Influential Person
Indicate a person, character in fiction, an historical figure, or a creative work (as in art,
music, etc.) who has had a significant influence on you, and describe that influence.
This type of question attempts to learn more about you through the forces that have shaped you.
Many students make the mistake of believing that this is an essay about a person. They go on at
length, describing the influential person in detail without making a connection between him and
themselves. The school doesn't care about your uncle, or some fictional heroine. They care about
you. What about that person made an impression on you, and how? What action did you take to
turn this impression into personal development and change?
Colleges learn a lot about your values and standards through your description of your mentors.
It's like getting to know a person by the people he chooses to hang out with. If you are skeptical,
consider the different impression you would have of the candidate who admires a dynamic,
colorful athlete compared to someone who looks up to an accomplished but soft-spoken
academic. Neither is better nor worse--just different.
There are no wrong answers here. Far more important than whom you choose, though, is how
you portray that person. In other words, do not choose someone because you think it will impress
the committee. Name-dropping is not only very obvious, it is very ineffective. Heed this one
word of caution, though: Applicants very commonly pick one of their parents. Describing your
father gives you the advantage of knowing your subject well, but it also means doing some extra
work to make your essay stand out from the crowd.