College Admission Essays

Role of the Essay Holistic review Qualitative measure Communication ability Tell us about you, not about us

Types of Essays Essay-given an essay question or several to choose from and asked to respond Personal Statement-Learn something more about you not found in the application Professional Statement-student’s interest in a particular major and /or future career aspirations Writing Sample-send a sample of your graded writing from a class

Essay #1: Please discuss your academic interests and/or professional goals Educational goals Previous experience Areas of interest Passion for subject/major

Essay #2: Choose one extracurricular activity, work experience, or community service project from the list you provided on the application and explain why you initially chose it, why you continued with it, and how you benefitted from it. Character and personality Motivations Level of commitment

Optional Essay #3: Is there any additional information that you feel we should be aware of while reviewing your application, including extenuating circumstances that affected your academic record? Provide context for academic performance Detailed explanation

Megan Woodruff Northern Illinois University (815) Special Circumstance Essays

Reaso ns To Write One … ♦ You feel you have a special circumstance….i.e. you are not meeting some form of traditional admission criteria for the school - GPA -Test Scores -Course Work

What To Include … -Your full name -Your date of birth -Reason for the letter The Obvious…And The Not So Obvious

Things To Do … ♦ Acknowledge the issue, then move on. ♦ What has it taught you? ♦ Why would you be successful now and at this school? ♦ What can you bring to the campus? ♦ What are your goals? ♦ What resources do you plan on utilizing to help you achieve these goals?

♦ Using something that was written for a class - Not specific enough in addressing reasons student is not meeting admission criteria and why they should be admitted ♦ Using an essay that was written for another college application -Again not specific enough -We can tell Things To Avoid …

Positive and Negative aspects to the College Essay Rob Walton Northwestern University

Different colleges and universities look for different aspects to essays. These points are general with some editorial.

Well written essays… Give specifics— Easy to talk ‘what’; explain the ‘why’ or ‘how’ Fully answer question Intelligent humor is always good when used appropriately A ‘hook’ usually doesn’t work Starts well and then goes BEYOND the narrative It is ok to write a ‘cute’ essay but it has to also have a point.

Essays can fall short when… The ‘hook’ is inappropriate Shock with no substance Again, ‘hooks’ are not necessary A rant with no support Overstatements Shallow or insincere Immature tone or language

♦ Know your audience ♦ Books are often judged by their cover as well as what is inside it ♦ Use your “staff” Writing A College Essay Is As Important As Writing The Great American Novel …

Final thoughts Content is more important than length No right or wrong answer Trying to use the same supplemental essay for multiple institutions is dangerous. There are more ‘good’ essays than ‘bad’ ones, but a big middle ground exists too. Essays are a very subjective piece to the application…

Final Essay Tips PROOFREAD Follow directions Generic essay Personalize correctly BE YOURSELF

Be Ready! Resume-Senior/Academic/Activity Start working on essays Complete Information for Counselor Recommendation on Naviance Send test scores Organize college information Continue college visits and finalize your list of colleges