(from bigfuture by College Board)
When you apply to college, you’ll need to complete an essay as
part of your application. This is your opportunity to show
admission officers who you
are and to provide information about yourself that didn’t fit in other areas of your application.
The essay also reveals what you can do when you have time to think and work on a
writing project.
are and to provide information about yourself that didn’t fit in other areas of your application.
The essay also reveals what you can do when you have time to think and work on a
writing project.
The number one piece of advice from admission officers about
your essay is “Be yourself.”
The number two suggestion is “Start early.”
The number two suggestion is “Start early.”
Check out these other tips before you begin.
Choose a Topic That Will
Highlight You
Don’t focus on the great aspects of a
particular college, the amount
of dedication it takes to be a doctor or the number of
extracurricular activities you took part in
during high school.
during high school.
Do share your personal story and thoughts,
take a creative approach
and highlight areas that aren’t covered in other parts of the
application, like your high school
records.
records.
Keep Your Focus Narrow and Personal
Don’t try to cover too many topics. This will
make the essay sound
like a résumé that doesn’t provide any details about you.
Do focus on one aspect of yourself so the
readers can learn more
about who you are. Remember that the readers must be able to
find
your main idea and follow it from beginning to end. Ask a parent
or teacher to read just your
introduction and tell you what he or she thinks your essay is about.
introduction and tell you what he or she thinks your essay is about.
Show, Don’t Tell
Don’t simply state a fact to get an idea
across, such as “I like to
surround myself with people with a variety of backgrounds and
interests.”
Do include specific details, examples,
reasons and so on to develop
your ideas. For the example above, describe a situation when you
were surrounded by various types of people. What were you doing?
Whom did you talk
with? What did you take away from the experience?
with? What did you take away from the experience?
Use Your Own Voice
Don’t rely on phrases or ideas that people
have used many times
before. These could include statements like, “There is so much
suffering in the world that I feel I have to help people.” Avoid
overly formal or business-like
language, and don’t use unnecessary words.
language, and don’t use unnecessary words.
Do write in your own voice. For the above
example, you could write about a real experience
that you had and how it made you feel you had to take action. And note that admission officers
will be able to tell if your essay was edited by an adult.
that you had and how it made you feel you had to take action. And note that admission officers
will be able to tell if your essay was edited by an adult.
Ask a Teacher or Parent to Proofread
Don’t turn your essay in without proofreading
it, and don’t rely only
on your computer’s spell check to catch mistakes. A spell-check
program will miss typos like these:
·
"After I
graduate form high school, I
plan to get a summer job."
·
"From that day
on, Daniel was my best fried."
Do ask a teacher or parent to proofread
your essay to catch
mistakes. You should also ask the person who proofreads your
essay if the writing sounds like you.
Adapted from The College Application Essay by Sarah Myers McGinty.
