How to Write a College Application Essay
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Your essay reveals something important about you that your grades and test scores can't─your personality. It can give admissions officers a sense of who you are and showcase your writing ability. Here are some things that admissions officers look for in a personal essay for college.
1. Open Strong.
Knowing how to start a college essay can create a strong opening paragraph that immediately captures the reader’s interest. You want to make the admissions officer reading your essay curious about what you say next.
2. Show You Can Write.
Colleges want to see that you have a command of the basics of good writing, which is a key component of success in college.
3. Answer the Prompt.
Admissions officers also want to see that the student can give a direct answer while sticking to a comprehensive narrative. When writing college essays, consider the point you want to make and develop a fleshed-out response that fits the prompt. Avoid force-fitting prewritten pieces. Approach every personal essay prompt as if it's your first.
4. Stick to Your Style.
Writing college essays isn't about using flowery or verbose prose. Avoid leaning too heavily on the thesaurus to sound impressive. Choose a natural writing style that’s appropriate for the subject matter.
Also, avoid stressing about trying to write what you think colleges want to see. Learning how to draft a good essay for college is about showcasing who you are. Stay true to your voice. Keep in mind that authenticity is more important than anything else.
5. Proofread.
Correct grammar, punctuation, and spelling are essential. Proofread several times after you've finished. Then ask a teacher, parent, or college English major to give it a quick read as well.
6. Keep Track of Length.
Finally, admissions officers value succinctness. Remember to pay attention to the recommended essay length or word count.
Bonus Tips and College Essay Writing Help
For more on how to write a college essay, check out these Tips for Writing Your College Admissions Essay .
What is the college application essay?
A personal essay for college applications is an opportunity for admission admissions panels to get more insight into who you are and what you have to offer. It's often the most personal component of the application, going beyond grades and standardized test scores. Essays usually have open-ended prompts, allowing you to flex your writing skills and make a personal statement.
Does my college application essay really matter?
Learning how to write a successful essay for college is crucial. This essay's exact weight on your chances of acceptance varies from one school to the next. But it's an element of your application that all admissions teams consider. Your essay could be the thing that gets you off a waiting list or gives you a competitive edge over other applicants.
What are colleges looking for in my application essay?
Knowing what to include in a college essay is half the battle. Admissions teams look for many things, but the most influential are authenticity, writing ability, character details, and positive traits. The purpose of the essay is to shed light on your background and gain perspective on your real-world experiences.
When should I start writing my college essay?
Because you'll want to tailor each application to each school, expect to write multiple personal essays. Advisers typically recommend starting these pieces during the summer before your senior year of high school. This will give you ample time to concentrate on writing a college essay before you're hit with schoolwork.
What can I do to write an effective college essay if I'm not a strong writer?
Good writing skills matter, but the best college essay is about the quality of your response. Authentic stories in a natural voice have impact. The story you want to tell about yourself will work better for you if it’s told in language that’s not overly sophisticated. Work with a writing coach for help with the academic aspects. Make responding with substance a priority.
How can I write my college essay if I have no monumental experiences?
You don't need life-changing moments to impress an admissions panel. Think about your personal experiences. Describe moments that left a lasting impact. The important thing is to have a fleshed-out narrative that provides insight into your life and way of thinking. Some of the best essays revolve around meaningful moments rather than flashy ones.
How should I start brainstorming topics for my college essay?
Most colleges provide open-ended prompts. Using the topic as inspiration, think about critical milestones or essential lessons you learned during your academic career. Tell stories about real-life experiences that have shaped the person you are. Write them down to brainstorm ideas. Choose stories that highlight your best traits.
What is a good list of essay topics to start with? What essay topics should I avoid?
Good topics when writing college essays include personal achievements, meaningful lessons, life-changing challenges, and situations that fostered personal growth. It's best to avoid anything too intimate or controversial. You want to open up, but it's not a good idea to go overboard or alienate members of the admissions panel.
What format should I use for my college essay?
Read the prompt and essay instructions thoroughly to learn how to start off a college essay. Some colleges provide guidance about formatting. If not, the best course of action is to stick with a college standard like the MLA format.
How long should my essay be?
The average length of a personal essay for college is 400─600 words. Always read the prompt. Follow the instructions provided in the application.
Who should I ask to review my college essay?
Turn to your school counselor for review. They understand what college admissions panels are looking for, and they can provide valuable insight into your piece's quality. You can also reach out to English teachers and other educators for proofreading.
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12 Strategies to Writing the Perfect College Essay
College admission committees sift through thousands of college essays each year. Here’s how to make yours stand out.
Pamela Reynolds
When it comes to deciding who they will admit into their programs, colleges consider many criteria, including high school grades, extracurricular activities, and ACT and SAT scores. But in recent years, more colleges are no longer considering test scores.
Instead, many (including Harvard through 2026) are opting for “test-blind” admission policies that give more weight to other elements in a college application. This policy change is seen as fairer to students who don’t have the means or access to testing, or who suffer from test anxiety.
So, what does this mean for you?
Simply that your college essay, traditionally a requirement of any college application, is more important than ever.
A college essay is your unique opportunity to introduce yourself to admissions committees who must comb through thousands of applications each year. It is your chance to stand out as someone worthy of a seat in that classroom.
A well-written and thoughtful essay—reflecting who you are and what you believe—can go a long way to separating your application from the slew of forgettable ones that admissions officers read. Indeed, officers may rely on them even more now that many colleges are not considering test scores.
Below we’ll discuss a few strategies you can use to help your essay stand out from the pack. We’ll touch on how to start your essay, what you should write for your college essay, and elements that make for a great college essay.
Be Authentic
More than any other consideration, you should choose a topic or point of view that is consistent with who you truly are.
Readers can sense when writers are inauthentic.
Inauthenticity could mean the use of overly flowery language that no one would ever use in conversation, or it could mean choosing an inconsequential topic that reveals very little about who you are.
Use your own voice, sense of humor, and a natural way of speaking.
Whatever subject you choose, make sure it’s something that’s genuinely important to you and not a subject you’ve chosen just to impress. You can write about a specific experience, hobby, or personality quirk that illustrates your strengths, but also feel free to write about your weaknesses.
Honesty about traits, situations, or a childhood background that you are working to improve may resonate with the reader more strongly than a glib victory speech.
Grab the Reader From the Start
You’ll be competing with so many other applicants for an admission officer’s attention.
Therefore, start your essay with an opening sentence or paragraph that immediately seizes the imagination. This might be a bold statement, a thoughtful quote, a question you pose, or a descriptive scene.
Starting your essay in a powerful way with a clear thesis statement can often help you along in the writing process. If your task is to tell a good story, a bold beginning can be a natural prelude to getting there, serving as a roadmap, engaging the reader from the start, and presenting the purpose of your writing.
Focus on Deeper Themes
Some essay writers think they will impress committees by loading an essay with facts, figures, and descriptions of activities, like wins in sports or descriptions of volunteer work. But that’s not the point.
College admissions officers are interested in learning more about who you are as a person and what makes you tick.
They want to know what has brought you to this stage in life. They want to read about realizations you may have come to through adversity as well as your successes, not just about how many games you won while on the soccer team or how many people you served at a soup kitchen.
Let the reader know how winning the soccer game helped you develop as a person, friend, family member, or leader. Make a connection with your soup kitchen volunteerism and how it may have inspired your educational journey and future aspirations. What did you discover about yourself?
Show Don’t Tell
As you expand on whatever theme you’ve decided to explore in your essay, remember to show, don’t tell.
The most engaging writing “shows” by setting scenes and providing anecdotes, rather than just providing a list of accomplishments and activities.
Reciting a list of activities is also boring. An admissions officer will want to know about the arc of your emotional journey too.
Try Doing Something Different
If you want your essay to stand out, think about approaching your subject from an entirely new perspective. While many students might choose to write about their wins, for instance, what if you wrote an essay about what you learned from all your losses?
If you are an especially talented writer, you might play with the element of surprise by crafting an essay that leaves the response to a question to the very last sentence.
You may want to stay away from well-worn themes entirely, like a sports-related obstacle or success, volunteer stories, immigration stories, moving, a summary of personal achievements or overcoming obstacles.
However, such themes are popular for a reason. They represent the totality of most people’s lives coming out of high school. Therefore, it may be less important to stay away from these topics than to take a fresh approach.
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Write With the Reader in Mind
Writing for the reader means building a clear and logical argument in which one thought flows naturally from another.
Use transitions between paragraphs.
Think about any information you may have left out that the reader may need to know. Are there ideas you have included that do not help illustrate your theme?
Be sure you can answer questions such as: Does what you have written make sense? Is the essay organized? Does the opening grab the reader? Is there a strong ending? Have you given enough background information? Is it wordy?
Write Several Drafts
Set your essay aside for a few days and come back to it after you’ve had some time to forget what you’ve written. Often, you’ll discover you have a whole new perspective that enhances your ability to make revisions.
Start writing months before your essay is due to give yourself enough time to write multiple drafts. A good time to start could be as early as the summer before your senior year when homework and extracurricular activities take up less time.
Read It Aloud
Writer’s tip : Reading your essay aloud can instantly uncover passages that sound clumsy, long-winded, or false.
Don’t Repeat
If you’ve mentioned an activity, story, or anecdote in some other part of your application, don’t repeat it again in your essay.
Your essay should tell college admissions officers something new. Whatever you write in your essay should be in philosophical alignment with the rest of your application.
Also, be sure you’ve answered whatever question or prompt may have been posed to you at the outset.
Ask Others to Read Your Essay
Be sure the people you ask to read your essay represent different demographic groups—a teacher, a parent, even a younger sister or brother.
Ask each reader what they took from the essay and listen closely to what they have to say. If anyone expresses confusion, revise until the confusion is cleared up.
Pay Attention to Form
Although there are often no strict word limits for college essays, most essays are shorter rather than longer. Common App, which students can use to submit to multiple colleges, suggests that essays stay at about 650 words.
“While we won’t as a rule stop reading after 650 words, we cannot promise that an overly wordy essay will hold our attention for as long as you’d hoped it would,” the Common App website states.
In reviewing other technical aspects of your essay, be sure that the font is readable, that the margins are properly spaced, that any dialogue is set off properly, and that there is enough spacing at the top. Your essay should look clean and inviting to readers.
End Your Essay With a “Kicker”
In journalism, a kicker is the last punchy line, paragraph, or section that brings everything together.
It provides a lasting impression that leaves the reader satisfied and impressed by the points you have artfully woven throughout your piece.
So, here’s our kicker: Be concise and coherent, engage in honest self-reflection, and include vivid details and anecdotes that deftly illustrate your point.
While writing a fantastic essay may not guarantee you get selected, it can tip the balance in your favor if admissions officers are considering a candidate with a similar GPA and background.
Write, revise, revise again, and good luck!
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About the Author
Pamela Reynolds is a Boston-area feature writer and editor whose work appears in numerous publications. She is the author of “Revamp: A Memoir of Travel and Obsessive Renovation.”
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08 May , 2021
Are You Making These Mistakes in Your Essay?
Most typical mistakes in a college essay
Starting a new chapter of your life by entering college is always frustrating. Especially, when you almost physically feel the load of responsibility. To earn a place in a college of your dream you need to work hard - and make a good self-representation for an admission committee. How? By sending them a flawless college essay. This is one of the most essential part of the file.
Do you want to be sure your essay is unique and appealing? Check the most typical mistakes you might make in an essay!
Long writing. Of course, you want to highlight all the best qualities and part you have. But let's be honest, admission committee is usually flooded with the applications. They simply have no time for a long read!
Not using help. The thought "I write my essay myself" seems quite proud... And at the same time, it's a bit stupid. If you have not done it before or read a couple of examples on the Internet, that won't help you to reach the ideal result.
Not following the proper format. A professional essay writer can make the job done fast and easy, because he knows the template, follow the plan and had already made hundreds of unique and remarkable pieces or writing.
Mentioning wrong things. Essay is not a composition where you can express whatever you want. It requires time, ideas and an interesting story.
If you're not sure that you will be able to make an ideal job yourself, think about essay writing service. That's how everything would be ready for you, whenever you need it.
Getting professional essay help
We can name dozens of reasons why getting assistance in writing an essay for college admission is better than spending countless hours in front of your PC doing research and reading different tips and recommendations.
First, it saves your time. Essay help allows you not to worry about the deadline and devote your time to whatever desired.
Second, you are getting a perfect result. Without any breakdowns, sleepless nights, thousands of drafts! Sounds like a good idea!
Third, best essay writing service isn't that expensive. There's no need to be one of the Rockfellers to pay for it.
Fourth, it's a professional attitude. Essay rewriter might check your work and correct it.
Still in doubt? Imagine how many people are typing in the search box "write my essay for me" to get into the college you want to be admitted! Be the first in this race
Tips for successful essay
What should you do to make your piece of writing outstanding and remarkable? We can give several recommendations. First, don't rely on your own skills only. Second, remember about strong parts. And third, be confident in a positive result when ordering a writing help!
- Main content
I help high-school seniors write their college-admission essays. Here are the 4 most common mistakes to avoid.
- For eight years, I've worked with high-school students to perfect their college-admission essays.
- I often see students think their ideas are completely original; the ideas have been done before.
- Students should also avoid writing about their academic achievements in the essays.
For high-school seniors, one of the toughest parts of the college-application process is writing the dreaded personal essay.
For eight years, I've been helping students shape their college-entrance essays. I help them home in on ideas that work, and I edit the essays to make sure their stories make sense. Lastly, I work with students themselves to buff and polish the essays until they shine.
Through my years working with students, I've noticed several common mistakes. Here are the four pitfalls any prospective college student should avoid when writing a personal essay.
Think your idea or topic is original, but everyone is actually writing the same thing
Your personal experience may be unique to you, but it may not make a unique college essay.
For example, in my area, there is a huge South Asian immigrant population. These kids are first-generation Americans and were brought here as small children or were born right after their parents arrived. These first-generation Americans want to share their stories because these are important, meaningful stories. Unfortunately, though, the idea isn't original. On average, approximately 70% of my students are trying to write on the same topic.
Similarly, students often think writing about someone else — a role model, for example — will be original. I assure you, it will not. Yes, you have deep respect for your grandmother who raised five children as a single mom, but that's her story , not yours .
You're writing about an experience that happened when you were in elementary school
I've seen high-school students write about how they learned to be part of a group when they joined a robotics club in third grade. Unfortunately, the admissions counselors don't really care about third grade. They're interested in your current life — as a high schooler.
You want to write about things that have happened to you recently. Did you just have a big blowout with your friend group that redefined your meaning of friendship? Did you find out that your best friend cheated on a recent chemistry exam? What did you do about it?
Tell us who you are today — not who you were in elementary or middle school.
You want to focus on your achievements, your SAT scores, or your grades
Showcasing your academic triumphs is what the rest of the application is for. From transcripts to letters of recommendation to a list of your activities, admissions officers will see your accomplishments throughout your application.
But if you rewrite them in your personal essay, you'll just be repeating yourself, which colleges don't like. Plus, you won't be showing who you really are.
You're not thoroughly proofreading your essay
Reading the essay back to yourself under your breath isn't enough. I want you to first read the essay out loud — one word at a time and slowly. I want you to then read it out loud to yourself again, but this time, read it backward so that you see each word as a separate entity. Finally, I want you to use free spell-check programs, like Grammarly. And then reread it again before hitting the upload button.
With all that said, make sure you're showing who you are in your college essay. Bring yourself to life . Use the power of storytelling; it will get you everywhere.
Do you have a powerful or unique college life story to share with Insider? Please send details to [email protected]
Best Guide on How to Write College Admission Essay: Tips and Examples
The Goal of College Admissions Essays
From a high schooler's perspective, college is an essential milestone to their future success. But if you step into a college staff's shoes, you will see that the institution is much more than just a temporary shelter. It is a community with its structure, goals, and hopes. When they open their doors for you, they need to be sure that you align with their beliefs and add value to their community.
The college admission essay is there to give the admission committee a better understanding of who you are as a person, your experiences, beliefs, and future aspirations. Such an essay aims to showcase your personality, writing skills, and unique perspectives.
To get into your desired university, you need to know how to write a college admission essay that demonstrates your character and potential. Remember that these essays are an opportunity for the admissions committee to learn more about you personally rather than a recap of your academic accomplishments. Draw attention to your skills, interests, and strengths. Persuade the committee that you belong in their community.
Our professional writers will provide you with all the college admission essay help you need and more. If you are already a college student, check out our article on how to write a hypothesis or get research paper writing help .
How to Make Your College Admissions Essay Stand Out
We made it our mission to help you write a college admissions essay so good that not a single admissions officer will decline your application. Some of the most valuable lessons we could share include being true to yourself and approaching deep issues from unexpected perspectives.
Let's not waste time and dive straight into all the tips and tricks for writing compelling essays for college admission.
Be True 'You'
The college admissions officers read thousands of application essays annually. They have read every textbook essay ever. You need to somehow stand out and make an impression that they can't shake out of their head.
The only way you can stand out is by being yourself. We know it's a cliché statement, but only one of you is on this planet, and you need to use that fact to your advantage. A college admission essay is not a place where you must be shy. Quite the opposite! Be authentic, genuine, and personal. Let them know you have your own voice.
Captivate the Reader from the Start
Our next tip is a piece of essential advice on how to write college admission essay. You only get one shot to catch the attention of the admissions committees. Don't waste time; captivate the reader from the start.
It may seem like you have entire paragraphs to make an impression, but actually, you don't. All you have is the opening sentence. How you craft the first words will either make or break you. Don't wait till the second paragraph to get original and authentic. Do it from the very beginning. Seize their imagination immediately, and you'll have people excited for the rest of your college application essay.
Concentrate on Deeper Issues
Without the next tip, our college admission essay help would not be absolute. College admissions officers are not interested in the facts, and figures senior-year high school students usually provide in their admissions essays. They want to get to know you. Give them what they are seeking.
A successful admissions essay concentrates on deeper topics and issues. The ones that demonstrate the applicant's personal qualities and skills. A well-written essay showcases how you approach challenging topics and how you articulate complex ideas. Avoid writing overly wordy essays, but don't miss an opportunity to display that you can scratch the surface and see the bigger picture.
Consider the Prompt from a Unique Perspective
The higher education world seems scary. There are so many strict rules to follow and so many eyes that determine whether you are worthy of being part of their community. It's easy to fall into the trap of commonness.
In reality, admissions officers are looking for students that bring fresh and unique ideas. Without them, academia would become stagnant. College admission essay writers are encouraged to write unconventional and unexpected essays. You may consider that your thinking defies the rules, but that's all they are searching for.
College Essays Are Not Your Thing?
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College Admission Essay Format
While you are free to bring unique ideas to the table, there are still important rules that you must follow. Formatting the application essay correctly is one of the most important parts of college essay writing, and your acceptance heavily depends on it.
Our college admission essay format guidelines will help you write an irresistible application essay. Once you get in, you might need a helping hand. You can always depend on our college essay writing services .
Unsurprisingly, the title of your application essay should be just as captivating as the rest of it. An appealing title can grab the reader's attention, set the tone for the essay, and make them eager to read more.
Be creative: A unique, clever play on words will surely grab the admission officer's attention.
Keep it short: Use a few words that accurately represent your essay's content.
Be personal: It will make your application memorable and meaningful. Avoid clichés: Overused titles are buzz killers.
You can use a college admission essay writing service to get all the above right.
This is trivial, but you can't imagine how many students get it wrong. The content of your essay can be compelling, but it will be worth nothing if you don't use the right font style.
Check the guidelines of the desired college for college admission essay format. Follow the instructions carefully. Generally, the acceptable fonts for a college admissions essay are Calibri, Times New Roman, or Arial. The size of the font should be 12pt. Avoid using all caps, underlines, or, God forbid, emojis. The font style should be readable and academic.
Citation Style
One thing the academic world will never forgive is plagiarism. When writing admission essays, avoid this deadly sin at all costs.
Usually, the most selective colleges will provide information on their preferred citation style. But if such is not offered, college admission essay writers can choose from MLA, APA, Chicago, or Harvard citation styles. It is crucial to cite properly and acknowledge other people's work. Proper citing will showcase your outstanding writing skills.
Admission Essay Outline
Once the format is down, it's time to focus on the college admission essay outline. Having a good structure makes your essay easy to read and comprehend. It also demonstrates advanced writing skills and makes you a prospective student. If you need extra help, you can always count on our online essay writer service.
College Application Essay Introduction
The college admission essay format is easy to master, but the outline could be challenging. An impactful essay must start with a compelling introduction. Here you introduce yourself and the college application essay theme.
The introductory paragraph should not be short but avoid being too wordy. The first sentence must introduce your college essay topic, and all the sentences following should stick to the point.
Impress admission officers by being efficient with your words, which provide relevant information. Finish this part with a thesis statement.
College Application Essay Body Paragraphs
After capturing the attention of admissions officers with a great introduction, you get a chance to elaborate on your ideas and prove that you belong on the list of prospective students.
The body paragraphs of a college admission essay serve as a centerpiece where you provide supportive information about the thesis statement. Here you can expand your ideas, personal experiences, and personal achievements.
Each body paragraph should concentrate on a single aspect of your life that you want to highlight to the admissions committee. It is important to provide specific details and examples to support your points. Make sure each paragraph ties into the overall theme of your essay.
College Application Essay Conclusion
We have reached the final step of the college admission essay outline. A good college admissions essay must finish with a conclusion that wraps up your thesis and personal statement by summarizing the main points and reiterating why you are a strong candidate for the college.
Be original. Restate your thesis in different words. This will show that you have a clear understanding of your message. Demonstrate your enthusiasm and excitement for college. Impress admissions officers with a memorable ending. You can use a charming quote, a thought-provoking question, or an original statement that encapsulates your personality.
Choosing a College Admission Essay Topic
Plenty of colleges are giving students the liberty of writing about their preferred topics. But some students spend most of their senior year worrying about test scores, not thinking about the theme they would like to discuss in their college essay.
If you are one of them, no worries! Next, we are going to offer you topics for successful admissions essays. You can explore our college admission essay examples and start the writing process.
Share Your Life Goals
Sharing your life goal is one of the most distinct college admission essay topics. It can encapsulate your entire personality.
Go beyond the basic career and family goals. Try to answer the essay question with a personal spin. Writing about your life goals gives the admissions office insight into your values, aspirations, personal growth, and plans. It highlights your unique qualities and experiences.
Writing a personal essay about life goals demonstrates that you have a clear sense of direction and purpose. It proves that you are a motivated and driven individual who will take advantage of the opportunities available at college and contribute to the community.
Biggest Risk You've Taken
Any college admissions officer desires to read a college admission essay demonstrating the applicant's true nature. The risks you have taken and how you have dealt with failure or success tell a story of one's characteristics.
If you've made a bad choice, think about how you would do it differently. If you took the chance and it turned out to be a wise move, consider what inspired your decision and how it impacted you. Describe the steps you took to prepare for and carry out the risk and what you learned from the process.
This type of personal essay shows admissions counselors who you are as a person and what values and beliefs you hold. It gives an insight into your problem-solving skills, determination, and resilience.
What Your Ted Talk Would be About
Ted talk materials can also make a great essay for college admission. The admission committee can glimpse the applicant's passions, interests, and ideas. It's a great opportunity to prove that you are more than your SAT scores. Showcase your creativity, critical thinking skills, and effective communication style.
Ensure the topic you choose has a concise, one-sentence conclusion that you may emphasize throughout the essay to provide it with a sense of purpose. Focus on a topic you feel passionate about and one that teaches a valuable lesson. Don't exceed the word count. An overly wordy essay, despite its content, is still exhausting to read.
Share One Aspect of Your Personality
College admission essay topics don't have to be groundbreaking, but they should open doors for you. Sometimes focusing on a personality trait is worth of thousand stories. If all the college admissions officers want is to get to know you, why not do it on your own terms?
The admissions process is much more complex than some standardized test scores. Yes, you are smart; test scores show that. But what value will you add to the community? Look for a characteristic about yourself that will make you stand out from the competition and emphasize the special viewpoint you will offer to the institution.
Explain a Problem You'd Like to Solve
It's always better to get specific. Whether you are having a conversation or applying for a job interview, you always have a better chance of being remembered if you offer a specific problem and its solution.
A college admission essay is no exception. A creative problem can showcase your passions and interests and set you apart. Put all those extracurricular activities to use. Offer how you can use already existing knowledge and what you can add. An admissions officer is much more inclined to notice a candidate who has prepared a very distinct letter in a creative and quirky manner.
Not all the students applying have a chosen path. If you have a plan, use it to your advantage and write a strong college essay.
More Tips for Writing a College Admissions Essay
We are not done yet. Writing admissions essays is a complex task and requires focus on many aspects simultaneously. There are some essay requirements without which your college essay would not be complete. Below we provide a list of tricks to help you write a college application that no one can reject.
If you feel lost, just say, ' write my papers for me ,' and our college admission essay service will help you in no time.
Consider the Reader When Writing
After reading our advice below, you won't have to wonder how to write college admission essay.
The admissions officers will use the essay to assess your writing skills, creativity, and critical thinking. To ensure that the reader receives your college essay well, you should understand their expectations and priorities. Researching the college you are applying to will give you a better understanding of its values. Craft an essay that shows how you align with them.
The most important essay question relates to your potential as a student. Focus on what the committee wants to learn about you. Build flawless and reasonable arguments.
Make a Few Drafts
The application process starts way before your senior year. We suggest starting to write your college essay as early as possible. Give yourself enough time to prepare multiple drafts. Chances are the first one you will write won't do it.
When you write your first draft, forget about word limits. Write everything down and let your thoughts flow. When you get everything down, start rewriting. Each draft allows you to reflect on your writing and make changes to better convey your ideas.
The final draft of your college admission essay will have the right tone and style. It will demonstrate your unique voice and writing skills.
Use Your Intuition
Unlike test scores, college essays are not standardized. You can't be mainstream and banal. Using intuition while writing an essay for college admission is important because it allows you to be authentic. It encourages you to express your genuine thoughts and experiences.
By relying on your intuition while making personal statements, you can create a special connection and emotional resonance with the reader and make your essay stand out.
You are more likely to feel confident in your writing when you follow your intuition. Confidence is key to great essays.
Eliminate Buzzwords
Buzzwords are overused phrases, and clichés often used to sound impressive, but they can detract from the quality of your writing. Eliminating buzzwords from your college admission essay is crucial because it shows that you can communicate originally and thoughtfully.
Instead of impressing the reader with big words, try to express yourself from a unique angle. Use your voice, feelings, and experience.
Finish Your Essay on a Strong Note
A solid conclusion can leave a lasting impression and help you stand out among the other applicants.
Yes, your introduction was impressive, your personal statements were touching, you obeyed strict word limits, and you used citation style, but the last sentence of your college essay flopped. It can ruin everything.
Finish your essay for college admission with a confident and enthusiastic conclusion. Summarize important points and show the committee that you are passionate about your future and committed to being a prosperous student. A strong ending can help provide a sense of closure and purpose.
College Admission Essay Sample
Above are all the tips and tricks you need to know before you start writing your college essay.
To make things even more clear, next, we will offer you a sample essay for college admission. Explore a unique example and tailor one after it.
Use Our Academic Help
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Nearly every high school student dreads writing their college essay. Despite its often overlooked importance, a college extracts a lot of valuable information about prospective students not found in the rest of the traditional college application.
If you’re struggling with writing your college essay, here’s a closer look at the various steps of the process, as well as several tips to help make your essay stand out.
Five Steps to Writing Your College Essay
1. understand the requirements.
Taking the time to understand your college essay’s requirements is a crucial first step in the writing process. Guidelines such as minimum or maximum length, recommended topics, and standard formatting are all components admission counselors look at closely when reviewing your essay. Fulfilling the requirements demonstrates to schools that you are able to follow directions.
Perhaps one of the most overlooked aspects of a college essay is its standardized formatting. While high schools teach students how to organize long-form writing, many admission counselors are seeing a trend in sloppy formatting. “In this day and age of texting and online messaging, we’re seeing more and more students writing in this way,” says Alex Patturelli , director for undergraduate admission.
2. Pick Your Topic Carefully
Selecting the right topic is probably the most important step when writing your college essay. While prompts are often provided, try not to get caught up in these suggestions. For the most part, they’re meant to spark ideas, provide inspiration, and give examples of the many directions you could take your essay.
Instead, think about what you want your prospective colleges to know about you. This could be personal struggles that you overcame, an achievement you’re proud of, or even the reason you’re passionate about your desired major. However, if your major is one of the top programs at the schools you’re applying to, there are a few things that you should keep in mind.
According to Patturelli, one of the most common essay topics a college receives pertains to one of its top programs. For example, Regis College, known for its nursing program, receives thousands of essays every admission cycle about why students want to become a nurse. According to Patturelli, “There’s nothing wrong with pursuing this topic, but if you're gonna write about a school’s top program just know that the standard for those types of essays are a little bit higher.”
3. Make a Plan
One of the biggest mistakes students make when writing their college essay is skipping the crucial step of making a plan. “Students need to spend more time on topic development,” says Patturelli. “I even encourage students to sit with two or three topics for a while.”
Developing a plan for your college essay doesn’t entail writing a laundry list of to-do items, but rather taking the time to sit with your ideas and allow your essay to take shape. According to Patturelli, “I think students can start to tell when they get into writing, what topic they're most passionate about and what topics they considered just because they thought it would look good on their application.” This planning and preparation should give you a better sense of what topic produces the best caliber of writing, which is the most important aspect of any college essay.
4. Edit and Proofread
While nobody enjoys this step, editing and proofreading can be the difference between a school acceptance and rejection. Despite its importance, admission counselors read thousands of essays each year that have an abundance of typos.
“We’ve seen essays where a student is in the middle of their thought, and then the sentence abruptly ends,” says Patturelli. “This shows us that the student probably stepped away from the essay, came back, and didn't actually edit or reread.” This demonstrates a lack of care and attention to detail that isn’t often rewarded with an acceptance letter.
Find the answers to your common admission questions in this complete guide.
In addition to these errors, there are plenty of other components of your essay that you should look closely at during the editing and proofreading process, including:
- Making sure there is agreement between nouns and pronouns
- Using the active voice
- Applying an assertive, confident voice rather than phrases like “I think” and “I believe”
- Avoiding dangling prepositions (e.g., to, for, from, with, about)
- Emphasizing key points with appropriate punctuation (e.g., long dashes, exclamation marks, italics, bold-type, and quotation marks)
- Eliminating unnecessary adverbs
For many students the last bullet point may be surprising, however, more often than not, admission counselors aren’t impressed by flowery language. “Some students try to be so engaging that it feels almost too descriptive,” says Patturelli. Despite being a good writer, many students who write densely descriptive essays are often penalized on message quality. “I get to the end of those essays and wonder what it was about.”
5. Allow Others to Evaluate
Self-editing is essential to writing a college essay, but things are bound to slip through the cracks. As the author, it’s hard to edit elements such as structure, tone, and clarity. While you know what your essay is supposed to look like and convey, it may not be clear to others. Have a friend, parent, or high school counselor read through it to make sure your story is clear and well organized.
Remember to listen to constructive criticism. While it may be difficult to hear that your essay is confusing, small adjustments can make a huge difference. Make sure you write your essay early enough to allow other readers enough time to give feedback and suggestions. This last step of the process shouldn’t be rushed.
10 Things to Keep in Mind When Writing Your College Essay
Now that you understand the necessary steps to writing an effective college essay, here are some helpful tips that can help make your writing more memorable.
Write About a Topic Important to You
This might seem simple, but many students write on a topic they think admission counselors are looking for rather than one they are interested in. When you write about something important to you, it really shows. “We can tell whether they're passionate or not,” says Patturelli. “I think students don't necessarily always think, ‘Do I love this topic or not?’”
In the end, admission counselors want to read about what you’re passionate about to better understand if you’re a good fit for both the school and your desired program. Make sure you pick a topic that’s important to you.
Remember to Analyze
College essays are meant to tell a story, but they are also supposed to reveal something about you. The best way to accomplish this is by analyzing an experience you had and putting it into a greater context. “It's not enough to just be a good story teller, you also need to be reflective,” says Patturelli.
This isn’t an easy element to execute in a short-form essay, but the best way to approach this requirement is asking the question “Why does this matter?” If you can’t think of a reason why your story is informative to who you are as a student, it’s probably not worth writing about. Remember that this essay is part of your college application, so you can even think about why your story matters to your college application, and why it means the school should accept you.
Be Yourself
Authenticity always leads to better writing. Much like writing about topics you’re passionate about, it’s also essential to write about topics that are true to your personality and story. Admission counselors can typically see right through essays that touch on topics that aren’t true to the student.
Don’t go for shock value and lie in your college essay. Just be yourself and let your writing act as a supplemental guide to your application for counselors to get to know you better.
Don’t Write One Draft
Writer’s block isn’t just an unwanted phenomenon for writers, it can also negatively impact students’ college writing process. One way to tackle this common obstacle is to avoid writing one draft or brainstorming document. Many times, this concept of one draft can add unnecessary pressure on the creative portion of your essay.
Try taking one idea and going in a few different directions in separate drafts. This allows you to take some risks and reveal an approach that you may not have considered before. It also provides a clear comparison of different essays, allowing you to piece together the parts that work from each draft.
Taking risks might seem like a reckless decision when it comes to your academic future. While it’s no guarantee that risks are rewarded, many admission counselors remember essays that decided to take an outside-of-the-box approach. Be sure not to mistake this tip for adding “shock value” though. Unconventional essays don’t necessarily shock the reader, but rather talk about sensitive topics or take an unconventional approach to formatting and structure. Think about ways to make your story compelling and your essay stand out.
Not everyone has an overly exciting life, or suffered a tragedy that led to immense personal growth. Oftentimes, students try to write flashy or shocking stories in order to grab an admission counselor’s attention, whether or not it’s true. Try not to over exaggerate or lie in your college essay. Admission counselors don’t remember shocking essays, they remember well written content with compelling takeaways.
Create a Compelling Hook
A compelling hook is the key to any effective college essay. During the editing and proofreading process, make sure to take the time to check that there is a well written hook sentence. Admission counselors read a lot of college essays, so the more engaging a hook sentence, the more memorable your essay will be.
“The opening line has to be an engaging hook sentence,” says Patturelli. “I tell students all the time, it's okay to be a little out there. Admission counselors read a lot of college essays and a memorable opening might not be the difference between getting into a school, but it can be the difference between being considered for additional scholarship or leadership roles.”
Make Your Essay Easy to Read
All well-written essays all have one thing in common: they’re easy to read. The best topics are only as effective as how well they are communicated to your audience. “Essays need to be a consistent, flowing story,” says Patturelli. “A lot of times students try to do different stories every paragraph. That format is just so hard to follow.”
Even if your essay tells a cohesive story, make sure it’s visually appealing as well. Paragraph and line breaks are an excellent way to create natural breaks in your essay. Try not to overwhelm your reader with long blocks of text.
Don’t Focus Too Much on the Prompt
The essay prompt is meant to spark ideas, offer suggestions, and give guidance to those who don’t know where to start. Don’t stress too much about the prompt though. Many times, it isn’t part of the essay evaluation process. “I evaluate students on the story they told, what lesson they learned, and if they're a good writer,” says Patturelli. “Often I'm not even looking at whether they answered the prompt or not.”
Ask For Help
Much like the other aspects of the college application process, asking for help is a necessary part of writing a college essay. While you need to pick a topic and write a compelling story, there are several resources available that can assist in other ways. High school counselors are excellent sources of support in any phase of the application process, including college essays. Another commonly untapped resource is college admission officers.
Start Writing
The hardest, but most important step in the writing process is actually writing. Once you’re over that hurdle, don’t be afraid to tap into the resources available to you. For example, Regis College’s admission department is an excellent resource for prospective students who want guidance on the application process from the college essay to the interview. You’ll be amazed at how beneficial it is to accept guidance from individuals who read thousands of essays every year.
Want to learn more about the various steps in the college application process? Check out our Complete Guide to Applying to College to learn more about how to make the admission process easier.
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College Essay Examples: How to Write Your Story
Experts say a good college essay is one that features a student's voice and personality.
Students should know themselves and write authoritatively so they can share a sense of their lives with admissions officers. (Getty Stock)
No college application is complete without the personal essay, which can be daunting for many students to write.
But a few simple tips, some introspection and insight into what admissions officers are looking for can help ease the pressure. U.S. News has compiled several college essay examples that helped students get into school. Shared by admissions staff, these essays stand out, they say, because the student voices shine, helping the school get to know them.
"We're actually listening for a student's voice and trying to figure out who they would be on our campus," says Karen Richardson, dean of admissions and enrollment management at Tufts University in Massachusetts. "It's not just about the topic that a student chooses to write on, but rather, how they write about it. We encourage students to show rather than tell to help the reader get a sense of who they are."
Experts say the essay should give the school a sample of his or her personality.
"A good essay to me, in general, is one where I learn something about the student that I wouldn't learn elsewhere in the application," says Monica Inzer, vice president for enrollment management at Hamilton College in New York.
But finding their voice can be a challenge for many students, Inzer notes, because they may have limited life experience. Also, she adds, they have been writing to the instructions of high school teachers up until this point, rather than for themselves. Finding their voice means students must get to know themselves and write authoritatively, sharing a sense of their lives with admissions officers.
On its admissions page, Hamilton lists multiple college essay examples written by students admitted to the school. Though Inzer declined to single out one essay, she says that the examples offer a diverse mix of student voices and backgrounds. The essay excerpted below, with the permission of Hamilton College, shows the student's personality through a love of fly-fishing.
I kept a firm grip on the rainbow trout as I removed the lure from its lip. Then, my heart racing with excitement, I lowered the fish to the water and watched it flash away.
I remained hooked.
I caught that 10-inch fryling five years ago on Fall Creek using a $5 fly rod given to me by my neighbor Gil. The creek is spectacular as it cascades down the 150-foot drop of Ithaca Falls. Only 100-feet further, however, it runs past a decrepit gun factory and underneath a graffitied bridge before flowing adjacent to my high school and out to Cayuga Lake. Aside from the falls, the creek is largely overlooked. Nearly all of the high school students I know who cross that bridge daily do so with no thought of the creek below.
When I was a toddler, my moms say I used to point and ask, "What? What? What?" Even now my inquisitive nature is obvious. Unlike my friends, I had noticed people fly fishing in Fall Creek. Mesmerized by their graceful casts, I pestered Gil into teaching me. From that first thrilling encounter with a trout, I knew I needed to catch more. I had a new string of questions. I wanted to understand trout behavior, how to find them, and what they ate. There was research to do.
I devoted myself to fly fishing. I asked questions. I woke up at 4 a.m. to fish before school. I spent days not catching anything. Yet, I persisted. The Kid's Book of Fishing was replaced by Norman MacLean's A River Runs Through It . Soon Ernest Hemingway's essays found their place next to Trout Unlimited magazines by my bed.
I sought teachers. I continued to fish with Gil, and at his invitation joined the local Trout Unlimited Chapter. I enrolled in a fly-tying class.
There I met Ken, a soft-spoken molecular biologist, who taught me to start each fly I make by crimping the hook to reduce harm to fish, and Mike, a sarcastic Deadhead lawyer, who turns over rocks at all times of year to "match the hatch" and figure out which insects fish are eating. Thanks to my mentors, I can identify and create almost every type of Northeastern mayfly, caddisfly, and stonefly.
The more I learned, the more protective I felt of the creek and its inhabitants. My knowledge of mayflies and experience fishing in many New York streams led me to notice the lack of Blue-Winged Olive Mayflies in Fall Creek. I figured out why while discussing water quality in my AP Biology class; lead from the gun factory had contaminated the creek and ruined the mayfly habitat. Now, I participate in stream clean-up days, have documented the impact of invasive species on trout and other native fish, and have chosen to continue to explore the effects of pollutants on waterways in my AP Environmental Science class.
Last year, on a frigid October morning, I started a conversation with the man fishing next to me. Banks, I later learned, is a contemporary artist who nearly died struggling with a heroin addiction. When we meet on the creek these days we talk about casting techniques, aquatic insects, and fishing ethics. We also talk about the healing power of fly fishing. I know Banks would agree with Henry David Thoreau, who wrote "[Many men] lay so much stress on the fish which they catch or fail to catch, and on nothing else, as if there were nothing else to be caught."
Initially, my goal was to catch trout. What I landed was a passion. Thanks to that first morning on Fall Creek, I've found a calling that consumes my free time, compels me to teach fly fishing to others, and drives what I want to study in college.
I will be leaving Fall Creek soon. I am eager to step into new streams.
"It's more about the voice than anything else," Inzer says, noting an essay that is too clinical can mute a student's personality.
"You can think of the essay as the soul of the application. While we recognize that it takes years of hard work and dedication to build a strong college application over a high school career, what helps an admissions committee picture you in our classrooms, in our clubs and in our community is your own voice and perspective," says Ellen Kim, dean of undergraduate admissions at Maryland's Johns Hopkins University .
"The essay is a space for us to see that come to life. The committee isn't looking for any one thing in particular because part of what is so telling is what the student felt was important to share about themselves in that space," Kim says.
Some colleges require a supplemental essay in addition to the personal essay. Typically, admissions pros note, these essays are shorter and focus on answering a specific question posed by the college.
In some cases though, the school may emphasize the supplemental essay as a top priority. That's the case at St. John's College , which has campuses in Maryland and New Mexico, says Benjamin Baum, vice president of enrollment for the St. John's system.
"We call it supplemental, but actually, it's the most important essay that the students will write as a part of our application," Baum says, adding that it allows the school to tailor questions for applicants around topics that are academic priorities at St. John's.
Experts say supplemental essays tend to be short, but St. John's College bucks that trend, requiring a minimum of 400 words. That's because the school is interested in seeing students write at length on a chosen topic.
Baum highlights this supplemental essay on a student's love for political and legal philosophy as a strong example:
Last year in my Constitutional Law class, I fell in love with political and legal philosophy. Sexy, right?
Maybe not, but I loved the rules, the structure, and the big questions that surrounded organizing a government. I thought about these things constantly—while brushing my teeth, doing chores, and driving to school. Unable to take this beloved course a second time, I chose my senior classes with more than a touch of melancholy. I was skeptical that even the most appealing humanities class, AP Literature, would be anything but anticlimactic by comparison. I'd become so accustomed to reading the function-focused writings of Locke, Rousseau, Madison, Thoreau, that I found it difficult to see "literature" as anything more than mere stories. I wanted substance that I could actually do something with, and I didn't expect to find it in AP Lit.
Settling down to read our first assigned book, Sophocles' Antigone , I was apathetic. We'd done a pre-reading exercise earlier in class and I'd gathered that Antigone was just the sad story of a wannabe-martyr-descendant-of-Oedipus who crosses the wrong king, dies, breaks her fiance's heart with her death, leading him, and her would-be mother-in-law by extension, to suicide, blah, blah, blah. I fanned the pages with my thumb, checked the time (10:15 p.m.), and willed myself to make it through the first ten pages without falling asleep.
Rousseau's familiar skepticism of an unchecked ruler, Locke's notions of natural rights philosophy, and Thoreau's willingness to violate immoral laws. Wait—this was a literature class, and yet here was Sophocles articulating the same concerns of the Framers of the Constitution (hundreds of years before any of them were born).
Antigone has become my favorite book because it wraps political and legal theory around complex characters and a compelling narrative. Prior to reading Antigone , I assumed that if I hadn't read every book that pertained to the architecture of US government, I had at least heard of them. But I was so mistaken. Antigone proved this assumption wrong because Antigone itself was a case study in the actual consequences of ideas discussed by political philosophers. In other words, Antigonehumanized the esoteric and function-driven debates I'd studied last year. Witnessing Haemon cradle his dead fiance in his arms, then subsequently kill himself before his father's eyes, allowed me to see all of the ideas I'd spent hours considering as not purely political questions, but as human ones. Finishing the play, I was ashamed that I'd harbored such skepticism at the outset of my reading. My experience with Antigone reminds me why I get excited each time I use calculus in physics or art in cooking, and I look forward to a lifetime of making these connections.
From a compelling opening line to the emphasis on the subject matter, Baum says this example stands out because of the student's "intellectual enthusiasm." Her embrace of in-depth academic concepts signaled to the admissions team that she was a good fit for the college.
While St. Johns College may ask for more in-depth answers, other schools value brevity, challenging students to write concisely. One such example, shared by Tufts, takes the reader from the student's love of origami to a passion for science in less than 250 words.
Using a flimsy piece of printer paper, I remember folding my first paper crane. Reading instructions off a dusty origami book from my basement, my fingers fumbled with the paper, folding, unfolding, refolding, and possibly some frustration-induced crumpling. Nearly an hour later, with little creases scattered across its body and a misaligned beak, it was clear that origami wasn't a natural talent of mine.
Despite its deformities, there was an endearing quality to the bird I couldn't quite explain. After sixteen folds, it resembled the paper only in color and material. I would fold countless other designs, until my room was covered with creations from simple paper boats to intricate seven part lotus flowers.
The joy I found in origami lied in the fact that I had the freedom to invent anything; with each fold, creativity flowed through my fingers, converting curiosity of the potential of each fold into an irrepressible desire to create more. It is what motivated me to read about 2D kinematics to win a projectile motion challenge, and understand the chemistry behind qualitative analysis of cations for a lab.
Everything I could ever want to know and more is right at my fingertips. From the change in weight I feel in a moving elevator, to the chemical reactions that cause the plastic stars in my room to glow, science is a field that permeates every single aspect of life. I know my curiosity to understand the world around me nurtures my love for science.
Richardson says that the appeal of an essay on an atypical topic such as origami showed that the writer was willing to take risks.
"Origami isn't a typical topic for a college essay, but, beyond that, she showed us rather than told us about her process of making objects that didn't always turn out how she expected or wanted. Still, she kept trying. It helps us to see her as someone who would be willing to jump into new experiences on our campus. What also stands out here is the imagery she uses to get her point across – I could picture the crumpled pieces of paper on her floor and the frustration that she felt. In the end, she was able to tie her creative process making origami to her academic interests," Richardson wrote in an email.
When it comes to writing a college admissions essay – whether personal or supplemental – experts advise students to follow the same rules: find their voice, write about a topic that matters to them, share their personality, express themselves and proofread extensively. On the latter point, experts suggest students share their essay with someone who knows them well before submitting it.
Teachers, friends and parents can all be helpful proofreaders, but experts note that the student voice should remain intact.
"The essay really needs to be the student's work. I encourage students to ask people close to them to read the essay and ask 'would you know this essay is about me?' If not, it's time to rework the essay. But make sure it's still your voice," Richardson says.
Inzer also encourages students not to stress too much over the essay and put unnecessary weight on it as part of their college application . While a strong essay may elevate a candidate in a crowded field, she says it doesn't make or break an application.
"That alone won't get them in; it's their grades and hard work and lots of other things. But it might get them an extra look, especially at a highly selective place where there are lots of strong candidates," Inzer says.
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How to Write a Great College Application Essay
By manuela florea
You’ve completed all the application forms, taken all the tests, and now it’s finally time to impress your university’s admission officers with a great college application essay.
A college application essay is usually around 500 words, and those words can mean the difference between acceptance and rejection. You will spend many days researching and crafting your essay, but admissions officers will only have a few minutes to actually read it, so you need to get their attention.
However, if you are the type of person who likes to start with the don’ts, check out our blog post on How Not to Write a University Application Essay .
1. Read the instructions carefully
They say starting the essay is the hardest part. You may think it’s redundant to mention that you need to read the instructions carefully, but with all the excitement and stress that characterizes this period of your life, it needs to be highlighted.
If you don’t follow the application essay guidelines, the admissions officer may assume that you won’t be able to follow the directions of the university’s program. Page and word limits are mentioned for a reason and you must be able to organize your submission by following the rules.
After you’ve read through the instructions a few times and gathered your notes, you can start creating an outline to organize your essay and decide what message you want to send. Now you're ready to write your first draft.
2. Start with a compelling introduction
Great writing is hard to achieve, but it’s possible if you’re smart about it. Anyone who works in journalism will tell you that you can catch any reader’s attention as long as you deliver a great introduction.
The admissions officers will only spend a brief amount of time reviewing your essay, so you need to start with a vivid paragraph that will keep them engaged. The introduction has to reveal to the reader what your essay is about and catch their attention. You could open with an anecdote or an interesting story that will show some of the best parts of your personality and character, offering an insight that will help the admission officers get to know who you are.
3. Use your inner voice
Universities are looking for authenticity and quality of thinking, so don’t try to shape your essay around phrases or ideas that people have used many times before, but base it on your genuine beliefs.
The application essay is your opportunity to impress an admissions officer with your determination and existing knowledge of your chosen subject. Make sure it reflects all of your skills and ambitions, and show how your chosen program will help you achieve future goals.
4. Avoid clichés
While you research your application essay, you will be encouraged to check out some examples of great essays and get inspired. While this is a great exercise, many students allow themselves to be influenced too much by the examples, and use lots of clichés in their desire to impress the admission officers.
Remember that there are thousands of others students applying to your desired university, and you need to distinguish yourself. Re-read your essay, delete all the sentences that sound like a cliché, and try to find a more original angle.
Admissions officers go through thousands of applications a year, so it’s only logical that they will notice those that bring a unique personality to life. Let them discover that!
5. Give good examples to support your ideas
A college application essay is basically a glimpse into how your mind works and how you view the world. If you want your essay to be credible, you need to make sure everything you write supports that viewpoint. Spend some time figuring out how the essay question relates to your personal qualities and then write from a specific angle.
That means that every time you want to express an idea, you don’t simply state a fact, but you also include specific details and examples to develop your ideas. You can do that by offering examples from your personal experiences and writing about what truly motivates you and how you developed a certain belief.
6. Stick to a clear essay plan
Creativity is an aspect very much appreciated in writing, but don’t assume that a creative essay is not also an organized one. Obviously, you don't want to write a bunch of words without meaning, so make sure you write about just one subject at a time.
You will have a maximum number of words, so the secret is not to try to cover everything in your essay. Create a plan before you actually start writing, organize your essay in three parts (introduction, body and conclusion), and decide on the main ideas you want to express.
7. Ask someone to proofread your work
You want to create a great college application, so you will probably read it over and over again in order to make sure there are no typos and spelling and grammar errors. But after a while, you might need a fresh perspective. It's best to ask someone who hasn't seen it yet to take a look, as they're likely to see mistakes you won't catch.
If you ask a teacher or parent to proofread your essay, they will be able not only to catch mistakes, but also to check if the writing sounds like you. After reading so many examples and following all those instructions, it’s hard to tell if what you just wrote is a statement of who you really are or not. Enlist the help of others to make sure that your essay is immaculate.
Now start writing and craft an extraordinary essay!
This article was originally published in January 2016 . It was last updated in September 2022
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Manuela is passionate about education and evolution and wishes to collect enough information in order to help students from all corners of the world take the big step towards their incredible future.
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How to write a US college admissions essay
A step-by-step guide to writing your personal essay for us college applications, naomi lofts.
If you’re one of the thousands of students that have decided to study in the US this year, you may be aware that unfortunately you cannot escape the dreaded piece of personal writing, even as an international student.
While there is certainly no Ucas system as there is in the UK, you’ll still be required to write a college admissions essay as part of your application . There are three types of applications:
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- The Common Application
- The Universal College Application (UCA)
- Individual Institution Application
The Common Application and the UCA are used by many US universities and colleges, and you’ll find that if you can write an essay for one of these, you’ll have no problems with any other individual applications.
The key to a successful essay is to start early – with the Common Application this means choosing which one of the five prompts you wish to answer and getting down some initial thoughts.
Think about each prompt carefully and decide whether your skills and life experience relate to one more than the others. Look at the individual words such as “background” and “interest” to help you, and if you still can’t decide, ask your family and friends which prompt they think might suit you best.
Remember that these prompts are just that, and not questions that must be “answered”. If you’re applying to institutions that use the UCA or set their own admissions essay, you won’t have to worry about this part, but the advice that follows will still apply.
When you’ve made a decision, sit down for a brainstorming session and make notes on how the topics below might be used in your essay:
- After school clubs and extracurricular activities
- Holidays and other trips abroad or around the UK
- Hobbies and interests
- Work experience
- Family members and friends
- Special occasions and other life experiences that have influenced you
When you have a few sentences down for each point, you can begin to put together your introduction.
Like the Ucas personal statement, an attention-grabbing opening sentence is crucial if you’re going to highlight yourself as an interesting person who the admissions faculty would want on their course.
Don’t start with something generic, such as “when I go into the city, I visit the museums because I like history”. Everyone goes to museums to learn more about history, so this isn’t a personal story.
Make sure you launch straight into telling the reader why you’re unique, without wasting time restating the prompt or describing what you’re going to write about.
Once you have a solid opening paragraph, think about how you can use your notes to construct several more paragraphs that will make up the bulk of your essay.
You are only given a maximum of 650 words for the UCA personal statement and the Common Application essay, which isn’t a lot of space, but at this stage it’s better to have too much written down that you can then trim, than not have enough. Institutions that set their own essays may offer more words than this, but it’s best to check the application form or their website first.
Think about how your notes from earlier can be used in relation to the prompt you have chosen, and try to link each paragraph so the essay flows well as a whole.
For example, if you’re writing an essay for prompt number five of the common application, “ Discuss an accomplishment or event, formal or informal, that marked your transition from childhood to adulthood within your culture, community, or family” , you might choose to talk about wanting to get your drivers’ licence as soon as possible. Paragraphs might then be broken down into:
- Your parent’s view of this and any compromises you had to make with them
- What you did to prepare for both the theory and practical tests
- Parts of the learning experience you found difficult and how you overcame them
- How you paid for lessons and/or a car once you had passed, e.g., getting a part-time job
- What the experience taught you, e.g., managing money, being organised, etc. and how it improved any of your personal skills or qualities, such as communication, teamwork or problem-solving
Looking at some example admission essays may also be useful in structuring your own.
The conclusion must round off your essay in a way that leaves a lasting good impression upon the admissions tutor. It should be a summary of what you have learned from your experiences and how they have shaped you into the person you are today.
Explain how this will benefit you on the course and make you a valuable asset to the university. You can also include a brief sentence or two about your career path or any other plans you have for the future that your university education will enable you to achieve. Tutors will want to see that you have thought ahead and considered how you’re going to use your degree later on in the field.
When your first draft is complete, don’t rely on a spellchecker to correct spelling and grammar mistakes; ask tutors, family and friends to look at it and give you their feedback. Make sure you go through at least several rounds of this, and you’ll achieve a polished essay that will give you the best chance of success with your US college applications.
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Search the site, search suggestions, the personal essay.
Unlike the rest of your application, which primarily consists of filling in boxes, the personal essay gives you the freedom to essentially write about whatever you want. No rules! Show who you are! Which sounds pretty cool, until you’re sitting there looking at a blank Word document.
While the personal essay is a great opportunity to infuse your voice into the application, I think some people (cough, me, cough) can get overwhelmed by it to the point where they don’t know how to begin. What do I write about? What makes me stand out? How can I explain all of this in only a few hundred words?
Well, as someone who eventually managed to get some words down on that blank document and turn out a decent college essay, here are a few words of advice.
1. Start by writing something.
I know, that sounds really obvious. But sometimes the hardest part of writing is just getting started – if you spend too much time criticizing your ideas before you write anything down, you won’t get anywhere. Write a few sentences, jot down some random ideas, note a couple anecdotes that might be interesting… just get something on paper that you can look back to. Maybe one of those ideas will catch, and BOOM you have an essay – or maybe you’ll look back to this list after a few weeks and think of something else that you would rather write about. That’s fine! The beginning of the creative process involves coming up with ideas, judging them comes later. Trust me, I took a class on this (really: it was a psych class called “Creativity: Madmen, Geniuses, and Harvard Students.”)
2. Think about something that has some significance to you.
Many students feel like they have to write about some huge, life-changing, important event in their lives. If you have something like this that you want to write about, that’s great! However, you can also write an awesome essay about something other than The Most Important Thing Ever. It can be the littlest things, if you explain their significance well, that actually stand out. In my case, somewhere in my essay I mentioned that I got up at 5:37am (rather than 5:30 or 5:45) because I liked prime numbers – and the first thing my admissions officer said when I walked into the room for my interview was, “So, prime numbers, huh?” That being said, remember that this is a college essay, so keep this audience and goal in mind as you write. When they finish reading, what do you want the admissions officers to know about you? Does this essay demonstrate something about who you are and what you care about? If not, you might want to go back to the drawing board.
3. Don’t be afraid to start over.
After finishing my first draft, I was glad to have something, but I wasn’t completely happy with it either. A week or two later, as I was reading over my essay again, I had an idea for a totally different topic - so I opened another document and completely started over. The second attempt was so much better, and I felt happy with how it turned out. It can be hard to scrap an initial attempt after spending so much time on it, but think of that time as just part of the process of getting to what you really want to write about.
4. Get an outside perspective.
One of the most useful things I did while working on my college essay was asking a couple people to read it over. At the time, I had two drafts that I was choosing between, and I wasn’t sure which one captured “me” better. When I asked my parents and teacher what they thought, they unanimously picked one option over the other. In the end, it’s important to have an essay that you are happy with – but sometimes having a fresh set of eyes can help you see what that is.
This is an important step! Both you, and perhaps someone who knows you well, should read over your essay and make sure it is in tip-top shape before you turn it in. There should be no grammatical or spelling mistakes – that gives the impression that you did not take your time on it. I know you’ve spent a long time on it by this point, but those last edits are super important!
The personal essay is a snippet of who you are and where you’re coming from – a snapshot for the admissions officers to look at as they read your application. It will never be able to capture everything about you, but you want to make sure that you’re giving them your best angle. So sit down, smile, and get to writing!
Halie Olson Class of '17
Hi everyone! My name is Halie, and I’m a senior from Framingham, MA (which isn’t too far from here) now living in Currier House.
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- College Essay Examples | What Works and What Doesn’t
College Essay Examples | What Works and What Doesn't
Published on November 8, 2021 by Kirsten Courault . Revised on November 4, 2022.
One effective method for improving your college essay is to read example essays . Here are three sample essays, each with a bad and good version to help you improve your own essay.
Table of contents
Essay 1: sharing an identity or background through a montage, essay 2: overcoming a challenge, a sports injury narrative, essay 3: showing the influence of an important person or thing, frequently asked questions about college application essays.
This essay uses a montage structure to show snapshots of a student’s identity and background. The writer builds her essay around the theme of the five senses, sharing memories she associates with sight, sound, smell, touch, and taste.
In the weak rough draft, there is little connection between the individual anecdotes, and they do not robustly demonstrate the student’s qualities.
In the final version, the student uses an extended metaphor of a museum to create a strong connection among her stories, each showcasing a different part of her identity. She draws a specific personal insight from each memory and uses the stories to demonstrate her qualities and values.
How My Five Senses Record My Life
Throughout my life, I have kept a record of my life’s journey with my five senses. This collection of memories matters a great deal because I experience life every day through the lens of my identity.
“Chinese! Japanese!”
My classmate pulls one eye up and the other down.
“Look what my parents did to me!”
No matter how many times he repeats it, the other kids keep laughing. I focus my almond-shaped eyes on the ground, careful not to attract attention to my discomfort, anger, and shame. How could he say such a mean thing about me? What did I do to him? Joseph’s words would engrave themselves into my memory, making me question my appearance every time I saw my eyes in the mirror.
Soaking in overflowing bubble baths with Andrew Lloyd Webber belting from the boombox.
Listening to “Cell Block Tango” with my grandparents while eating filet mignon at a dine-in show in Ashland.
Singing “The Worst Pies in London” at a Korean karaoke club while laughing hysterically with my brother, who can do an eerily spot-on rendition of Sweeney Todd.
Taking car rides with Mom in the Toyota Sequoia as we compete to hit the high note in “Think of Me” from The Phantom of the Opera . Neither of us stands a chance!
The sweet scent of vegetables, Chinese noodles, and sushi wafts through the room as we sit around the table. My grandma presents a good-smelling mixture of international cuisine for our Thanksgiving feast. My favorite is the Chinese food that she cooks. Only the family prayer stands between me and the chance to indulge in these delicious morsels, comforting me with their familiar savory scents.
I rinse a faded plastic plate decorated by my younger sister at the Waterworks Art Center. I wear yellow rubber gloves to protect my hands at Mom’s insistence, but I can still feel the warm water that offers a bit of comfort as I finish the task at hand. The crusted casserole dish with stubborn remnants from my dad’s five-layer lasagna requires extra effort, so I fill it with Dawn and scalding water, setting it aside to soak. I actually don’t mind this daily chore.
I taste sweat on my upper lip as I fight to continue pedaling on a stationary bike. Ava’s next to me and tells me to go up a level. We’re biking buddies, dieting buddies, and Saturday morning carbo-load buddies. After the bike display hits 30 minutes, we do a five-minute cool down, drink Gatorade, and put our legs up to rest.
My five senses are always gathering new memories of my identity. I’m excited to expand my collection.
Word count: 455
College essay checklist
Topic and structure
- I’ve selected a topic that’s meaningful to me.
- My essay reveals something different from the rest of my application.
- I have a clear and well-structured narrative.
- I’ve concluded with an insight or a creative ending.
Writing style and tone
- I’ve crafted an introduction containing vivid imagery or an intriguing hook that grabs the reader’s attention.
- I’ve written my essay in a way that shows instead of tells.
- I’ve used appropriate style and tone for a college essay.
- I’ve used specific, vivid personal stories that would be hard to replicate.
- I’ve demonstrated my positive traits and values in my essay.
- My essay is focused on me, not another person or thing.
- I’ve included self-reflection and insight in my essay.
- I’ve respected the word count , remaining within 10% of the upper word limit.
Making Sense of My Identity
Welcome to The Rose Arimoto Museum. You are about to enter the “Making Sense of My Identity” collection. Allow me to guide you through select exhibits, carefully curated memories from Rose’s sensory experiences.
First, the Sight Exhibit.
“Chinese! Japanese!”
“Look what my parents did to me!”
No matter how many times he repeats it, the other kids keep laughing. I focus my almond-shaped eyes on the ground, careful not to attract attention as my lip trembles and palms sweat. Joseph couldn’t have known how his words would engrave themselves into my memory, making me question my appearance every time I saw my eyes in the mirror.
Ten years later, these same eyes now fixate on an InDesign layout sheet, searching for grammar errors while my friend Selena proofreads our feature piece on racial discrimination in our hometown. As we’re the school newspaper editors, our journalism teacher Ms. Riley allows us to stay until midnight to meet tomorrow’s deadline. She commends our work ethic, which for me is fueled by writing一my new weapon of choice.
Next, you’ll encounter the Sound Exhibit.
Still, the world is my Broadway as I find my voice on stage.
Just below, enter the Smell Exhibit.
While I help my Pau Pau prepare dinner, she divulges her recipe for cha siu bau, with its soft, pillowy white exterior hiding the fragrant filling of braised barbecue pork inside. The sweet scent of candied yams, fun see , and Spam musubi wafts through the room as we gather around our Thankgsiving feast. After our family prayer, we indulge in these delicious morsels until our bellies say stop. These savory scents of my family’s cultural heritage linger long after I’ve finished the last bite.
Next up, the Touch Exhibit.
I rinse a handmade mug that I had painstakingly molded and painted in ceramics class. I wear yellow rubber gloves to protect my hands at Mom’s insistence, but I can still feel the warm water that offers a bit of comfort as I finish the task at hand. The crusted casserole dish with stubborn remnants from my dad’s five-layer lasagna requires extra effort, so I fill it with Dawn and scalding water, setting it aside to soak. For a few fleeting moments, as I continue my nightly chore, the pressure of my weekend job, tomorrow’s calculus exam, and next week’s track meet are washed away.
Finally, we end with the Taste Exhibit.
My legs fight to keep pace with the stationary bike as the salty taste of sweat seeps into corners of my mouth. Ava challenges me to take it up a level. We always train together一even keeping each other accountable on our strict protein diet of chicken breasts, broccoli, and Muscle Milk. We occasionally splurge on Saturday mornings after interval training, relishing the decadence of everything bagels smeared with raspberry walnut cream cheese. But this is Wednesday, so I push myself. I know that once the digital display hits 30:00, we’ll allow our legs to relax into a five-minute cool down, followed by the fiery tang of Fruit Punch Gatorade to rehydrate.
Thank you for your attention. This completes our tour. I invite you to rejoin us for next fall’s College Experience collection, which will exhibit Rose’s continual search for identity and learning.
Word count: 649
- I’ve crafted an essay introduction containing vivid imagery or an intriguing hook that grabs the reader’s attention.
This essay uses a narrative structure to recount how a student overcame a challenge, specifically a sports injury. Since this topic is often overused, the essay requires vivid description, a memorable introduction and conclusion , and interesting insight.
The weak rough draft contains an interesting narrative, insight, and vivid imagery, but it has an overly formal tone that distracts the reader from the story. The student’s use of elaborate vocabulary in every sentence makes the essay sound inauthentic and stilted.
The final essay uses a more natural, conversational tone and chooses words that are vivid and specific without being pretentious. This allows the reader to focus on the narrative and appreciate the student’s unique insight.
One fateful evening some months ago, a defensive linebacker mauled me, his 212 pounds indisputably alighting upon my ankle. Ergo, an abhorrent cracking of calcified tissue. At first light the next day, I awoke cognizant of a new paradigm—one sans football—promulgated by a stabbing sensation that would continue to haunt me every morning of this semester.
It’s been an exceedingly taxing semester not being able to engage in football, but I am nonetheless excelling in school. That twist of fate never would have come to pass if I hadn’t broken my ankle. I still limp down the halls at school, but I’m feeling less maudlin these days. My friends don’t steer clear anymore, and I have a lot more of them. My teachers, emboldened by my newfound interest in learning, continually invite me to learn more and do my best. Football is still on hold, but I feel like I’m finally playing a game that matters.
Five months ago, right after my ill-fated injury, my friends’ demeanor became icy and remote, although I couldn’t fathom why. My teachers, in contrast, beckoned me close and invited me on a new learning journey. But despite their indubitably kind advances, even they recoiled when I drew near.
A few weeks later, I started to change my attitude vis-à-vis my newfound situation and determined to put my energy toward productive ends (i.e., homework). I wasn’t enamored with school. I never had been. Nevertheless, I didn’t abhor it either. I just preferred football.
My true turn of fate came when I started studying more and participating in class. I started to enjoy history class, and I grew interested in reading more. I discovered a volume of poems written by a fellow adventurer on the road of life, and I loved it. I ravenously devoured everything in the writer’s oeuvre .
As the weeks flitted past, I found myself spending my time with a group of people who were quite different from me. They participated in theater and played instruments in marching band. They raised their hands in class when the teacher posed a question. Because of their auspicious influence, I started raising my hand too. I am no longer vapid, and I now have something to say.
I am certain that your school would benefit from my miraculous academic transformation, and I entreat you to consider my application to your fine institution. Accepting me to your university would be an unequivocally righteous decision.
Word count: 408
- I’ve chosen a college essay topic that’s meaningful to me.
- I’ve respected the essay word count , remaining within 10% of the upper word limit.
As I step out of bed, the pain shoots through my foot and up my leg like it has every morning since “the game.” That night, a defensive linebacker tackled me, his 212 pounds landing decidedly on my ankle. I heard the sound before I felt it. The next morning, I awoke to a new reality—one without football—announced by a stabbing sensation that would continue to haunt me every morning of this semester.
My broken ankle broke my spirit.
My friends steered clear of me as I hobbled down the halls at school. My teachers tried to find the delicate balance between giving me space and offering me help. I was as unsure how to deal with myself as they were.
In time, I figured out how to redirect some of my frustration, anger, and pent-up energy toward my studies. I had never not liked school, but I had never really liked it either. In my mind, football practice was my real-life classroom, where I could learn all I ever needed to know.
Then there was that day in Mrs. Brady’s history class. We sang a ridiculous-sounding mnemonic song to memorize all the Chinese dynasties from Shang to Qing. I mumbled the words at first, but I got caught up in the middle of the laughter and began singing along. Starting that day, I began browsing YouTube videos about history, curious to learn more. I had started learning something new, and, to my surprise, I liked it.
With my afternoons free from burpees and scrimmages, I dared to crack open a few more of my books to see what was in them. That’s when my English poetry book, Paint Me Like I Am , caught my attention. It was full of poems written by students my age from WritersCorps. I couldn’t get enough.
I wasn’t the only one who was taken with the poems. Previously, I’d only been vaguely aware of Christina as one of the weird kids I avoided. Crammed in the margins of her high-top Chuck Taylors were scribbled lines of her own poetry and infinite doodles. Beyond her punk rock persona was a sensitive artist, puppy-lover, and environmental activist that a wide receiver like me would have never noticed before.
With Christina, I started making friends with people who once would have been invisible to me: drama geeks, teachers’ pets, band nerds. Most were college bound but not to play a sport. They were smart and talented, and they cared about people and politics and all sorts of issues that I hadn’t considered before. Strangely, they also seemed to care about me.
I still limp down the halls at school, but I don’t seem to mind as much these days. My friends don’t steer clear anymore, and I have a lot more of them. My teachers, excited by my newfound interest in learning, continually invite me to learn more and do my best. Football is still on hold, but I feel like I’m finally playing a game that matters.
My broken ankle broke my spirit. Then, it broke my ignorance.
Word count: 512
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This essay uses a narrative structure to show how a pet positively influenced the student’s values and character.
In the weak draft, the student doesn’t focus on himself, instead delving into too much detail about his dog’s positive traits and his grandma’s illness. The essay’s structure is meandering, with tangents and details that don’t communicate any specific insight.
In the improved version, the student keeps the focus on himself, not his pet. He chooses the most relevant stories to demonstrate specific qualities, and the structure more clearly builds up to an insightful conclusion.
Man’s Best Friend
I desperately wanted a cat. I begged my parents for one, but once again, my sisters overruled me, so we drove up the Thompson Valley Canyon from Loveland to Estes Park to meet our newest family member. My sisters had already hatched their master plan, complete with a Finding Nemo blanket to entice the pups. The blanket was a hit with all of them, except for one—the one who walked over and sat in my lap. That was the day that Francisco became a Villanova.
Maybe I should say he was mine because I got stuck with all the chores. As expected, my dog-loving sisters were nowhere to be found! My mom was “extra” with all the doggy gear. Cisco even had to wear these silly little puppy shoes outside so that when he came back in, he wouldn’t get the carpets dirty. If it was raining, my mother insisted I dress Cisco in a ridiculous yellow raincoat, but, in my opinion, it was an unnecessary source of humiliation for poor Cisco. It didn’t take long for Cisco to decide that his outerwear could be used as toys in a game of Keep Away. As soon as I took off one of his shoes, he would run away with it, hiding under the bed where I couldn’t reach him. But, he seemed to appreciate his ensemble more when we had to walk through snowdrifts to get his job done.
When my abuela was dying from cancer, we went in the middle of the night to see her before she passed. I was sad and scared. But, my dad let me take Cisco in the car, so Cisco cuddled with me and made me feel much better. It’s like he could read my mind. Once we arrived at the hospital, the fluorescent lighting made the entire scene seem unreal, as if I was watching the scene unfold through someone else’s eyes. My grandma lay calmly on her bed, smiling at us even through her last moments of pain. I disliked seeing the tubes and machines hooked up to her. It was unnatural to see her like this一it was so unlike the way I usually saw her beautiful in her flowery dress, whistling a Billie Holiday tune and baking snickerdoodle cookies in the kitchen. The hospital didn’t usually allow dogs, but they made a special exception to respect my grandma’s last wishes that the whole family be together. Cisco remained at the foot of the bed, intently watching abuela with a silence that seemed more effective at communicating comfort and compassion than the rest of us who attempted to offer up words of comfort that just seemed hollow and insincere. It was then that I truly appreciated Cisco’s empathy for others.
As I accompanied my dad to pick up our dry cleaner’s from Ms. Chapman, a family friend asked, “How’s Cisco?” before even asking about my sisters or me. Cisco is the Villanova family mascot, a Goldendoodle better recognized by strangers throughout Loveland than the individual members of my family.
On our summer trip to Boyd Lake State Park, we stayed at the Cottonwood campground for a breathtaking view of the lake. Cisco was allowed to come, but we had to keep him on a leash at all times. After a satisfying meal of fish, our entire family walked along the beach. Cisco and I led the way while my mom and sisters shuffled behind. Cisco always stopped and refused to move, looking back to make sure the others were still following. Once satisfied that everyone was together, he would turn back around and continue prancing with his golden boy curly locks waving in the chilly wind.
On the beach, Cisco “accidentally” got let off his leash and went running maniacally around the sand, unfettered and free. His pure joy as he raced through the sand made me forget about my AP Chem exam or my student council responsibilities. He brings a smile not only to my family members but everyone around him.
Cisco won’t live forever, but without words, he has impressed upon me life lessons of responsibility, compassion, loyalty, and joy. I can’t imagine life without him.
Word count: 701
I quickly figured out that as “the chosen one,” I had been enlisted by Cisco to oversee all aspects of his “business.” I learned to put on Cisco’s doggie shoes to keep the carpet clean before taking him out一no matter the weather. Soon after, Cisco decided that his shoes could be used as toys in a game of Keep Away. As soon as I removed one of his shoes, he would run away with it, hiding under the bed where I couldn’t reach him. But, he seemed to appreciate his footwear more after I’d gear him up and we’d tread through the snow for his daily walks.
One morning, it was 7:15 a.m., and Alejandro was late again to pick me up. “Cisco, you don’t think he overslept again, do you?” Cisco barked, as if saying, “Of course he did!” A text message would never do, so I called his dad, even if it was going to get him in trouble. There was no use in both of us getting another tardy during our first-period class, especially since I was ready on time after taking Cisco for his morning outing. Alejandro was mad at me but not too much. He knew I had helped him out, even if he had to endure his dad’s lecture on punctuality.
Another early morning, I heard my sister yell, “Mom! Where are my good ballet flats? I can’t find them anywhere!” I hesitated and then confessed, “I moved them.” She shrieked at me in disbelief, but I continued, “I put them in your closet, so Cisco wouldn’t chew them up.” More disbelief. However, this time, there was silence instead of shrieking.
Last spring, Cisco and I were fast asleep when the phone rang at midnight. Abuela would not make it through the night after a long year of chemo, but she was in Pueblo, almost three hours away. Sitting next to me for that long car ride on I-25 in pitch-black darkness, Cisco knew exactly what I needed and snuggled right next to me as I petted his coat in a rhythm while tears streamed down my face. The hospital didn’t usually allow dogs, but they made a special exception to respect my grandma’s last wishes that the whole family be together. Cisco remained sitting at the foot of the hospital bed, intently watching abuela with a silence that communicated more comfort than our hollow words. Since then, whenever I sense someone is upset, I sit in silence with them or listen to their words, just like Cisco did.
The other day, one of my friends told me, “You’re a strange one, Josue. You’re not like everybody else but in a good way.” I didn’t know what he meant at first. “You know, you’re super responsible and grown-up. You look out for us instead of yourself. Nobody else does that.” I was a bit surprised because I wasn’t trying to do anything different. I was just being me. But then I realized who had taught me: a fluffy little puppy who I had wished was a cat! I didn’t choose Cisco, but he certainly chose me and, unexpectedly, became my teacher, mentor, and friend.
Word count: 617
A standout college essay has several key ingredients:
- A unique, personally meaningful topic
- A memorable introduction with vivid imagery or an intriguing hook
- Specific stories and language that show instead of telling
- Vulnerability that’s authentic but not aimed at soliciting sympathy
- Clear writing in an appropriate style and tone
- A conclusion that offers deep insight or a creative ending
There are no set rules for how to structure a college application essay , but these are two common structures that work:
- A montage structure, a series of vignettes with a common theme.
- A narrative structure, a single story that shows your personal growth or how you overcame a challenge.
Avoid the five-paragraph essay structure that you learned in high school.
Though admissions officers are interested in hearing your story, they’re also interested in how you tell it. An exceptionally written essay will differentiate you from other applicants, meaning that admissions officers will spend more time reading it.
You can use literary devices to catch your reader’s attention and enrich your storytelling; however, focus on using just a few devices well, rather than trying to use as many as possible.
Most importantly, your essay should be about you , not another person or thing. An insightful college admissions essay requires deep self-reflection, authenticity, and a balance between confidence and vulnerability.
Your essay shouldn’t be a résumé of your experiences but instead should tell a story that demonstrates your most important values and qualities.
When revising your college essay , first check for big-picture issues regarding message, flow, tone, style , and clarity. Then, focus on eliminating grammar and punctuation errors.
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Top 10 Tips for College Admissions Essays
In the admissions process, US colleges and universities generally use three criteria for determining which students to accept and which to reject:
- Previous coursework – your college preparatory work and grade point average (GPA)
- Standardized test scores – SAT and ACT are the two most respected.
- Admission/Entrance essays
Of the three criteria, the college entrance essay provides you with the greatest opportunity to distinguish yourself from your competition and show off the person behind the statistics. This article will help in writing a college essay and help you boost your chances of being accepted by an American university or college
Planning Your Essay »
- #1: Understand the Admissions Board Psychology
- #2: Determine Your Essay Goals
- #3: Distinguish Yourself from the Other Applicants
- #4: Contribute to the University
- #5: Understand and Answer the Essay Prompt
Writing Your Essay »
- #6: Write with Specific Details
- #7: Demonstrate College-Level Diction
- #8: Demonstrate College-level Style
- #9: Have Someone Proofread Your Essay
- #10: Pay Attention to Deadlines
Section 1: Planning Your Essay
Tip #1: understand the admissions board psychology.
When you have compiled all the pieces of your application and sent it to the college/university of your dreams, all of your hard work gets placed in a pile with hundreds of other applications. Then a small group of admissions officers will review each application, looking over the scores and coursework and reading the college application essays.
The key to convincing the admissions officers is in understanding what they are looking for. They want students who will:
- Succeed once they are admitted;
- Contribute to the educational experience of other students; and,
- Bring honor and prestige to the university once they graduate.
In your college admissions essay, you want to portray yourself as a student who will meet those needs. Of course, the specifics of what qualifies as “succeed” or “bring honor” will depend a bit on the particular university, but all admissions officers share these three goals.
Before you write your college admissions essay, take a few minutes and jot down some answers to the following questions:
- How can I reassure the admissions board that I will succeed in their school?
- How will I show that I am determined and ambitious; that I will not get poor grades or drop out?
- How can I contribute positively to the educational experience of other students?
- How might I bring honor and prestige to the university?
- What are my long-term goals? Might I win an award someday, or start a business, or improve a scientific process?
Your answer to these questions will help you frame the content of your essay .
Tip #2: determine your essay goals.
Along with the three questions above, you should contemplate how you want the admissions officers to perceive you. After reading your college admissions essay, what should they think of your personality and activities?
Most students want the college admissions board to view them as responsible, dependable, and academically ambitious. These are excellent essay goals, but you should also consider the essay in relation to your classwork. If your classwork already shows that you are studious and determined (because you have taken a wide variety of advanced classes), then you may want to highlight another feature of your personality.
Along with developing an image of your character, writing the college admissions essay allows you to feature other aspects of your life that are not reflected in your pre-college coursework. Some aspects to consider:
- Have I worked at an interesting or relevant job?
- Do I belong to any clubs or organizations?
- Have I demonstrated leadership or teamwork?
- Have I demonstrated compassion or community-responsibility?
Tip #3: Distinguish Yourself from the Other Applicants
This bit of strategic thinking should be fairly easy. As an international student, you by definition are different from the bulk of American citizens who apply to American universities. However, it is not enough to simply say, “Well, I’m not from around here.” Instead, you need to reference the strengths of your home culture. You don’t need to elaborate at length; a sentence or two should be enough to ensure that the admissions board pays attention to you.
Remember that you are more than just an international student from an interesting background; you are a complete person with a lifetime of experiences. You should take some time to think about what else makes you different from most the other hundreds of students writing college admissions essays. Add those features (plays piano, excellent at football, speak five languages) to your growing list of essay goals.
Tip #4: Contribute to the University
Remember that one of the goals of the admissions board when reading college admissions essays is to find students who will enhance the educational experience of other students. In other words, how can you contribute to other students’ learning? As with tip #3, you already have an edge by being an international student.
One of the general goals of education is to broaden people’s experiences, so that they come to realize the limits of their own intellect, and then grow beyond those limits. As an international student, you offer other students an opportunity for cultural diversity. As with Tip #3, it is not enough to assume the college admissions board will recognize this benefit. You need to highlight it in your essay. Again, a sentence or two should be enough to accomplish this goal.
Again, remember that you are more than just an international student. You have so much more to contribute to the campus social and learning environment than just your home culture. Take a few moments to consider what else you may contribute.
- Maybe you are excellent at study groups or other forms of collaborative work.
- Maybe you will join a student organization or athletic team.
- Maybe you will write for a student newsletter or blog.
Whatever you feel you can contribute, add that to your list of essay goals.
Tip #5: understand and answer the essay prompt.
At this point, you’ve come up with more ideas than you can possibly fit into one essay. Now you need to focus your goals to only three or four ideas – the ones that will make you the most attractive to the college admissions board. No matter what the prompt asks, you want to ensure you include those three or four ideas in your college admissions essay.
The concept is to present a few ideas very well, rather than list all your ideas poorly. A narrowly focused essay will be much more effective than a general, vague one.
Reading and answering the prompt may seem a bit obvious, but it’s often the obvious that people ignore. You should take the time to read and re-read the essay prompt, so you can answer it fully. Don’t be intimidated; unlike some college exams, the college application essay prompt is not designed to trick you. However, you must demonstrate that you can read and follow directions. Think of that great pile of applications. The admissions officers are looking for a reason to disregard candidates. Don’t let them reject you because you hastily overlooked a sentence in the essay prompt.
On the other hand, the prompt is designed to give you some freedom for creativity, which will allow you to work in those three or four key ideas that you have developed through tips 1 through 4. You are encouraged to find novel ways of answering the prompt, so long as you do indeed answer the questions provided.
If you need more help choosing a topic , you can find some tips on our Choosing a Topic for Your College Essay page.
Section 2: Writing Your Essay
At this stage in the college admissions essay writing process, you have considered the goals and psychology of the college admissions board. You have produced a list of ideas/attributes/details about yourself that colleges will find appealing. You have narrowed that list to the three or four most important ideas – the ones that will get you into your preferred college/university. Now it is time to actually write the essay.
Tip #6: Write with Specific Details
The key to excellent and memorable writing is to write in fine detail. The more specific your essay, the stronger an impression it will make on the admissions board. If you are trying to show that you are a dedicated scholar, don’t write: “I never missed an assignment deadline, no matter how poorly I was feeling the night before.” Instead you write: “In my junior year, I came down with a terrible case of pneumonia. Despite having a 103 degree fever and being required to stay in bed, I still completed my draft speech on the possible impacts of global warming on agriculture.” The latter will make a stronger impression; and people vote for the people they remember.
As you are writing your essay, ask yourself:
- Is there a specific instance or example that shows this?
- Can I add imagery (colors, shapes) to make it more interesting?
- Can I replace general nouns (“class” or “car”) with something specific (“Honors Geometry” or “Honda Civic”)?
You may be thinking, “I don’t really like to boast about my personality; I prefer to let my record speak for itself.” While you should try to avoid sounding too arrogant, the college application essay is not the time for modesty. The admissions officers are expecting you to celebrate yourself, to underline your strengths and personality, so they can make a quick, accurate judgment about you.
Tip #7: Demonstrate College-Level Diction
Diction (word choice) is the fundamental structure of writing. Your word choice reveals a great deal about your personality, education and intellect. Furthermore, as an international student, you want to reassure the college admissions board that you have an excellent command of the English language (remember: they want you to succeed; they need to know that you can actively participate in English-only instruction).
With this in mind, you should replace lower-level words (bad, sad, thing, nice, chance) with higher-level words (appalling, despondent, phenomena, comforting, opportunity). You might consider looking up SAT/ACT vocabulary words and working a handful of those into your essay.
You should also remove any slang or casual diction; the university is not interested in casual language in their admissions essays.
Tip #8: Demonstrate College-level Style
An American proverb states, “Dress for the job you want, not the job you have.” In other words, you want to present yourself as being ready for the next job. In this instance, you want to show that you already have college-level writing skills. So, in writing your college application essays, you should write with the following features in mind:
- Write primarily in complex sentences, rather than simple or compound sentences;
- Include figurative language such as a metaphor, a simile, personification; and
- Include a trope or scheme, such as chiasmus, oxymoron or anaphora.
As with tip #7 , this serves two functions: 1) it distinguishes your essay from those that are poorly written; and 2) it reassures the admissions board of your excellent command of written English.
Tip #9: Have Someone Proofread Your Essay
This is one of the most important tips on this list. Everyone who writes knows that the words in your head don’t always make it onto the page the way they should. Because you know what it should say, it’s easy to trick yourself into thinking the essay says something that it doesn’t. For this reason, you should ask a friend or a relative (or an English teacher) to look over your essay and check your:
- Grammar: did you write in complete sentences? Do all your subjects and verbs agree?
- Diction: are all the words used properly for an American audience?
- Organization: have you grouped sentences together coherently?
Tip #10: Pay Attention to Deadlines
College admissions essays require a tremendous amount of work. As you work and rework the essay, pay attention to the admission deadlines and requirements. Every school has their own system for how and when to file your application. Do not assume that, because one school uses e-mails and PDFs, that another school does as well.
The best way to stay organized through the college admissions process (and at the university when courses begin) is to rigorously maintain a calendar that includes:
- Final deadlines
- Reminders of upcoming deadlines
- Process deadlines (breaking larger tasks into smaller steps)
Bonus Tip: Post, but Don't Panic
At some point, you will file your college admissions application. After you post it, please don’t panic. With these tips, and your determined intellect, you have an excellent chance of being accepted to an American university.
Take a look at our college essay samples to get an idea of what colleges are looking for in your essay.
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I help high-school seniors write their college-admission essays. Here are the 4 most common mistakes to avoid.
Students should avoid these mistakes: not proofreading their essays, not focusing on their achievements, writing about an experience from the distant past, and thinking their essay ideas are completely original. Foto: Andrea Obzerova/Getty Images
- For eight years, I've worked with high-school students to perfect their college-admission essays.
- I often see students think their ideas are completely original; the ideas have been done before.
- Students should also avoid writing about their academic achievements in the essays.
For high-school seniors, one of the toughest parts of the college-application process is writing the dreaded personal essay.
For eight years, I've been helping students shape their college-entrance essays. I help them home in on ideas that work, and I edit the essays to make sure their stories make sense. Lastly, I work with students themselves to buff and polish the essays until they shine.
Through my years working with students, I've noticed several common mistakes. Here are the four pitfalls any prospective college student should avoid when writing a personal essay.
Think your idea or topic is original, but everyone is actually writing the same thing
Your personal experience may be unique to you, but it may not make a unique college essay.
For example, in my area, there is a huge South Asian immigrant population. These kids are first-generation Americans and were brought here as small children or were born right after their parents arrived. These first-generation Americans want to share their stories because these are important, meaningful stories. Unfortunately, though, the idea isn't original. On average, approximately 70% of my students are trying to write on the same topic.
Similarly, students often think writing about someone else — a role model, for example — will be original. I assure you, it will not. Yes, you have deep respect for your grandmother who raised five children as a single mom, but that's her story , not yours .
You're writing about an experience that happened when you were in elementary school
I've seen high-school students write about how they learned to be part of a group when they joined a robotics club in third grade. Unfortunately, the admissions counselors don't really care about third grade. They're interested in your current life — as a high schooler.
You want to write about things that have happened to you recently. Did you just have a big blowout with your friend group that redefined your meaning of friendship? Did you find out that your best friend cheated on a recent chemistry exam? What did you do about it?
Tell us who you are today — not who you were in elementary or middle school.
You want to focus on your achievements, your SAT scores, or your grades
Showcasing your academic triumphs is what the rest of the application is for. From transcripts to letters of recommendation to a list of your activities, admissions officers will see your accomplishments throughout your application.
But if you rewrite them in your personal essay, you'll just be repeating yourself, which colleges don't like. Plus, you won't be showing who you really are.
You're not thoroughly proofreading your essay
Reading the essay back to yourself under your breath isn't enough. I want you to first read the essay out loud — one word at a time and slowly. I want you to then read it out loud to yourself again, but this time, read it backward so that you see each word as a separate entity. Finally, I want you to use free spell-check programs, like Grammarly. And then reread it again before hitting the upload button.
With all that said, make sure you're showing who you are in your college essay. Bring yourself to life . Use the power of storytelling; it will get you everywhere.
Do you have a powerful or unique college life story to share with Insider? Please send details to [email protected]
BEKIJK OOK: Bedrijven: let op je end-point security
College Reality Check
How to Close a College Essay (With 10 Examples)
Writing a conclusion can be quite difficult because, often, it can be challenging to look for something useful or interesting to say at the end of the piece.
And even though there are easy formulas for writing conclusions, which, the school adds, can be tempting to use, it’s usually best to refrain from relying on them as they do not allow you to end your composition with a bang.
As someone who is about to write a college essay, it’s definitely a good idea to steer clear of any of those!
What you will submit together with your college application can spell the difference between going to your top-choice school and attending a second- or third-choice school.
Needless to say, it’s just as vital to carefully think about how you will jump-start your college essay as how you will wrap it up with a strong and winning conclusion .
Terrified that the conclusion you have in mind might bring your entire college application essay down and flush any admission chances to your dream school down the drain?
Below, I will give you some strategies on how to close your written submission successfully.
But first, let’s talk about this very important matter every college-bound teen, especially one whose goal is to get admitted to a selective institution of higher education, needs to know before writing a college essay…
Three Worst Options to Close a College Essay
There are numerous ways to wrap up a college essay in a way that could make those hard-to-please admissions officers reckon that you would make for a wonderful addition to the campus.
But then on the other hand, there are also things you may mistakenly commit that can weaken your application and even cause a rejection letter to be sent your way.
Needless to say, you should avoid them at all costs if getting denied is not an option!
A terrible concluding paragraph can wreak havoc on your essay no matter how flawlessly and impressively written the introduction and main body are — a single problematic part is all it takes to ruin everything.
Therefore, other than having a clear idea of how any college application essay is best closed in exchange for good news when college admissions decision time comes, it’s also a must for you to be acquainted with conclusions that are absolute no-nos.
And, of course, other than being familiar with them, you should make sure that none of them will mar your college essay.
Here are some endings to dodge whatever happens:
1. Giving a summary
When it comes to writing either an academic essay or a research paper, there’s a rule that everyone should abide by without any hesitation or doubt: the conclusion should briefly talk about the key points or arguments.
So, in other words, the written piece should end with a summarization, which is why it’s referred to as a concluding summary.
The addition of any new information or idea is considered unthinkable, although a synthesis of some of the most important matters included in the composition is welcome and, in most instances, expected.
However, it’s a completely different story if what’s being written is a college essay.
If the goal is to make sure that your college essay won’t take away from the strength of your application, refrain from restating just about everything you talked about briefly in the concluding paragraph.
Not only is it redundant and, therefore, completely unnecessary but also makes it appear as though you ran out of ideas before bringing the piece to a full stop.
A college application essay can be as short as 250 words to as long as 600 words — ending yours with a brief summary might look like you just want to meet the word count requirement, which is not the only thing that admissions officers want.
And speaking of whom, giving a summary at the end of your college essay could come across as you saying:
The admissions committee member who will read my essay might fail to completely get the point of my composition because of its complexity and innovativeness, so I should summarize it to make sure that he or she will understand everything.
Again, here’s what I’ve been trying to tell you all this time, which means that I am totally banking on my ability to correctly solve practically any mathematical problem there is to have a successful career as an aerospace engineer one day.
2. Using cliché transitions
First things first: no cliché should make it to your college essay or any other written piece you will write from hereon. The use of a cliché immediately extends the fact that you lack originality and, worse, sincerity as a writer.
Definitely, you don’t want your college essay to be interchangeable with someone else’s.
And that is why ending yours with something that starts with a trite transition, most especially as a way to restate everything you have talked about, is prohibited.
College admissions officers have laid their eyes on some of the most original personal compositions of junior and senior high schoolers, and it’s effortless for them to catch clichés.
In conclusion or in essence — needless to say, using such a hackneyed phrase is a disaster as it’s both resorting to the use of a cliché as well as committing one of the mortal sins of concluding a college essay, which is summarizing.
The following are some examples of cliché transitions that lead to a summary to steer clear of:
- All things considered
- As has been demonstrated
- In a nutshell
- In summation
- On a final note
- To conclude
- To make a long story short/long story short
- To put it briefly
- To wrap things up
- When all is said and done
It’s important to note that a good essay, including a college essay, uses transitions between paragraphs to maintain a logical and smooth flow of the written piece.
Without them, your submission may make it hard for the reader to get from one point to the other.
It’s not that college admissions officers are dense — it’s just that your college essay’s paragraphs are disjointed.
Found yourself in a rut and feel that starting your conclusion with a cliché transition is the way to go?
Proceed with drafting the concluding paragraph. Once you’re through, scrap the trite word or phrase you opened your conclusion with as well as the rest of the sentence and see how that works.
3. Stating hopes of acceptance
It’s no secret that you submitted a college application essay because it’s one of the various admissions requirements. And it’s no secret, too, that you completed all admissions requirements because you wanted to get accepted.
Therefore, expressing your hopes of receiving an offer to enroll is stating the obvious.
As mentioned earlier, high school teens gearing up for their postsecondary education careers are usually limited to 250 to 600 words when writing a college essay.
Needless to say, ending your composition with an entire paragraph devoted to how much you want to attend the institution is a complete waste of precious space.
Because you can submit a college essay containing only as many words, it’s of utmost importance to make the most out of the opportunity to be able to flex your thoughts, creativity, originality and superb writing skills.
There is no point squandering the word limit by your college essay’s conclusion coming across as saying:
I would really appreciate it if you could add my college application to the pile of accepted applications because I have been dreaming of earning an undergraduate degree from University X since time immemorial.
There’s nothing wrong with associating the college career you have envisioned for yourself with what you talked about in your college essay. However, there is no need to explicitly mention it or, worse, beg to be admitted to the institution.
But it’s not just the obvious fact that you want to get accepted that you should avoid mentioning.
Instead of ending with a high note, your college application might exit with a whimper if, for example, you highlighted a number of your personal skills and strengths and unique experiences and then concluding everything with something like:
Clearly, I am a hardworking individual.
It’s apparent that I would make for a great engineer because of my math skills.
5 Winning Ways to Wrap Up a College Essay
There are many different ways to ruin a perfectly remarkable college application essay with a mediocre or appalling conclusion.
It’s a good thing that there are also numerous ways to turn your written composition from one good essay into a one-of-a-kind essay with the right concluding paragraph — all you have to do is choose from some recommended ones.
You are not going to have a shortage of options when it comes to closing a college essay the right way.
Because some are simply better than the rest, which, it goes without saying, could help you ace the admissions review process, it’s important that you decide on something that suits your writing style and personality, too.
See which of these strategies in ending a college essay can give you that a-ha moment:
1. Going back to where you began
Some people call it full circling. Others refer to it as bookending.
No matter the name, one thing remains true: this particular style of closing a college application essay involves seamlessly tying the conclusion to the introduction by reintroducing a word, phrase, individual or the point of the opening paragraph.
What’s really nice about opting for this approach is that it allows you to hem your composition.
Of course, to be effective, the main body of your college essay should veer away from the introduction, to the point of making sure that the readers almost forget what you just talked about at the onset, only to suddenly remind it of them in the end.
When executed correctly, this style can give your written submission a satisfying and self-contained appeal to it.
Suppose that you opened your college essay talking about how a large rock fell on and fractured your leg in 3rd grade. A great ending to it using this particular approach would look something like this:
A rock may once have crushed my legs, causing me to spend a fraction of my childhood donning a leg cast, but, in high school, I established a rock band — and we crushed every gig on and off campus!
2. Peeking into the future
Any essay ending on a positive or hopeful note can always put a smile on the reader’s face.
Needless to say, a concluding paragraph that talks about a bright future ahead allows you to highlight your academic and career goals, giving the audience a much better idea of what sort of college student and professional you could be.
While you should refrain from ending your college application essay by talking about how much it would mean the world to you to get accepted to your dream school, you can make college admissions officers realize you’d make for a wonderful addition to the campus without blatantly doing so by mentioning your hopes and dreams.
Just take a look at this conclusion to an essay of a student applying to a college specializing in engineering:
I can’t wait to see the very first rocket ship I helped design blast off from earth, exposing the crew to the lowest G forces possible for I, as a terrible roller coaster rider, cannot stand high accelerations on the body myself.
3. Ending things with an action
As far as concluding your college application essay with an action goes, the sweeter and shorter, as a general rule of thumb, the better. But it’s also important to wrap things up at the critical moment: right after your piece’s high point.
Making admissions officers wish it hadn’t ended so soon is the main goal.
With them wanting more, they won’t be able to stop thinking about you.
And if you’re still in their mind long after they have taken a look at your application and the rest of the supporting documents, it’s not unlikely for them to want to see you on the campus instead of allow another institution to welcome you.
Here’s an example of ending your college essay with an action that can cause the reader to want more:
After taking a deep breath, I approached the lectern to the thundering applause of the audience.
4. Leaving with a dialogue
Talking about things you have personally experienced and lessons you have arduously learned in your college application essay is always nice.
After all, your piece is something that gives admissions officers a different perspective of you, as a teener who is preparing to work on an undergraduate degree, beyond your GPA, standardized test scores and extracurricular activities.
Just like what was mentioned earlier, summarizing is off-limits when it comes to concluding a college essay .
But there’s a nifty way to reiterate the main point of your composition without simply giving a recap of everything you have cited from the very beginning. And it’s by ending your college application essay with a dialogue.
In most instances, the shorter and crisper the dialogue, the better the effect. It’s like abruptly ending your submission, too.
However, closing yours with words spoken to someone keeps the reader from having to do the guesswork since your point is implied, anyway, which is a textbook connect-the-dots scenario.
Planning on highlighting in your college application essay the fact that you developed a sense of social responsibility? Here’s how you can close it without merely giving a summary:
“I will talk to you later,” I said to my best friend on the phone. “I’m currently on my way to help feed the hungry.”
5. Revealing the central idea
It’s true that the introduction is meant to give the reader an idea of the topic of the essay as well as the various points that will be made about it.
But because a college application is no ordinary essay, there are instances when your composition can make a bigger impact if you save your main point until the very end.
Execute it correctly and you can keep admissions officers gluttonously devouring the intro and main body of your personal essay until they get to the concluding paragraph, which, hopefully, would end in you getting an acceptance letter.
Needless to say, you will have to hold back what you are trying to say long enough.
But the biggest challenge that comes with disclosing the central idea last is keeping the readers engaged and interested adequately for them to keep reading until they reach the end and learn what you have been trying to say all this time.
Failure to do so may leave admissions officers eagerly wanting to reach for another application essay that would make more sense.
Giving snapshots of how you shopped for your first bicycle with your dad in 2nd grade, how you first cannonballed in the water at Bandemer Park in Ann Arbor, Michigan and how you founded a running club in your high school could end in this:
By the time I earn a bachelor’s degree in sports science, hopefully, I have also run my very first Ironman Triathlon, which would serve as an homage to some of the most important and memorable moments of my life thus far.
Read Next: How to Start a Compelling Essay About Yourself
Independent Education Consultant, Editor-in-chief. I have a graduate degree in Electrical Engineering and a training in College Counseling.
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How to Write a Grad School Application Essay
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What Is a Grad School Application Essay? | What Are Admissions Officers Looking for? | Before You Start Writing | While You're Writing | When You've Finished Writing | Sample Essay | Grad School Essay FAQs
Writing a graduate school admission essay can seem daunting. However, students can make the process easier by taking time to develop and organize their ideas before writing their personal statement.
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Students can apply several practices to write a compelling grad school personal statement that gets readers to take notice. These steps include developing a solid outline, conveying a strong and memorable thesis, presenting specific points relevant to the topic, and taking sufficient time to edit and proofread the essay before submitting it.
What Is a Grad School Application Essay?
Graduate school admission or application essays allow graduate programs to get to know applicants better as people. Although an applicant's grade point average (GPA), transcripts, and test scores tell part of their story, grad school essays allow students to show how their personalities, achievements, and past experiences inform their career interests and potential for academic success.
Graduate schools often ask for personal statements or letters of intent from applicants. Prospective graduate students should know what distinguishes these documents.
- A personal statement allows students some freedom to discuss how their past experiences, career goals, and interest in a prospective program have shaped their likelihood of success in and fit for graduate study.
- A statement of purpose describes a student's reasons for applying to a program. The student typically explains how their career goals, qualifications, and research interests will affect their future beyond graduate school.
- A letter of intent is a brief essay describing a student's skills, accomplishments, and goals that pertain to the field of study they aspire to pursue while in graduate school.
What Are Admissions Officers Looking for in a Grad School Essay?
In general, admissions personnel review these essays to determine how well students might fit in with a graduate program and succeed academically. Reviewers also look for a sense of how well prospective students handle stress, overcome challenges, and stand up to the demands of a rigorous program.
Grad school essays should shed light on how well students respond to criticism of their work. Also, graduate school provides a setting where individuals can explore diverse theories and perspectives. To this end, admissions personnel look for clues about students' openness to different viewpoints and their ability to express their ideas in written form.
What to Know Before You Start Writing
Review the prompt.
The prompt for the application essay gives students a sense of how to focus their writing. Before starting to write, students should read the instructions within the prompt carefully. These directions shed light on readers' expectations.
Prompts for grad school application essays vary greatly, with some offering little detail on what the statement should cover. Applicants should pay close attention to the requirements, including word count, format, and submission method.
Brainstorm Ideas
Some graduate essay prompts offer few instructions or requirements, leaving applicants a lot of room for choosing a topic. To determine the most appropriate topic, focus, and personal examples to include, students should devote considerable time to brainstorming before they start writing.
Students should give themselves time to reflect on their strengths, accomplishments, and research interests. They should also consider the qualities they want in a graduate program and pick out benefits provided by the program so they can speak to the specific reasons they're applying.
Create An Outline
Outlining is a crucial step in creating a compelling and memorable grad school personal statement. Just as architects need a blueprint to design and build a skyscraper, grad school applicants need a roadmap to organize and write their essays.
The most effective application essays include an attention-grabbing introduction, a body with solid and concise points, and a memorable conclusion. An outline will likely change somewhat during the writing process, but it still allows the writer to stay on top of the essay's construction.
Know the Point You're Trying to Get Across
A grad school personal statement should present a clear point or thesis to help it stand out. An overall thesis statement or claim answers the question, "What is this essay about?" A reader should not have to work hard to understand the thesis. If the point of an essay is unclear or confusing, an admissions officer might stop reading.
Applicants should place their thesis in the introduction so that the reader clearly understands what the following essay will address. Students can insert their thesis immediately after an anecdote, quotation, or other attention-getter to provide a smooth transition into the main topic.
Be Aware of Topics to Avoid
Brainstorming allows an applicant to consider a variety of topics and ways of writing about them. However, some subjects may be inappropriate for a grad school application essay because they could alienate certain readers or make them lose interest.
Topics that writers should consider omitting from an admission essay include the following:
- Traumatic personal experiences
- Subjects that make the writer appear overly negative or cynical
- An exhaustive list of accomplishments
Students should also avoid using well-known phrases or expressions. For example, common cliches offer virtually no advantage because they suggest little to no originality of thought. Also, students should not use words or terms (e.g., vulgar language) that detract from their professionalism.
What to Consider While You're Writing
Grab the reader's attention.
A strong grad school personal statement starts with writing a concise introduction that gains the reader's attention. The writer can make the essay more memorable by using a brief anecdote, quotation, compelling statistic, or rhetorical question.
The introduction should also provide a clear preview or roadmap for the rest of the essay. After the attention-getter, the essay should quickly transition into the thesis statement or main idea, followed by a preview of the upcoming points.
Writers should revisit the introduction once their essay is complete to double-check that it accurately reflects the main points of the essay.
Be Authentic
Students should not just focus on what they think admissions personnel will want to read. Instead, they should use their voice to present their ideas in meaningful ways that reflect their true selves. In other words, write with authenticity. While the essay should reflect a polished draft, it should also show applicants as they are.
Graduate school applicants shouldn't lie or misrepresent themselves in the grad school essay. In addition to strengths and accomplishments, admissions departments want to read what applicants say about their shortcomings and how they have worked to overcome them.
Be Relevant and Specific
While students can use creative anecdotes and personal examples, they need to make their points relevant to the prompt or question. Admissions personnel generally want to learn why students wish to enroll in the program and what makes them qualified. These elements can serve as the foundation when writing the main body of an essay .
Also, the main points should be specific. For example, in expressing why they are applying to a particular program, applicants can use a brief anecdote to explain their desire to work with a faculty member who shares their research interests. While stories and examples add a personal touch, they should not distract from essential information that grad schools want to know about an applicant.
Have a Strong Ending
When writing the conclusion of a graduate school admission essay, writers should restate the thesis and reiterate the main points. Rather than presenting new information, the ending should remind the reader of the statement’s main ideas. Furthermore, it should refer back to those points while giving the reader something to think about after they have finished reading.
A conclusion can also end by tying back to the attention-getting statement in the introduction. This stylistic device brings the whole essay full circle, provides a sense of closure, and strengthens the emotional connection with the reader.
What to Do When You've Finished Writing
Finishing the draft of a graduate school admission essay does not signal the end of the writing process. Rather, polishing the draft requires re-reading, editing, and getting feedback before submitting it.
Reread Your Draft
A grad school essay containing errors or reflecting poor writing does not leave a favorable impression. Re-reading the essay allows for catching mistakes, clearing up confusing sentences, and strengthening the main points.
Unfortunately, writers can gloss over errors after reading the essay just once. As a rule of thumb, when students believe their draft has gone through enough editing and proofreading, they might take a little more time and read the document one more time.
Edit Your Draft
Students should not confuse editing with proofreading — a step that involves checking for grammar, punctuation, and stylistic errors. Editing is a more substantive process that includes checking for conciseness and ensuring that ideas flow well. Proper editing also allows writers to determine whether each paragraph or section expresses a single thought and make sure that sentences are concise and clear.
Students should allow enough time to edit their essays. Also, reading the essay aloud can provide another way to catch mistakes or confusing phrases.
Get Feedback
Students should find individuals they trust to check their personal statement for clarity, errors, and other stylistic inconsistencies. Also, having others review the essay can give the applicant a sense of how others perceive its tone, organization, and potential to engage the reader.
Trusted peers, instructors, family members, friends, and students who have recently gone through the grad school application process often provide excellent feedback. Students can also seek out others who are applying to graduate school to share their personal statements and exchange constructive criticism.
Sample Grad School Application Essay
Prompt: Why do you wish to pursue a graduate degree in communication studies at the University of Oklahoma and how does it relate to your career goals?
Three years ago, I underwent a breast biopsy after two mammograms failed to rule out a suspicious lump. I met with my oncological surgeon before she was to perform the procedure. Although her technical skills were superior, her bedside manner left me feeling scared, uncertain, and lacking confidence in my capacity to handle a possible cancer diagnosis. Moreover, my doctor's inability to relate to me personally left me feeling powerless in meeting my health needs as a patient.
In poor health, many people feel robbed of their dignity. One of the most critical settings where patients can maintain dignity is during a doctor's visit. I wish to conduct research and teach courses in an academic setting to explore how doctor-patient interactions can help patients gain more confidence and improve their health outcomes. To this end, I am applying to the Communication Department at the University of Oklahoma to pursue a master's degree specializing in health communication. This master's will then allow me to continue my studies and earn a doctorate in this area.
I first learned a great deal about doctor-patient interactions while taking an undergraduate health communication class from Dr. Edith McNulty at the University of Nebraska. Dr. McNulty's class informed the way I view my breast biopsy experience. After completing her class, I enrolled in an independent study with Dr. McNulty transcribing qualitative interviews she conducted with patients. Through this independent study, I also learned how to perform constant comparative coding of those transcripts.
My independent study has fueled my interest in researching health communication and teaching classes on the subject. My interest in the communication studies program at Oklahoma stems partly from my interest in Dr. Dan O'Malley's studies of patients' expressions of ethnicity when they encounter healthcare workers. Working with Dr. O'Malley could expand my healthcare interest to include ethnicity as a factor in these settings.
I also am familiar with Dr. Wendy Wasser's research on communication efficacy during online video appointments. Given that increasing numbers of patients rely on telemedicine to receive their healthcare, studying with Dr. Wasser can help me understand the role of new communication technologies in doctor's visits.
Although my breast biopsy from three years ago was benign, I know that other patients are not as fortunate in their health outlook. All patients have the right to quality communication during doctor visits to help them gain confidence and take proactive measures toward their healthcare. My pursuit of a master's in health communication at the University of Oklahoma can set me on a path to contributing to our understanding of the interpersonal impact of doctor-patient interactions on medical care and patient well-being.
Frequently Asked Questions About Grad School Application Essays
- Collapse All
How long should a grad school application essay be?
Most applicants should expect to write at least 500 words for their grad school admission essay. However, length varies by graduate program. Many application materials contain specific instructions on how to write the essay, including word limits.
What should I title my application essay for grad school?
If an online application submission page includes a text box for the title, the applicant should follow the word or character limit and make the title relevant to their grad school personal statement. However, students do not need to add a title if the application does not require it.
How do I make my application essay stand out for grad school?
Prospective students should write a clear and compelling grad school essay free of errors. Also, the statement should help make the applicant stand out from their peers. It can include specific examples of unique experiences that illustrate students' strengths and abilities.
What should you not do in an application essay for grad school?
Students should not wander off topic when answering a prompt, especially if it asks a specific question. Also, an essay should not include so many personal examples that they read as a list. Instead, the applicant can provide a brief anecdote for each main point they want to make.
How do you answer grad school application essay questions?
The best graduate school admission essays have a clear thesis statement and good organization. They also grab the reader's attention right away and maintain it to the end. The best essays also reflect the writer's careful attention to the application instructions by addressing the prompt thoroughly.
Reviewed by:
Lonnie Woods III
Lonnie Woods III is a student affairs administrator, professor, and professional development practitioner whose research examines the career competencies of college students studying arts-related majors. Woods holds a BS in fine art photography from Towson University and an MA in higher education and student affairs from New York University . He has 10-plus years of experience working in higher education, with professional experience spanning various institutions, including Pratt Institute, New York University, The George Washington University , and Columbia University.
Lonnie Woods III is a paid member of the Red Ventures Education freelance review network.
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The College Essay Is Dead
Nobody is prepared for how AI will transform academia.
Suppose you are a professor of pedagogy, and you assign an essay on learning styles. A student hands in an essay with the following opening paragraph:
The construct of “learning styles” is problematic because it fails to account for the processes through which learning styles are shaped. Some students might develop a particular learning style because they have had particular experiences. Others might develop a particular learning style by trying to accommodate to a learning environment that was not well suited to their learning needs. Ultimately, we need to understand the interactions among learning styles and environmental and personal factors, and how these shape how we learn and the kinds of learning we experience.
Pass or fail? A- or B+? And how would your grade change if you knew a human student hadn’t written it at all? Because Mike Sharples, a professor in the U.K., used GPT-3, a large language model from OpenAI that automatically generates text from a prompt, to write it. (The whole essay, which Sharples considered graduate-level, is available, complete with references, here .) Personally, I lean toward a B+. The passage reads like filler, but so do most student essays.
Sharples’s intent was to urge educators to “rethink teaching and assessment” in light of the technology, which he said “could become a gift for student cheats, or a powerful teaching assistant, or a tool for creativity.” Essay generation is neither theoretical nor futuristic at this point. In May, a student in New Zealand confessed to using AI to write their papers, justifying it as a tool like Grammarly or spell-check: “I have the knowledge, I have the lived experience, I’m a good student, I go to all the tutorials and I go to all the lectures and I read everything we have to read but I kind of felt I was being penalised because I don’t write eloquently and I didn’t feel that was right,” they told a student paper in Christchurch. They don’t feel like they’re cheating, because the student guidelines at their university state only that you’re not allowed to get somebody else to do your work for you. GPT-3 isn’t “somebody else”—it’s a program.
The world of generative AI is progressing furiously. Last week, OpenAI released an advanced chatbot named ChatGPT that has spawned a new wave of marveling and hand-wringing , plus an upgrade to GPT-3 that allows for complex rhyming poetry; Google previewed new applications last month that will allow people to describe concepts in text and see them rendered as images; and the creative-AI firm Jasper received a $1.5 billion valuation in October. It still takes a little initiative for a kid to find a text generator, but not for long.
The essay, in particular the undergraduate essay, has been the center of humanistic pedagogy for generations. It is the way we teach children how to research, think, and write. That entire tradition is about to be disrupted from the ground up. Kevin Bryan, an associate professor at the University of Toronto, tweeted in astonishment about OpenAI’s new chatbot last week: “You can no longer give take-home exams/homework … Even on specific questions that involve combining knowledge across domains, the OpenAI chat is frankly better than the average MBA at this point. It is frankly amazing.” Neither the engineers building the linguistic tech nor the educators who will encounter the resulting language are prepared for the fallout.
A chasm has existed between humanists and technologists for a long time. In the 1950s, C. P. Snow gave his famous lecture, later the essay “The Two Cultures,” describing the humanistic and scientific communities as tribes losing contact with each other. “Literary intellectuals at one pole—at the other scientists,” Snow wrote. “Between the two a gulf of mutual incomprehension—sometimes (particularly among the young) hostility and dislike, but most of all lack of understanding. They have a curious distorted image of each other.” Snow’s argument was a plea for a kind of intellectual cosmopolitanism: Literary people were missing the essential insights of the laws of thermodynamics, and scientific people were ignoring the glories of Shakespeare and Dickens.
The rupture that Snow identified has only deepened. In the modern tech world, the value of a humanistic education shows up in evidence of its absence. Sam Bankman-Fried, the disgraced founder of the crypto exchange FTX who recently lost his $16 billion fortune in a few days , is a famously proud illiterate. “I would never read a book,” he once told an interviewer . “I don’t want to say no book is ever worth reading, but I actually do believe something pretty close to that.” Elon Musk and Twitter are another excellent case in point. It’s painful and extraordinary to watch the ham-fisted way a brilliant engineering mind like Musk deals with even relatively simple literary concepts such as parody and satire. He obviously has never thought about them before. He probably didn’t imagine there was much to think about.
The extraordinary ignorance on questions of society and history displayed by the men and women reshaping society and history has been the defining feature of the social-media era. Apparently, Mark Zuckerberg has read a great deal about Caesar Augustus , but I wish he’d read about the regulation of the pamphlet press in 17th-century Europe. It might have spared America the annihilation of social trust .
These failures don’t derive from mean-spiritedness or even greed, but from a willful obliviousness. The engineers do not recognize that humanistic questions—like, say, hermeneutics or the historical contingency of freedom of speech or the genealogy of morality—are real questions with real consequences. Everybody is entitled to their opinion about politics and culture, it’s true, but an opinion is different from a grounded understanding. The most direct path to catastrophe is to treat complex problems as if they’re obvious to everyone. You can lose billions of dollars pretty quickly that way.
As the technologists have ignored humanistic questions to their peril, the humanists have greeted the technological revolutions of the past 50 years by committing soft suicide. As of 2017, the number of English majors had nearly halved since the 1990s. History enrollments have declined by 45 percent since 2007 alone. Needless to say, humanists’ understanding of technology is partial at best. The state of digital humanities is always several categories of obsolescence behind, which is inevitable. (Nobody expects them to teach via Instagram Stories.) But more crucially, the humanities have not fundamentally changed their approach in decades, despite technology altering the entire world around them. They are still exploding meta-narratives like it’s 1979, an exercise in self-defeat.
Read: The humanities are in crisis
Contemporary academia engages, more or less permanently, in self-critique on any and every front it can imagine. In a tech-centered world, language matters, voice and style matter, the study of eloquence matters, history matters, ethical systems matter. But the situation requires humanists to explain why they matter, not constantly undermine their own intellectual foundations. The humanities promise students a journey to an irrelevant, self-consuming future; then they wonder why their enrollments are collapsing. Is it any surprise that nearly half of humanities graduates regret their choice of major ?
The case for the value of humanities in a technologically determined world has been made before. Steve Jobs always credited a significant part of Apple’s success to his time as a dropout hanger-on at Reed College, where he fooled around with Shakespeare and modern dance, along with the famous calligraphy class that provided the aesthetic basis for the Mac’s design. “A lot of people in our industry haven’t had very diverse experiences. So they don’t have enough dots to connect, and they end up with very linear solutions without a broad perspective on the problem,” Jobs said . “The broader one’s understanding of the human experience, the better design we will have.” Apple is a humanistic tech company. It’s also the largest company in the world.
Despite the clear value of a humanistic education, its decline continues. Over the past 10 years, STEM has triumphed, and the humanities have collapsed . The number of students enrolled in computer science is now nearly the same as the number of students enrolled in all of the humanities combined.
And now there’s GPT-3. Natural-language processing presents the academic humanities with a whole series of unprecedented problems. Practical matters are at stake: Humanities departments judge their undergraduate students on the basis of their essays. They give Ph.D.s on the basis of a dissertation’s composition. What happens when both processes can be significantly automated? Going by my experience as a former Shakespeare professor, I figure it will take 10 years for academia to face this new reality: two years for the students to figure out the tech, three more years for the professors to recognize that students are using the tech, and then five years for university administrators to decide what, if anything, to do about it. Teachers are already some of the most overworked, underpaid people in the world. They are already dealing with a humanities in crisis. And now this. I feel for them.
And yet, despite the drastic divide of the moment, natural-language processing is going to force engineers and humanists together. They are going to need each other despite everything. Computer scientists will require basic, systematic education in general humanism: The philosophy of language, sociology, history, and ethics are not amusing questions of theoretical speculation anymore. They will be essential in determining the ethical and creative use of chatbots, to take only an obvious example.
The humanists will need to understand natural-language processing because it’s the future of language, but also because there is more than just the possibility of disruption here. Natural-language processing can throw light on a huge number of scholarly problems. It is going to clarify matters of attribution and literary dating that no system ever devised will approach; the parameters in large language models are much more sophisticated than the current systems used to determine which plays Shakespeare wrote, for example . It may even allow for certain types of restorations, filling the gaps in damaged texts by means of text-prediction models. It will reformulate questions of literary style and philology; if you can teach a machine to write like Samuel Taylor Coleridge, that machine must be able to inform you, in some way, about how Samuel Taylor Coleridge wrote.
The connection between humanism and technology will require people and institutions with a breadth of vision and a commitment to interests that transcend their field. Before that space for collaboration can exist, both sides will have to take the most difficult leaps for highly educated people: Understand that they need the other side, and admit their basic ignorance. But that’s always been the beginning of wisdom, no matter what technological era we happen to inhabit.
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Students like mine will suffer if they must hide their race in college essays
Most days, Cy wore a blue hooded sweatshirt with a front pocket, perfect for storing his hands. After giving tours for the admissions office, he’d stick his head into my doorway, and we’d chat. To signal to Cy and other threshold lingerers that I welcomed conversations, I stationed a chair just inside the doorframe.
As months passed, Cy slid from the hallway into the seat next to my desk. Over time, he revealed details about his background. Cy described how his father hoisted his single suitcase above his head when crossing a river in Bangladesh, and how many years it took for his entire family to immigrate to Paterson, New Jersey. On the first anniversary of Sept. 11, we talked about growing up with the last name Hossain, and why he chose not to share elements of his Bengali identity when interacting with his white classmates. In our meetings, Cy and I often discussed race.
For a decade and a half, I worked in the college counseling office at an independent high school, which is where I met Cy. Before that, I coordinated international admissions efforts for a university, traveling around the world to help students from other countries study in the United States. I became an admissions professional because I believe in the power of higher education to change lives and I wanted to be in the cheering section for students moving toward their futures. The most rewarding aspect of the job is seeing students like Cy, who know how valuable education is, access college.
As I await the Supreme Court’s decision that with all likelihood will overturn affirmative action in college admissions, dread rises within me. I’m scared of college barriers being fortified instead of dismantled for students of color and dismayed that campuses will be less diverse when affirmative action becomes unconstitutional. Just as devastating to me is the idea of the college process silencing students of color. Our nation’s highest court is on the cusp of telling millions of children that educators will no longer be able to fully consider their stories.
College-bound high school students engage in important identity work when crafting their application essays. “Here I am,” their narratives say. “I entrust you with my genuine presentation of self. See me. Value me.”
I think of Jee Hee, who wrote about using her Korean and English fluency to help Korean American adoptees find their biological mothers in Seoul; and Keifer, who described watching a sitcom and biting into a piece of cake when his grandmother exclaimed, “You look just like that little Black boy.” Though Keifer is Black, nobody had ever called him that before. In his application essay, Keifer unpacked the shock of this moment, and his subsequent struggle to reconcile his conception of self with the term.
Decades later, I carry my students, and their stories, with me.
If race is no longer a factor in the admissions process, how shall students present themselves? Dishonestly? Inauthentically? Will they write less compelling essays because they fear elements of their application that disclose their race will be scrubbed? Enrollment managers and college administrators are considering the implications of race-blind admissions on their campuses and strategizing for how to continue to reach out to students, like Cy and Keifer, who are the first in their families to attend college. I am agonizing about the psychological impact of race-blind admissions on my students and colleagues.
Think of the damage caused when we suggest that to pursue education, kids will omit essential elements of who they are — that to be acceptable, they must be indistinguishable.
I want to be a reassuring guide for young people and safeguard their well-being. Throughout my career, I’ve told students they can be themselves in the college process. Think of the damage caused when we suggest that to pursue education, kids will omit essential elements of who they are — that to be acceptable, they must be indistinguishable.
For kids to develop autonomy and self-confidence, they need to feel seen and affirmed, and practice claiming their identities with pride. Without these opportunities, kids’ self-worth suffers.
It’s not yet apparent how admissions professionals will interpret or enforce the law, let alone clearly direct applicants about the difference between checking a box on an application, and celebrating culture , tradition and heritage in an application essay. What I know for certain is that a process that is already mercurial and overwhelming for students is about to become even more so. Bracing for the worst as I await the court’s decision, I anguish about the lasting scars race-blind admissions policies will inflict on students, and on the educators entrusted with their stories.
Follow Cognoscenti on Facebook and Twitter .
- As a more diverse Harvard braces for a Supreme Court ruling on affirmative action, what comes next?
- John Vercher: The unbearable whiteness of being
- Also by Kate Peltz: I wish my mom could tell me the story of her death
Kate Peltz Cognoscenti contributor Kate Peltz is a college counselor and writer based in Concord.
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Writing tips and techniques for your college essay Google Classroom Tip #1 Pose a question the reader wants answered This doesn't mean you should literally pose a question in your essay, but you should certainly keep the reader wondering, "How is that going to turn out?" "What does she mean by that?" "How is this all going to tie back together?"
The college essay can make or break your application. It's your chance to provide personal context, communicate your values and qualities, and set yourself apart from other students. A standout essay has a few key ingredients: A unique, personal topic A compelling, well-structured narrative A clear, creative writing style
Step-by-Step Guide to Writing a College Application Essay 1. Explore essay prompts and select a topic. 2. Start your college essay outline before jumping in. 3. Write the essay and...
A personal essay for college applications is an opportunity for admission admissions panels to get more insight into who you are and what you have to offer. It's often the most personal component of the application, going beyond grades and standardized test scores.
In the admissions essays, you are using an essay to convey something about yourself. You will probably be asked to write about the reasons you want to enter a specific field or college, an event in your life that helped shape you, or other personal subjects. If it helps, rewrite these prompts into questions: Why do you want to go to Harvard?
A college essay is your unique opportunity to introduce yourself to admissions committees who must comb through thousands of applications each year. It is your chance to stand out as someone worthy of a seat in that classroom.
A college application essay is submitted in addition to grades, recommendations, math placement tests, and other application materials to help admissions personnel determine if a student is a good ...
Starting a new chapter of your life by entering college is always frustrating. Especially, when you almost physically feel the load of responsibility. To earn a place in a college of your dream you need to work hard - and make a good self-representation for an admission committee. How? By sending them a flawless college essay.
Here are the four pitfalls any prospective college student should avoid when writing a personal essay. Think your idea or topic is original, but everyone is actually writing the same thing Your personal experience may be unique to you, but it may not make a unique college essay.
The college admission essay is there to give the admission committee a better understanding of who you are as a person, your experiences, beliefs, and future aspirations. Such an essay aims to showcase your personality, writing skills, and unique perspectives.
5. Allow Others to Evaluate. Self-editing is essential to writing a college essay, but things are bound to slip through the cracks. As the author, it's hard to edit elements such as structure, tone, and clarity. While you know what your essay is supposed to look like and convey, it may not be clear to others.
When it comes to writing a college admissions essay - whether personal or supplemental - experts advise students to follow the same rules: find their voice, write about a topic that matters to ...
After you've read through the instructions a few times and gathered your notes, you can start creating an outline to organize your essay and decide what message you want to send. Now you're ready to write your first draft. 2. Start with a compelling introduction. Great writing is hard to achieve, but it's possible if you're smart about it.
The first is writing a college application essay that plays a vital role in your admission. Apart from good grades, colleges require a document written by the students to analyze how they are the best choice. Moreover, this essay is the only way to impress the admissions committee.
The conclusion must round off your essay in a way that leaves a lasting good impression upon the admissions tutor. It should be a summary of what you have learned from your experiences and how they have shaped you into the person you are today. Explain how this will benefit you on the course and make you a valuable asset to the university.
The personal essay is a snippet of who you are and where you're coming from - a snapshot for the admissions officers to look at as they read your application. It will never be able to capture everything about you, but you want to make sure that you're giving them your best angle. So sit down, smile, and get to writing!
Essay 1: Sharing an identity or background through a montage This essay uses a montage structure to show snapshots of a student's identity and background. The writer builds her essay around the theme of the five senses, sharing memories she associates with sight, sound, smell, touch, and taste.
In your college admissions essay, you want to portray yourself as a student who will meet those needs. Of course, the specifics of what qualifies as "succeed" or "bring honor" will depend a bit on the particular university, but all admissions officers share these three goals.
Students should also avoid writing about their academic achievements in the essays. For high-school seniors, one of the toughest parts of the college-application process is writing the dreaded ...
Once you're through, scrap the trite word or phrase you opened your conclusion with as well as the rest of the sentence and see how that works. 3. Stating hopes of acceptance. It's no secret that you submitted a college application essay because it's one of the various admissions requirements.
Just as architects need a blueprint to design and build a skyscraper, grad school applicants need a roadmap to organize and write their essays. The most effective application essays include an attention-grabbing introduction, a body with solid and concise points, and a memorable conclusion. An outline will likely change somewhat during the ...
A student hands in an essay with the following opening paragraph: The construct of "learning styles" is problematic because it fails to account for the processes through which learning styles...
Students like mine will suffer if they must hide their race in college essays. That author and Sai "Cy" Hossain in 2018, the day she met his wife. (Courtesy Kate Peltz) Most days, Cy wore a blue ...
This study examined the SAT® II: Writing Subject Test as a predictor of writing performance in college English courses. Writing performance was based on eight writing samples submitted as part of regular course work by students in eight colleges. The samples consisted of drafts and final papers submitted in response to four take-home writing assignments.
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