I can’t think of any other fictional characters with a significant impact so if I don’t use him I would write about one of the other prompts. Only I can’t think of anything for the other choices and when I saw the fictional character option he immediately jumped to mind.
I bet admissions committees hate when you say you were influenced by Ayn Rand. You want something either very prestigious, or very unexpected, and Atlas Shrugged is neither. You might well be better off with fanfiction, if you can sell it with a really good essay and leave yourself a little bit of ironic detachment wiggle room.
Oh, yeah. Him. I would be cringing as I wrote that. I’d be imagining myself rolling my eyes as I read piles of cookie cutter password guessing applications. Ick. But I’d force myself to write him anyway.
I wonder how much status you can get by dropping the name everyone drops. I suppose you at least wouldn’t lose points.
What’s your second choice?
I can’t think of any other fictional characters with a significant impact so if I don’t use him I would write about one of the other prompts. Only I can’t think of anything for the other choices and when I saw the fictional character option he immediately jumped to mind.
Howard Roark is usually a shoe-in for these “which fictional character” essays.
EDIT: This is in no way an endorsement of Ayn Rand. She has severe and myriad issues.
Thanks, I haven’t read any Ayn Rand but Atlas Shrugged is next in my queue. I guess I’ll swap it out for Fountainhead and see what I think.
I suspect it will be a bit dishonest to say that he had a great impact on me though if I read the book basically for the sake of the essay.
I bet admissions committees hate when you say you were influenced by Ayn Rand. You want something either very prestigious, or very unexpected, and Atlas Shrugged is neither. You might well be better off with fanfiction, if you can sell it with a really good essay and leave yourself a little bit of ironic detachment wiggle room.
Agreed, Rand is a total no-go for college admissions essays.
Who are some suitably high status inspirational folks to put on such essay.
Mind you college admissions here (Austrailia) are almost entirely based on high school exam scores so the information is completely useless to me!
This is the only inspirational thing I have ever read—the now deleted post-movie option journals of a blind man that had his vision restored and had to teach himself how to see. http://web.archive.org/web/20040401192741/http://www.senderogroup.com/mikejournal.htm#Q1%202000
That reminds me. This guy is inspiring too! Raw badass.
Richard Feynman?
Oh, yeah. Him. I would be cringing as I wrote that. I’d be imagining myself rolling my eyes as I read piles of cookie cutter password guessing applications. Ick. But I’d force myself to write him anyway.
I wonder how much status you can get by dropping the name everyone drops. I suppose you at least wouldn’t lose points.
Oh, dear. This wasn’t meant in any way as an endorsement of Ayn Rand.
Eh, admission essays are games; they must be played.