College essays are important because they allow applicants to show their personality, interests, and values, and to demonstrate how they might fit into the campus community. They can also help applicants stand out from other applicants with similar qualifications, especially at competitive schools

Students should narrow their focus and write about a specific experience, hobby or quirk that reveals something personal, like how they think, what they value or what their strengths are. Students can also write about something that illustrates an aspect of their background. These are the types of essays that typically stand out to admissions officers, experts say. What's most important, experts say, is that a college essay is thoughtful and tells a story that offers insight into who a student is as a person.

Click on any of the resources to the left to help you through this process!

STEP 1. REVIEW THE ESSAY PROMPT(S)

Take 15 or 20 minutes to simply look at the essay prompts.  Don’t worry about choosing a topic yet. At this point, just think about what you want colleges to know about you, beyond your grades and test scores. Take the time to think carefully about what you want us to know about you. Write all the things you can think of. Check out a list of possible questions to ask yourself to get started thinking about this.

STEP 2. START BRAINSTORMING

On another day, look at the prompts again. Do any of them invoke personal experiences that demonstrate a unique aspect of your personality? Your academic passions? Your ability to learn or grow from your life experiences? Or another quality you want colleges to remember? Write down everything that comes to mind.

STEP 3. TEST DRIVE A FEW TOPICS 

Spend at least a few afternoons or evenings writing about the experiences you brainstormed in Step 2. Write freely and don’t edit yourself — just get your words and ideas on paper.  When you’re finished free writing, ask yourself:

• Which topics were easy — or even fun — to write about?

• Where did you have the most to say?

• Which piece of writing seems to reveal the “real you” and your genuine voice?

Remember that your essay does not have to be about a harrowing hardship, tragic loss, or a jaw-dropping adventure. An essay about some small, even insignificant-seeming thing can be more powerful than an essay about how you’ve saved the world or overcome tragedy.

STEP 4. WRITE A (TERRIBLE) FIRST DRAFT OR TWO

Once you have selected your topic, you can start structuring your first draft. But don’t expect your first, or even third or fourth draft, to be perfect. Give yourself time to write multiple versions, and plan to walk away from your essay for at least a couple of days so you can come back to it with a fresh perspective.  

Keep in mind that you may be able to use parts of the early drafts of your essay -- writing that didn't make it into the final version  -- for supplemental essays or other parts of your application.

While reading essays submitted by other students can be helpful, reading too many might put the voices of other students in your head. Your essay should be uniquely yours. This is your opportunity to display your best writing as well as your ability to convey ideas in your own voice.

STEP 5. GET FEEDBACK FROM A TEACHER, COUNSELOR, OR OTHER PEOPLE YOU TRUST  

STEP 6. WRITE AS MANY DRAFTS AS YOU NEED TO 

Revise and get feedback until you feel confident that your essay says what you want it to say. Then have a teacher, counselor or another person you trust proofread your essay to ensure there are no grammatical or punctuation errors and that it is clear and easy to read.

1. Write about something that's important to you.

It could be an experience, a person, a book—anything that has had an impact on your life. 

2. Don't just recount—reflect! 

Anyone can write about how they won the big game or the summer they spent in Rome. When recalling these events, you need to give more than the play-by-play or itinerary. Describe what you learned from the experience and how it changed you.

3. Being funny is tough.

A student who can make an admissions officer laugh never gets lost in the shuffle. But beware. What you think is funny and what an adult working in a college thinks is funny are probably different. We caution against one-liners, limericks and anything off–color.

4. Start early and write several drafts.

Set it aside for a few days and read it again. Put yourself in the shoes of an admissions officer: Is the essay interesting? Do the ideas flow logically? Does it reveal something about the applicant? Is it written in the applicant’s own voice?

5.  No repeats.

What you write in your application essay or personal statement should not contradict any other part of your application–nor should it repeat it. This isn't the place to list your awards or discuss your grades or test scores.

6. Answer the question being asked.

Don't reuse an answer to a similar question from another application.

7. Have at least one other person edit your essay.

A teacher or college counselor is your best resource. And before you send it off, check, check again, and then triple check to make sure your essay is free of spelling or grammar errors.