1. Your College Essay/ Personal Statement
What to Do,
What Not to Do,
And How to Write an Essay that Will Make Them Love, Admire, and Remember You in
500 words or Less.

2. Step One: Audience— Who are these people anyway?
Most college admissions boards are made up of the following:
Admissions Counselors, many of whom attended the university that they now represent
College professors
College administrators
Student Leaders (sometimes)

3. What does “audience” mean to you?
That you should speak in your own voice. (Don’t try to sound “academic” just because your essay will be read by “academics”)
That they know their school VERY well
That they are considering whether or not they would want you as a student, roommate, lab partner, etc.

4. So your essay should … Sound like you
Use a vocabulary that is not a stretch
Answer all aspects of the prompt
Be unique
Be lively and concrete rather than dull and abstract

5. What Should You Not Do?
Don’t share overly intimate details from your personal life
List your character attributes or activities rather than showing them a snapshot of your life
Make up an event that did not actually happen in order to sound dramatic or different
Don’t go too far under or over word limit (30 words is a good rule of thumb)
Write about yourself in the third-person

6. So, What’s the Difference?
Abstractions can apply to anyone. One admissions counselor from UVA says the following:
“Ninety percent of the applications I read contain what I call McEssays - usually five-paragraph essays that consist primarily of abstractions and unsupported generalization. They are technically correct in that they are organized and have the correct sentence structure and spelling, but they are boring. Sort of like a Big Mac. I have nothing against Big Macs, but the one I eat in Charlottesville is not going to be fundamentally different from the one I eat in Paris, Peoria or Palm Springs. I am not going to rage about the quality of a particular Big Mac. The same can be said about the generic essay. If an essay starts out: "I have been a member of the band and it has taught me leadership, perseverance and hard work," I can almost recite the rest of the essay without reading it. . . A McEssay is not wrong, but it is not going to be a positive factor in the admission decision. It will not allow a student to stand out.”

7. A Concrete Essay, on the other hand . . . .
“appeals to all of the senses, not just the visual. To show means to provide a feast for the eyes, ears and, depending on the essay, the mouth, nose or skin.”

8. Rather than a ….
McEssay

9. Abstract Adam says:
“The summer before my junior year was a time of great growth for me. I learned perseverance and patience after one short month in a demanding job.”

10. But…Concrete Christina says
“Imagine waking up with the sun everyday, boarding a fishing boat with twelve old salts who smelled of brine and coffee, and setting up crab traps that would yield the day’s wages, money that these men would take home to their children and wives. If you can imagine this existence, only then can you understand how significant the summer before my junior year was to me.”

11. From a college admissions committee at William and Mary

12. Take a deep breath and persevere.
Your college essays ARE important. You want to be more then just your transcript shows.
Pre-writing strategies work to free-up your thinking.
Don’t limit yourself to a five-paragraph form, but don’t write a blob either.
Proofread (Read from back rather than from the front)
Read it aloud to others
Proofread again! (Small clarity and mechanical issues can seem like you don’t care about your admission)

13. Works Cited
Cohen, Katherine. Rock Hard Apps. Hyperion: NY, 2003 Muth, Parke. “Writing the Essay: Sound Advice from and Expert.” U.S, News and World Report. nutrition_balance.html