School Target College Essay:  Samples

Fordham University

Born and raised in Los Angeles, all I knew about Fordham University was that it has a good academic program. However, following my recent visit to the campus, I am now certain that Fordham is the perfect school for me.

During my senior year of high school, I could not decide which college I wanted to attend. Since I placed so much importance on my college education, I did not want to just pick any school and live there for four years of my life; instead, I enrolled in a two-year school. Hoping to gauge my interests and the type of academic and social environment I sought, my two-year school made it possible for me to refine my options and to consider four-year schools that I could not only excel in, but could also enjoy.

While at the two-year school, I decided that I would like to be educated in New York City. Always intrigued by the diversity and opportunities in New York, I was also attracted by New York’ s reputation for excellent theatre. As an aspiring theatre producer, I decided New York would be an ideal setting for me. During my first round of searching, I thought I would be happiest at NYU; however, after repeated visits, I grew concerned about the size of the school and whether or not I could adjust to living in the city. Then I came across Fordham University. After extensively researching the school to determine if it would fit my needs, I began to be convinced that the school would be perfect for me. With small classes, individual attention, and being just minutes from Manhattan, it seemed to have everything I was looking for plus that small-school flair.

This past October my parents and I had the opportunity to visit Fordham. While I was leaning towards applying to Fordham anyway, the visit would be the crucial determinant of which school would be my first choice. After touring the campus and talking with admission counselors, I became even more excited about the school. I easily imagined myself fitting in on such a beautiful, picturesque campus. After listening to the admission counselors describe the school’ s small classes, I knew Fordham would allow me to fully realize my potential and would be a fantastic learning environment. Also being so close to Manhattan, I could still explore theatre and other cultural opportunities.

Fordham is a small school with as many if not more opportunities than a big school. Given my personality and goals, I believe Fordham can prepare me for the future better than any other school.

Fairleigh Dickinson University

Shakespeare once said, "We know what we are, but know not what we may be." While I do not know what my future holds or how I will spend the bulk of my adult life, I know that only education will give me the opportunity to detect my interests and enrich my soul. I believe Fairleigh Dickinson University will provide me with the perfect atmosphere for bettering my life and my creative abilities.

One of the most important factors that I look for in a college is a low student-to-teacher ratio and an accessible faculty willing to work with students. I believe faculty accessibility plays a key role in helping to inspire students to be passionate about their fields of study and in preventing them from growing discouraged from the work load or from difficult problems. At Fontbonne Hall Academy in Brooklyn, New York, I enjoyed friendly teachers and individualized attention, and I believe this attention contributed to making my grades as high as they are. My brother, Charles Ciccotto currently attends F.D.U., and his experiences with his classes and professors have been exceptional. I feel that I would also benefit from the eagerness of the teachers to help the students.

I also look for a breadth of program offerings in a potential college. Since I am not completely certain what field I will pursue, I need a college with a wide array of majors, but most of all, I need a college with excellent departments in the areas I am seriously considering majoring in. I am very interested in psychology, and for the next three months, I will be volunteering at the Dylan Child Study Center in Brooklyn, New York. There, I will be able to learn and gain a better understanding of what the job of a child psychologist entails. From this experience, I hope to gauge my interests in psychology. Since I have dreamt of becoming a psychologist since childhood, I am optimistic that I will major in psychology at F.D.U.. After asking many questions pertaining to the reputation and excellence of the psychology program at a recent F.D.U. open house, I found that the school has a strong psychology program and would provide me with an excellent background with which to pursue a further degree.

In addition to my interests in psychology, I will bring my background in swimming to F.D.U.. For as long as I can remember, swimming has been a big part of my life, and I have been swimming competitively for over eight years. I plan to continue swimming during my college years. When I toured F.D.U.'s new sports complex, I was thoroughly impressed by the magnificent Olympic-sized pool. After speaking with the swim coach, I was invited to watch a swimming practice and meet, and I stayed overnight with several of the girls on the team. Warm and friendly, the other girls made me feel truly welcome and encouraged me to become a part of the F.D.U. family.

After my visit, I realized I began to frame my college search with F.D.U.’ s attributes. I want a college with a friendly "family like" environment that will provide me with not only a good education, but that will also build my future and provide me a friendly home away from home where I can grow as a person. I have researched many colleges and universities and when compared with my personalities and my goals, I find Fairleigh Dickinson University to be the best choice for me. I hope you will seriously consider my application and what I have to offer the F.D.U. community.