Writing Your College Application Essay

Introduction  Your essay is like a window into your mind and personality  Unlike your grades and activities, your essay reveals the things that make you unique from other students  It also demonstrates your writing ability

What the Colleges Look For  This essay should be less about “what” you have done, and more about “why” you have done it  A good essay can help tip the scales and a poor essay can shut the door in your face  Some college officials claim that fewer than half of applicants put forth real, honest effort  At least 2 college admissions reps will read your essay when you submit it

Colleges Want to Know What Makes You Tick  The primary rule in writing these essays is to BE YOURSELF  Pick a subject that you care about (something significant and familiar to you)  You should focus on showing PERSONAL COMMITMENT and INVOLVEMENT in whatever you write about

The Questions that Colleges Ask 1. Why go to college, and why here? 2. Who are you?3. Would you tell us a story about yourself? 4. What is important to you? 5. What would you like to tell us about yourself?

Why Go to College? Why Here? DO  Answer the question  Learn what the school has to offer before you write  Think hard about why you want to go to college (not “I want to get a good job)  Figure out why this college appeals to you  Focus on educational or personal reasons for going to college (not social, economic..) DON’T  Don’t flatter the college  Don’t focus on size, location, appearance  Don’t admit that it’s your “safe” school  Don’t write that you’re going to college b/c you don’t know what else to do Why do you want to go to college? What are your career goals? How will this college help you fulfill your goals and aspirations?

Who Are You? DO  Answer the question  Be as honest as you can  Emphasize specific, observable qualities that show your distinctive personality  Use specific examples  Ask people who know you well if they agree with what you write DON’T  Don’t be vague  Don’t be too cute  Don’t try to impress  Don’t write everything about yourself  Don’t spill everything about yourself WhWhat is important to you? How would you describe yourself? Write your own recommendation to college. What makes you different from other people?

Would You Tell Us a Story About Yourself? DO  Choose an experience that you remember well (details!)  Pick an experience you can dramatize  Focus on a specific incident or event  Make yourself the central character of the story DON’T  Don’t think that something ordinary can’t make a good story  Don’t choose a complicated event  Don’t lie  Don’t ramble  Don’t explain the point (let the story make the point) Should entertain and inform…suggests your values, clarifies your attitudes… ex) Describe a challenging situation and how you responded.

What Is Important to You? DO  Choose a subject you care about  Let your head/heart be your ‘source’  Think of 3 very good personal reasons for your choice  Try out more than one answer DON’T  Don’t choose a topic merely to look good  Don’t be self- conscious about your choice  Don’t choose a subject that requires research Your preferences define you… What is your favorite quotation? What have you read that has had special significance for you? Identify a person who has had a significant influence on you. What is your favorite noun?

What Would You Like to Tell Us About Yourself? DO  Choose something that matters to you  Consider explaining something ‘unusual’  Use a style of writing that sounds like you  Write a piece that you have written successfully in class DON’T  Don’t turn down the opportunity to write more  Don’t try to impress  Don’t repeat other aspects of application You may submit a poem, story or paper you have written in school. Choose a writing style that is familiar/ comfortable.

PITFALLS TO AVOID

Trying to Impress  Don’t state a ‘passion’ of yours that is not found elsewhere on your application  Almost any topic will do as long as it portrays the true ‘you’

Trying to Include Everything  Don’t try to write an entire autobiography  Avoid the “what-I-did- in-high school” approach  Focus on one topic that will set you apart

The “Jock” Essay  Don’t tell the typical story of how you won the race or what you learned by being the captain of the football team  You may write about sports if you can focus it around one specific lesson etc.

The Travelogue  Do not write a “common” essay about a certain trip  Do not list the places you visited, etc.  If you do write about a trip, focus on one insight or a particular moment that affected you

Straining to Be Funny  Cleverness might tarnish an otherwise perfect application  You can use playful, satirical language, but don’t overdo it  If you’re not usually funny, don’t try to be in your essay

Being Too Creative  If you get a strange question (“Write your own question and answer it”)… you don’t have to give a strange answer  Be sensitive and sincere in whatever you write

Being Too Ordinary  Choose a unique personal experience rather than typical ideas  Don’t follow the crowd and write the obvious  Most people will play it safe and write about school

Remember to Ask Yourself…  What is unique about me?  What do I want my reader to think of me?

Here’s a good place to begin…  Write a list of adjectives that describe what you like about yourself.  Then make another list about what you dislike.  Look for patterns or contradictions (and unusual combinations)

Choose one of the following topics… What are you good at?What has been your greatest success? Your greatest failure? What three words would you like engraved on your tombstone? What is your strongest conviction? What would you do with a million dollars? If the world were to end one year from today, how would you spend your remaining time?

Composing Your Essay  The Introduction: Grab the Reader’s Interest  The Body: Putting the Pieces Together  The Conclusion: Giving a Farewell Gift

Introduction: Grab Your Reader’s Attention  (Begin with a “hook”… something catchy to lure them in) 1. Start with an incident 2. State an idea 3. Use a quotation 4. Define a word in a new way 5. Ask an interesting question that you will answer

The Body: Putting the Pieces Together  Arrange ideas in an orderly fashion (not random)  Save your strongest point for last  Good idea to have 3 sections  Consider your purpose as you write

The Conclusion: Give a Farewell Gift  Rather than just ‘ending’ your essay, give your reader something to remember you (idea, quotation, memorable phrase)  Sense of humor  End with quotation  Recall something from earlier  Ask rhetorical question  Speculate on what might occur in the future  Avoid summarizing