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Most colleges and universities require students to write an essay as part of the application.
Most colleges and universities require students to write an essay as part of the application.
Why?
Because they want to see: a) how well you write, b) as one admissions officer puts it, “how students can wrap their brains around broadly-based questions” and c) who you are, in your own words and from your own point of view.
The essay affords your best chance to share your thoughts, insights, and opinions; to highlight your accomplishments; and to convey your maturity and outlook on life. Look at the essay, then, as an opportunity to tell the admission committee something about yourself that isn’t in the rest of your application. College essays are therefore different from those you write for English, history, or other classes. Instead of analyzing a topic or book, college essays are meant to be reflective personal statements. Some students find it hard, when applying to college, to shift gears and write about a topic that may be close to them personally. The task need not be difficult, however!
Here are a few tips gathered from admissions officers:
Here are a few tips gathered from admissions officers:
Choosing a Topic:
Choosing a Topic:
The Common Application typically releases five essay prompts each year from which applicants can choose. These are open-ended questions that almost any personal essay would address. One choice is always: “Topic of your choice.”
Whatever topic you choose, bear in mind:
No topic is inherently “right” or “wrong.” Admissions professionals want to discover something about you that they cannot learn from your transcript or test scores, so write about something that matters to you, not what you think they want to hear.
While no topics are wrong, there are wrong approaches. In general, do not report on specific experiences, but on your perception of or reaction to those experiences. For example, writing a travelogue about your summer trip to France is trite. (“The view from the Eiffel Tower was the most breathtaking thing I’ve ever seen!!!”) Instead, write about something you learned about yourself or that truly moved you while you were there. If you cannot do that, find another subject.
Some topics do need to be treated with great care or should be avoided. It is very difficult, for example, to write about personal tragedies or those that affect your community or the world. If you choose one of these subjects, be sure to focus less on the events than on how they affected you — and never focus on the negatives. Be sure to note how you’ve overcome this adversity.
Writing the Essay:
Writing the Essay:
Be yourself, and write for yourself; use your own voice. Generally, we are taught to write for a particular audience. The college essay has no audience per se except a group of strangers known as the admission committee. With no specific audience, students may compose an essay that attempts to convey an “educated” writer. This approach can result in stilted diction, posturing, and labored prose, rather than writing that reflects energy and spontaneity. If you write from the heart about a topic that is meaningful to you, your voice will come through, and, as a result, your essay will be more memorable.
Use words with which you are comfortable. Do not use a thesaurus. You do not ratiocinate or cogitate, for example. You think.
Do not try to be funny unless humor comes naturally to you and you are experienced — and good — at humorous writing.
Good writing, as one admission officer put it, is lean, progressive, imaginative, grounded in specifics, energized by apt verbs, and respectful of the reader’s intelligence. Tell your story in a way that shows, rather than merely claims, that you have learned from the experience you are describing.
Your opening sentence needs to “grab” the reader. Admissions officers read so many essays that an imaginative opening will make the admission reader want to read more.
Do not allow too many adults to become involved in the writing process. While it can be helpful to have a proofreader, it will be obvious to admission readers if someone over-edited your writing. The best essays maintain the applicant’s authentic written voice.
Often, the best college essays are about the smallest moments – an important moment with a loved one, an item in your closet, a ritual specific to you, etc. Rarely are essays that read like a laundry list of accomplishments compelling. The essay is meant to provide insight into who you are – not the activities list on your resume
Spelling, punctuation, grammar, clarity, and neatness all matter, and they can sabotage an otherwise competent and compelling essay.
Allow plenty of time to write your essay(s). Edit, re-edit, and proofread again and again! It often takes students several drafts to arrive at an essay’s specific theme or message. The more time you allow for drafting, the more polished your essay(s) will be.
Essays that Worked:
Essays that Worked:
Please see below for "Essays that Worked," a series of publications from colleges around the country. In each case, the college shares examples of essays that stood out or were memorable to the readers.
Remember, reading essays written by other people should serve as a launchpad for your process. You don't have to write the same type of essay or emulate someone else's work-these essays are here just to get your creative juices flowing.
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