Note how each paragraph demonstrates at least one music-related example and each one connects to a value:

1. Indian classical music → family, culture

2. Mainstream American music → dedication

3. Different cultures' percussive sounds → diversity

4. Teaching Rachel beatboxing → helping others, freedom

5. Playing supporting role → humility

His final paragraph demonstrates still more values: openness, courage, fun, responsibility, and exploration.

2. Insight. He includes several nice "so what" moments, including the double meaning here: "[My choir director] wanted me to be the beatboxer, to unify the group and guide the singers to greater heights. She wanted me to be an instrument." And this admission near the end: "More than anything, being a beatboxer has humbled me. I have found joy in my supporting role, in its power to propel everyone forward." I find this insight refreshing, as students tend to emphasize their leadership.

3. Vulnerability. The excerpt above, which describes working in a supporting role, is nicely vulnerable. The author is also describing something that has deep, personal significance to him with enthusiasm, which also takes vulnerability.

4. Craft. There are so many nicely crafted moments, from the sentence, "We greeted the sunrise with surya-namaskar, 108 repetitions of the same verse honoring the Sun God," to the way the ending returns to the opening. As with other well-crafted pieces of writing, it's clear this essay has gone through several revisions.

A Mini-Exercise to Get You Started on Your "Skill/Superpower" Essay

1. Pick a skill or superpower that might work well as a topic.

How will you know? Look for topics that are elastic (meaning you can probably connect them to many different parts of yourself) and, if possible, uncommon (meaning rare, unusual, or unexpected). Of course, you can still write a great essay even if your topic is somewhat common, as the "Building and Problem-Solving" essay above demonstrates. I'll offer tips for how to stand out with a common topic in the how-to guide coming up.

If you're unsure whether your topic is a "good" one ...

2. Test your topic by connecting it to at least 5 values in two minutes.

If you can do this, it might be a good one. If you can't, maybe try another one. You can use the Values List for this.

Once you've found a potential topic ...

3. Brainstorm 4-7 examples.

For the "Beatboxing" essay, the outline might look something like this:

• First memories of Indian classical music

• Transition to mainstream American music + joining a capella

• Learning other musical traditions

• Teaching Rachel beatboxing

• Playing supporting role

Why 4-7? Your final draft may only end up being 500-650 words, which is usually enough space to dive into just 3-5 examples, so I'd recommend generating more examples than you'll need so you can see which ones work best. Then keep the best and cut the rest.

4. Connect each example to a different value.

This will help you create a simple outline. Note how each paragraph of the "Beatboxing" essay illustrates different values:

• First memories of Indian classical music → family, culture

• Transition to mainstream American music + joining a capella → dedication

• Learning other musical traditions: diversity

• Teaching Rachel beatboxing: helping others, freedom

• Playing supporting role: humility

Could you potentially brainstorm the values first, then find the examples? Absolutely.

Whichever way you go, keep things simple right now. Check out the Values List for inspiration.

Time to start.