Most colleges require students to submit a personal statement or essay as part of their application. A college essay is a student’s chance to demonstrate their writing skills; it is the only part of the application process where their personality can shine through. Moreover, it is a great opportunity to make a difference when it’s decision time for admissions committees. Yes, high school grades and test scores matter but when top colleges receive applications from hundreds of students with similar grades and scores, they use the essay (along with extracurricular activities and letters of recommendation) to pick out the best from a pool of talented candidates.
Deconstructing the College Essay
The average essay for college admissions is generally around 500 words. It can feel like a chore and will require a considerable amount of time and hard work. Most students spend several days (if not weeks or months) researching, drafting, editing, and proofreading their essay, since it can mean the difference between acceptance and rejection. Admissions officers, on the other hand, only spend a few minutes reading it. So, it is important to make a great first impression and hold their attention throughout the essay.
Here are some pointers to help students craft a memorable college essay.
1. Starting Early
Most teachers and admissions officers advise students to begin working on their essays as early as possible, preferably during the summer before senior year. This gives them plenty of time to brainstorm for ideas, write, and edit the essay(s), without homework and extracurricular activities taking up their time and mental energy. Starting early also allows candidates to review essay requirements (essay topics, word limits, etc.) and finish their final draft before college application deadlines. Some colleges also ask for additional writing samples in the form of supplemental essays that explain why the candidate is interested in a particular academic field or school. Supplemental essays are generally shorter than regular college essays, but students still need to allocate more time to their writing process if the schools they are applying to ask for them.
2. Choosing a Topic
The first and probably the most intimidating step in the process of writing a college essay is to figure out what to write about. College applications usually offer several essay prompts that students can choose from. These can range from insightful to trivial, but all of them seek to challenge the candidate and spark their creativity.
Essay prompts come in the form of broad, open-ended questions that offer plenty of latitude, but candidates are expected to choose a subject that is personal and deeply meaningful to them. Winning essays, say admissions counselors, are those that help them learn things about the student that they would never guess from perusing the other parts of the application.
It is important to take time to understand the essay prompts. Students must be read through them at least three times before they even begin to brainstorm. The next step in the process is to think about what is being asked and let it sink in. Is the essay prompt looking for information? Is it asking the student to defend an idea or expand upon a statement? Once the question makes sense, it is time to relate it back to oneself – How is this connected to me?
However, since this is a college essay and not an exhaustive autobiography, students are expected to focus on a specific hobby, experience, event, or quirk that reveals something personal about them – their values, strengths, weaknesses, or character or an aspect of their background. Admissions counselors aren’t looking for a major feat or triumph in a college essay. Even an essay on a mundane topic such as the student’s daily commute to and from school or how they mastered a breakfast recipe can be made interesting if done right. What is important is that the essay tells a thoughtful story about the student as a human being – something that hasn’t been mentioned elsewhere in their application.
3. Writing the Essay
There are various ways to begin writing an essay. One popular method is to create an outline before jumping into the writing process. This has its advantages but there’s more than one right way of doing things. Each student has their own way of writing; experts encourage candidates to adhere to the process that worked best for them while doing high school English writing assignments.
Students who are having a hard time getting started are encouraged to focus on the opening sentence or the “hook” of the college essay. Ideally, the hook should grab the reader’s attention. That said, there are essays that have defied this time-tested piece of advice and turned out to be excellent reads despite having an ordinary opening sentence.
One common mistake students make while writing their college essay is to aim for a perfect first draft. The first draft will most likely fall short of their expectations. So, it is imperative to finish it a few weeks before the deadline and use the rest of the time to revise, edit, and polish the essay to perfection. Some candidates discover they want to change the topic only after they begin writing. So, the sooner they get started on their first draft, the better.
4. Editing and Submitting the Essay
Admissions counselors also gauge students’ writing skills through their essay. So, students must make sure they submit their best work, and the best writing comes from rewriting an essay several times. Top notch essays also contain examples that prove that the writer embodies the traits or beliefs they claim to have rather than merely stating that they do. Experts advise students to seek outside help – teachers, family members, peers, or school counselors – for editing and polishing the final draft.
Proofreading a college essay is best done in two stages. The first stage focuses on the content – information gaps, points of confusion, etc. And then, once the content is perfect, the focus shifts to the style, grammar, spelling, and punctuation in the second stage. The tone of the essay, however, should remain unchanged at the end of the editorial process. And while it is okay to seek help with editing, having someone rewrite it is certainly out of the question. Once the final draft is ready, it is generally submitted online along with the rest of the application.
Colleges expect students to thrive on campus, contribute to college life in a variety of ways, and become citizens who make the world a better place. College essays enable applicants to reflect upon and share their stories and demonstrate how their values, goals, grit, power, kindness, initiative, and leadership qualities align with the world of academia. Essays are the means through which students boost their chances of acceptance, scholarship, and receiving merit money. The admissions officer must be able to visualize the essay writer, their activities, and life experiences and want to advocate for them just by reading their essay.
