College Admission Essay

Topic A Describe a setting in which you have collaborated or interacted with people whose experiences and/or beliefs differ from yours. Address your initial feelings, and how those feelings were or were not changed by this experience.

Topic B Describe a circumstance, obstacle or conflict in your life, and the skills and resources you used to resolve it. Did it change you? If so,how?

Topic C Considering your lifetime goals, discuss how your current and future academic and extra-curricular activities might help you achieve your goals.

Another Special Warning: Essays from the Internet… Don’t Even Think About It College admissions offices are not naïve. They are aware that you can pay someone to write your essay and that essays are floating around for sale on the Internet. Don’t fool yourself; you certainly won’t fool anybody else. The admissions process has checks and balances, and the essay is part of that system. If there are inconsistencies in your application, if what you say in your essay doesn’t jibe with a recommendation or another part of your application, if the writing is perfect but you’re a B English student, red flags will fly. Write your own essay.

University Suggestions Don’t tell us what you think we want to hear. Be yourself. Use a natural voice and style. Don’t be overly informal either.

University Suggestions cont. Develop your ideas. Organize your thoughts. Don’t respond to the prompt as though you’re answering a question.

Tips for a Good Essay Avoid the List The most engaging and compelling essays tell a story and have a clear focus. Through carefully chosen detail, your writing should reveal your passions and expose your personality. A thoughtful and detailed narration of a difficult time in your life tells far more about you than a list of competitions won and honors achieved. Your grades and scores show that you’re smart. Use your essay to show that you’re thoughtful and mature, that your personality has depth.

Tips for a Good Essay A Touch of Humor (but just a touch) Try to lighten up the essay with a clever metaphor, a well-placed witticism, or a little self-deprecating humor. But don't overdo it. Also, humor isn't a substitute for substance. Your primary task is to answer the essay prompt thoughtfully; the smile you bring to your reader's lips is just a bonus (and a tear can sometimes be effective too). Many students have been rejected for failing to take the prompt seriously and writing essays that end up being more foolish than clever.

Tips for a Good Essay Tone, Tone, Tone Not just humor, but the overall tone of your application essay is remarkably important. It's also difficult to get right. Be careful to balance your pride in your achievements with humility and generosity towards others. You also want to avoid sounding like a whiner.

Tips for a Good Essay Reveal Your Character Along with the essay, most colleges rate "character and personal qualities" as extremely important in their admissions decisions. Remember, colleges aren’t looking solely for straight "A"s and high SAT scores. They are looking for good citizens for their campus communities.

Tips for a Good Essay Mechanics Matter Grammatical problems, punctuation errors, and spelling mistakes can hurt your chance of being accepted. Your success in college partly depends upon strong writing skills. If English isn't your greatest strength, seek help. Ask a teacher to go over the essay with you, or find a friend with strong editorial skills.