June 2, 2000

Holden Caulfield, C'est Moi

By RACHEL TOOR

I work in the admissions office of a highly selective private university. In the past few months, I've read about 1,200 applications from eager and hopeful prospective students. Now that the admissions cycle is coming to a close, I have a little time to think about what I've been reading.

Most colleges ask kids to write some sort of personal statement -- a few pages, double-spaced, explaining themselves. It's a daunting task (try it, you'll see). Not