I chose my university because it was the only one of 8 in the country to offer what I wanted to study and I lived in the same state. maybe the school is in a good location for you, close to home, or it has some extracurricular sport that you like. don’t just think about what majors it offers, but what else does it offer that appeals to you or your parents.

I think what they want to hear, rather than “convenience” for you, is what you think makes their school the best choice for you academically!

Extoll all the virtues of what they offer in your major, be it a leading teaching hospital, or cutting edge techniques, or world renowned professors. Maybe you think having that school’s name at the top of your diploma will open more doors for you after graduation. Then extoll their reputation (flattery will get you everywhere!). Doesn’t matter if they’re all the same, act like each school is the only one in the world you want to go to!

A beautiful campus, good location, etc. is good, but won’t get you a guaranteed spot. Don’t mention the Greek aspect. Those are actually the bane of colleges these days!

They ask this question to see who really desires a good education, and who is just going to college because they are “expected” to, or because it has the best party reputation (I lived near I.U. for over 18 years, I know all about that!).

If you angle your answers to the academic virtues of the school, they will see you are a serious student, and not a potential problem. Serious students who are only concerned with getting good grades are their bread and butter.

It doesn’t really matter if you have a major in mind, or not. If you plan to put “undecided” as your major, then talk about the opportunities they offer for the fields you are considering. They will not give you a polygraph test to determine if your answer is honest, but do your best to make it sound sincere. Also, nobody is comparing notes, so your answer can be similar on all of them.

If you have family or friends who went (or are going) to college, especially if they got into one of their top choices, ask them how they answered that question. Alway best to hear from someone who did it successfully! Good luck!

They want to see if you did any research.

Why is Cornell University a good choice for you?

Because I was an amateur astronomer since I was 11 and Cornell became famous to me as the home of Dr. Carl Sagan and I eventually learned about other very fine scientists working out of Cornell.

Why is University of Calfiornia Berkely a good choice for me?

Because I in a science and Physic Major and this was where Dr. Lawrence Livermore worked and it has a high reputation for strong acheivements in Physics.

Why is the University of Chicago a good choice for me?

Because it is affiliated with Argonne National Labs, worked on the Manhattan Project, it has a strong international reputation for producing some of the finest Medical Doctors and it’s home of the Documentary Film group.

Did you just pick the school with a dart board or did you look up the school to see what they’ve done.

Why is the University of Phoenix a good choice for me?

Because I can get my PH D in Nuclear Physics in 4 months and everywhere else takes 8 years.

1) tell the truth – not too impressive though.

2) tell them what they want to hear – a little cynical though.

Admissions is like casting a party – who do you want to invite to make it a great party. If you have 100 people in your address book and your apartment will only fit 65, how do you decide who to invite. A second issue is that 95 of the 100 are really smart, have good grades, have good standardized test scores, and were involved in high school. So how do you choose – well you typically get a variety of folks within this narrow profile. You need a few class clowns to be the life of the party, a few joke tellers, a few bar tenders, a few people who can manage rowdy people . . . . . Which one are you?

Two questions emerge from this view. Why do you want to come to this party? What do you bring to the party?

From a psycho-social perspective ‘fit’ is well researched and has to do with shared interests and activities. You know . . . “birds of a feather flock together’ . . . you will be most highly satisfied if you work/study with people who share similar interests, and satisfaction is related to persistence in both work and school settings. The secret is that this search for fit and satisfaction is actually anti diversity.

So – write about what your interests are and how that campus will fulfill them. Write about what you have done, and can do, and how that will be an asset to their campus community.

Think it through from their side and that will help you write the killer essay.

I’m in a similar situation here.

I guess the best thing to do would be to tell them what they want to hear.

Look through a prospectus of each university, and they’ll always have certain points that they pride themselves on – something that makes them stand out. For example, Cambridge’s emphasis is on teaching style – they have a supervised system – smaller groups meaning that each student receives more attention, etc. Each of those universities will have something different… you just need to find it…

To answer such a question, you really need to ask yourself why you want to apply. Know what kind of school the school is (If they are Jesuit, look to write something that you are passionate about, something that you did that really changed your outlook on life; If it is a research institution, talk about how you are curious in such and such; if it is a technical university, then look to write about how you’ve wanted to always design something, etc…) and know what you want to see out of a college. If going to big classes floats your boat, then go with that. If a small environment suits you, go with that. There are a lot of factors that you need to ask yourself before applying. This question helps sorts things out.