1. Pre-Writing Strategies
What are you like?
Strongest personality traits?
Strongest academic traits?
Favorite book, movie, art, etc.
Moment of epiphany.

2. Pre-Writing Strategies
What have you done?
Major accomplishment
Biggest struggle
Time spent outside of school

3. Common App topics
Evaluate a significant experience, achievement, risk you have taken, or ethical dilemma you have faced and its impact on you.
Discuss some issue of personal, local, national, or international concern and its importance to you.
Indicate a person who has had a significant influence on you, and describe that influence.
Describe a character in fiction, a historical figure, or a creative work (as in art, music, science, etc.) that has had an influence on you, and explain that influence.
A range of academic interests, personal perspectives, and life experiences adds much to the educational mix. Given your personal background, describe an experience that illustrates what you would bring to the diversity in a college community or an encounter that demonstrated the importance of diversity to you.

4. Essay Do’s Answer the question Lead with a right hook Be concise
Detailed and concrete experiences
Stay focused on you
Convey your own thoughts and ideas
Revise – Revise – Revise

5. Show…..don’t tell Choose support that: Gives specific examples.
Shows growth or understanding.
Shows you something about the world.
Shows how you will use it in college.
Shows how it will help you in life

6. Essay Don’ts Restate application information
Have a topic that’s too broad or technical
Have a topic that’s too common
Play on their emotions
Focus on others
Rely on Gimmicks
Use controversial topics
Thesaurusize

7. Student essay to NYU
I am a dynamic figure, often seen scaling walls and crushing ice. I have been known to remodel train stations on my lunch breaks, making them more efficient in the area of heat retention. I translate ethnic slurs for Cuban refugees, I write award-winning operas, I manage time efficiently. Occasionally I tread water for three days in a row. I woo women with my sensuous and godlike trombone playing, I can pilot bicycles up severe inclines with unflagging speed, and I cook Thirty-Minute brownies in twenty minutes. I am an expert in stucco, a veteran in love, and an outlaw in Peru. ……

8. Community service: Explain what you have done to make your community a better place to live. Give examples of specific projects in which you have been involved over time.
Every year our high school does a food drive for an entire week. Each day leadership kids collect a different food or item for our local food banks. This year, the food drive was going rather slowly so, our high school sports team decided to take initiative and help out. We broke up into small groups of four and sat outside of our local grocery stores collecting food. The generosity of many of the people shopping was incredible, and hearing stories of people who were personally affected by homelessness was huge. I learned just how big simple actions can be.

9. Knowledge or Creativity in a field
I charge $20 an hour to tutor and $60 to teach, but what I love I give away for free. To me, Coach is not just a noun, but an adjective. It defines what I am to the point where I will coach for free. Five years ago I volunteered to help coach our schools boys water polo team, and it was the most rewarding experience of my professional life. While I didn’t understand the game, I understood the goal; I didn’t know the plays, but I got to know the players. Coaching is a mental art and I have been gifted with the ability to motivate others. I know who to encourage, who to challenge and who to leave alone. They say that motivation is the ability to get others to do what they don’t want to do. I am a motivator. I am a coach.