IntheSarlaccsbelly

I have a particular loathing for "as a smile crept across my face." But mostly because it reminds me of a creepy Herman Cain ad. http://gifrific.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/herman-cain-smile.gif

Seriously, guys. Let's do this. http://i.imgur.com/84UDoDy.jpg

Favorite essay of all time: an essay from Lexington, KY about the difference between mechanical pencils and regular pencils. She wrote that "using a mechanical pencil is like bringing a laser gun into a sword fight; you will win, but without grace and without elegance." I remember reading that line, in particular, and thinking, "who the hell thinks like that?"

What was great about the essay was how she took this really small thing she noticed and used it as a way to frame the tension in art, architecture, and GUIs between form and function. It was smart yet playful, and clearly something she cared a lot about.

The best essays tend to feature one (or more) of three things prominently:

• How you see yourself
• How you see ideas
• How you see the world

Gratuitous use of ethnic slurs? Nudity?

I'm going to do my best to avoid cliches here, but the truth is that it's REALLY rare when someone actually facepalms in an application. I think I can count on one hand the number of truly derpy applications I've read. Most of the time, it's a battle of academically qualified students who are generally good people and some of whom figure out better than others how to present themselves in a way that shows off the ideas they enjoy thinking about in the world.

But, having said that, I have read an essay about the first time a gal had unprotected sex. And another about why a guy (this one was a transfer applicant) did NOT need to register as a sex offender in Massachusetts.

I strongly suspect that's a practice at many schools. Somewhat ironically, we don't do that at Tufts.