Tips For Writing Your College Essay
Many colleges will ask for supplemental essays or personal statements in order to find out more about you personally. This is an opportunity for students to provide insight into who they are as a person. It is only part of the application that is in the students control, and allows students to personalize their application by being able to share a distinctive and compelling story.
Structure
- Your essay will need a beginning, middle, and end. The beginning section should include an opening sentence or paragraph that can engage the reader from the start, such as a quote, question, or detailed scene.
Content Type
- Your topic should heavily relate to who you genuinely are as an individual. Your story is a revelation, not a list of your grades and activities! This means using your own voice. Writing in your natural tone is vital, and using unfamiliar words may come across as forced and unauthentic.
- Write as if you are sharing your story to an adult whom you feel comfortable with. This mindset will help when determining the level of language to use.
- Taking some time to self-reflect can help you find out what you enjoy by spending quite some time thinking about your learning experiences or something that has impacted your life.
- Make sure to be specific and concrete, but avoid the excessive use of adjectives.
- Humor can be effective, but it is vastly difficult to achieve. Be mindful!
- Avoid topics that discuss purchased experiences, such as family trips. This tends to emphasize the students socioeconomic privilege more than the students character.
General Tips
- Too many advisors can lead to confusion. Ideally, the advisors on your essay should consist of your counselor and a trusted teacher.
- Do not put the college name in your essay!
- Always proofread. Having another person to proofread your essay is always helpful.
- Starting early will provide you with enough time to reflect, write, and edit.
- Finally, read your essay aloud! This can aid in revealing errors or pauses that may need to be edited.
Click the video above to watch admission directors from prestigious institutions discussing how to write a strong college essay.
Click the image above to be direct to the CollegeBoard page for college essays, which includes more effective tips.