 |
< Admission News Archive
|
How Do I Write a Great College Essay?
|
| Date: 2009.07.15 |
|
|
|
|
Summer is here and you have a ton of fun activities planned – none of which include sitting down to start a college application. As counselors in the Office of Admission, we want you to enjoy your summer. However, we wouldn’t be doing our jobs if we didn’t say you should at least begin to think about the college application process. Our advice is to start with the college application essay, because you already know the topic – YOU!
Your essay is the one part of your application that you can totally control. It’s also the part that requires the most thought (and a good bit of editing), so getting an early start is a good idea. So, what makes a good college essay? A good college essay is one that reveals who the applicant truly is – beyond that student’s junior course schedule, and beyond that student’s list of activities. It will have personal touches and will showcase your writing skills at the same time. Here are some helpful tips when you’re thinking about what to write:
-
Be personal – We’re trying to get a complete picture of who you are and how you’ll fit on our campus. The more we know about you, the better.
-
Follow instructions - Be mindful of the topic that you chose. If you think your essay is going off on a tangent someplace, it probably is.
-
No clichés or gimmicks – If you got your idea from somewhere or someone else, we’ve probably read it or something like it before. Use those creative muscles!
-
Be unique – And we don’t mean stand on your head and juggle at the same time (figuratively speaking). Whatever your topic, show how it relates to YOU – your growth, your development, your personality, your future. Those things, in and of themselves, are unique.
-
PROOFREAD – Let other people read your essay before you send it to a college. This essentially is your first college assignment, so you’ll want to make sure that it’s error-free when it’s all said and done.
-
Have fun! – We know it’s tough, but the essays that will make the best impressions will be the ones where we can tell that students were having fun when they wrote it.
-
Plan Ahead – Writing an essay the week before applications are due probably won’t work out too well. Write a rough draft or an outline early and then go from there.
-
Cater to your strengths as a writer – Essays that stand out to us when we’re reading them might not be a mind-blowing topic or idea, but they’re always well written. If humor isn’t your thing, then the college essay might not be the best place to try it out.
|