Writing a Successful Personal Statement / College Essay

Reading the Sheer Volume of Essays 21,000 applications. 14 or 15K have high grade points and strong testing (aka, they could do the work) 20 readers. Reading 25 applications a day/ 6 days a week. 50 essays/day- 300 essays/ week. What separates students out in this incredibly strong applicant pool? Personality and Resonance - from extracurricular activities, recommendations, interviews and.. essays

Common Application Personal Essay “This personal statement helps us become acquainted with you in ways different from courses, grades, test scores, and other objective data. It will demonstrate your ability to organize thoughts and express yourself. We are looking for an essay that will help us know you better as a person and as a student. Please write an essay ( words) on a topic of your choice or on one of the options listed below.”

EXAMPLE ESSAY QUESTIONS –The "you" questions. "Tell us about yourself".The "you" questions. "Tell us about yourself". –The "why do you want to attend this college" questions.The "why do you want to attend this college" questions. –The Creative Questions.The Creative Questions.

You" questions or personal statements. (Examples) "Use this space to let us know something about you that we might not learn from the rest of your application." "Your application is meant to help us learn more about you. What else would you like us to know?" "Describe a significant interest, experience, challenge or value." "How have you grown and developed over the 4 years of your high school career?"high school "What is the biggest risk you have ever taken?" "Evaluate a significant experience or achievement that has special meaning for you."

The "why do you want to attend this college" questions. (Examples) "Why have you selected this college?" "Why do you think you and college X would be a good match for each other?" "Why have you chosen this college and major?" "Review your reasons for attending college. Explain how earning a college degree will help fulfill your career goals."career goals

The "be creative" questions. (Examples) "Discuss some issue of personal, local or national concern and why it is important to you." "If you had the chance to meet a famous person, past or present, who would it be, and why?" "Write about a person who has had an influence on you, and describe that influence." "Write about your favorite book or film and tell why it has influenced you." "Relate the most humorous experience in your life." "You have just finished writing your 300 page autobiography. Please submit page 217."

3 Questions to Ask Before You Even Write the Essay Who am I? –Is this essay about me? Is it reflective? –Is this essay about me NOW? Is this essay in my own voice? –Does this sounds like me? –Will my teachers know it is me? Does this resonate? –What do my activities say about me? –What will my teachers say about me?

CHOOSING AN ESSAY TOPIC Choosing a College Essay Topic What You Write About Says Something About You Why Your Choice of Essay Matters The college regards your choices as a way to evaluate your preferences, values, mental processes, creativity, sense of humor, and depth of knowledge. Your writing reflects your power of persuasion, organizational abilities, style, and mastery of standard written English

Do’s and Don’ts of Application Essays DO Be yourself. Choose a topic that is meaningful to you. Write what you feel, not what you think the admissions committee wants to hear. Be creative. Try to come up with something different. The people reviewing your essay will have read hundreds - if not more - so stand out. Captivate your audience. Your essay needs to be engaging and memorable. Try to draw the reader in with a quick, enticing introduction. Stress the positive. If you're writing about a traumatic experience, don't dwell on the negatives. Rather, explore how the experience changed you. Pursue perfection. Quadruple check the spelling. Have your English teacher look it over. Type the essay very carefully. DON’T "Recycle" essays. Nothing will land your essay in the circular file faster than an obviously recycled or "near match" essay. Adopt a preachy tone. Admissions officers don't want a lecture on deforestation. Instead, tell them how you became interested in environmentalism. Write just one draft. Let your first draft sit for a few days. Then review it carefully, looking for weak or dull spots, as well as spelling errors. Work alone. Ask people you respect for some candid feedback. Try just one version. Put your draft through various rewrites to find the one that works best.

Common essay errors Submit the correct number of essays. If it says "choose one," select only one of the suggested topics. If an essay question has more than one section, provide an answer for every part. And make sure that your responses answer the questions If your essays are on separate sheets of paper, make sure to include them in the application packet. Use the spell-checker on both the applications and the essays. And double-check the spelling of the name of the school you're applying to. Don't count on the spell- checker alone. Something may be spelled correctly but still make no sense (e.g. "I no a lot about applying two college.”) If you're going to use some of your responses for more than one school, make sure you've used the right college name.

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