Writing A College Essay

Writing A College Essay As a senior, most of the accomplishments that will make up the bulk of your application â€" academic performance, test scores, and extracurricular involvement â€" are said and done. In a sense, the only part of the application over which you have complete control right now is the essay. While the essay is a valuable tool that we use to understand you better, it is rarely if ever a “make or break” component of your application. While we still have a few more days until the official beginning of fall, around here it feels a lot like the season has already begun. For information on other aspects of the application process, you can consult the resources at University Career Services. When you think it is totally finished, you are ready to proofread and format the essay. You cannot afford a careless error in this essay. A well-written, dramatic essay is much more memorable than one that fails to make an emotional impact on the reader. Good anecdotes and personal insights can really attract an audience’s attention. BUT be careful not to let your drama turn into melodrama. You want your reader to see your choices motivated by passion and drive, not hyperbole and a lack of reality. Don’t invent drama where there isn’t any, and don’t let the drama take over. Don’t ramble or use fifteen words to express something you could say in eight. Do address any information about yourself and your application that needs to be explained . Include that information in your essay, and be straightforward about it. Your audience will be more impressed with your having learned from setbacks or having a unique approach than your failure to address those issues. Applications that have several short-answer essays require even more detail. Many applications will require it- or some portion of it; it helps to have the whole essay written and pare it down when needed. Some applications will tell you it’s “optional.” Always, always, always submit it. Do you have special skills, like leadership, management, research, or communication? Why would the members of the program want to choose you over other applicants? Be honest with yourself and write down your ideas. If you are having trouble, ask a friend or relative to make a list of your strengths or unique qualities that you plan to read on your own . Ask them to give you examples to back up their impressions (For example, if they say you are “caring,” ask them to describe an incident they remember in which they perceived you as caring). Is there a specific place to write the essay and is there a prompt, the common app doesn’t have a location to attach a personal essay. Your essay should help to give better, deeper insight into you as a person. As the post mentions, your essay should supplement the other parts of your application to help us understand you better. That said, you don’t have to include anything about yourself that you don’t feel comfortable sharing. Why is this the program you want to be admitted to? What is special about the faculty, the courses offered, the placement record, the facilities you might be using? If you can’t think of anything particular, read the brochures they offer, go to events, or meet with a faculty member or student in the program. You don’t want to be completely straightforward in these cases and appear superficial, but skirting around them or lying can look even worse. Get straight to the point in every case, and address what they’ve asked you to address. What details or anecdotes would help your reader understand you? Is there something about your family, your education, your work/life experience, or your values that has shaped you and brought you to this career field? Pretend you’re taking an exam at school and responding to, “Tell a story about an experience or time when you showed you were a very _________ person.” Use the characteristic you identified in Step 1. Write or type non-stop for 20 minutes; force yourself to keep telling the story and what it reveals until the timer goes off. Photo by Element5 Digital on UnsplashFirst, do you actually need the essay? Getting someone else to read your drafts can help you figure out when you’ve gone too far. Don’t waste space with information you have provided in the rest of the application. Every sentence should be effective and directly related to the rest of the essay.