How long should my college essay be?
To search for “so what” moments of insight, review the claims you’re making in your essay. Are you reflecting on what these moments and experiences taught you? How have they changed you? Are you making common or (hopefully) uncommon connections? The uncommon connections are often made up of insights that are unusual or unexpected. (For more on how to test for this, click The Great College Essay Test link above.)
Now, that doesn’t mean your essay has to be about how you’re going to end world hunger but if you are, that’s cool. What that does mean is that if someone was holding a stack of 1000 nameless college essays and dropped them in your school or at your house, that each of your friends, teachers, and family members would be able to pick out your essay. Your personal essay is also not Mrs. Smith’s English paper on Hamlet. Write your personal essay in your regular, every day voice. Your instinct might tell you to make this seem proper and elevated, and that instinct is baloney. So, keep that in mind when you…
Craft comes through the sense that each paragraph, each sentence, each word is a carefully considered choice. That the author has spent time revising and refining. That the essay is interesting and succinct. How do you test this? For each paragraph, each sentence, each word, ask: Do I need this? (Huge caveat: Please avoid neurotic perfectionism here. We’re just asking you to be intentional with your language.)
This section contains five examples of good college essays.
As an undergraduate, I was privileged to gain extensive research experience working in a research lab with Dr. Carol. During the three years I worked in her lab, I aided in designing a study, writing an Institutional Review Board (IRB) application, running participants through both pilot and regular studies, coding data, and analyzing said data, with these experiences culminating in my honors thesis. This thesis, entitled Self-Esteem and Need-to-Belong as predictors of implicit stereotypic explanatory bias, focuses on the relationship between levels (high and low) of self-esteem and an individual’s need to belong in a group, and how they predict whether an individual will tend to explain stereotype-inconsistent behavior. Participating in such a large study from start to finish has validated my interest in academic research as a profession.
Every part of your college application is important. However, when faced with a sea of exceptional applicants, it is an outstanding essay that can tip the balance and solidify your place at the college you desire. Don’t let the anxiety over writing the essay make you procrastinate. Time is your friend, it gives you the opportunity to write multiple drafts, hone your language and ensure your essay is in your own voice.
Because people like to emphasize how much academics, extracurricular activities, teacher recommendations, and the interview matter in the application process, the personal essay tends to be undervalued. But it is mucho importante (see, I took Spanish)! And you’re going to nail it! Here are my best tips:
In crafting your college application essays, remember that your words are a reflection of your world and your experiences. The goal is to give colleges a peek behind the curtain, revealing your story, aspirations, and character. Give them a glimpse of the person they’ll find beyond grades, clubs, and transcripts. For more insights, explore available to help you stay on top of your college applications and deadlines.
How to Write a College Essay Step-by-Step
Our partners at Collegewise are experts in guiding students and their families through the college application process. With their “Step-By-Step Guide to Writing the Best College Essays” resource, you can take your application essays to the next level and stand out to admission officers.
How to Write a College Application Essay
To clarify again: I’m just a shmuck. I have no say in the admissions process, and if I had the key to writing the perfect college essay, I would be a rich man sitting in a hot tub in Monaco. I am a shmuck. But I am a shmuck here for you.
How to Write a Personal Statement for College: 6 Tips · 1
As you write, . Reflect on what you learned and how it changed you, then describe it to the reader. Be careful not to repeat yourself. The information in your essay should not contradict other parts of your application. Do not list awards or discuss test scores here.
How to write the best college application essay
Whether you're just starting to explore colleges or have already started crafting your application materials, this eBook is designed to help you navigate every step of the college application process.
How to Write the Best College Application Essay
Hopefully, these tips will help you approach your application essay with more confidence. You can write an outstanding essay that showcases your personality and helps you stand out to admissions officers.
How to Write a Personal Essay for Your College Application
Before we analyze some sample essays, bookmark this page, so that once you’ve gone through several drafts of your own essay, come back and take to make sure your essay is doing its job. The job of the essay, simply put, is to demonstrate to a college that you’ll make valuable contributions in college and beyond. We believe these four qualities are essential to a great essay: