How To Write An Impressive College Application Essay

How To Write An Impressive College Application Essay Contrary to popular belief, students should not write about a horrible life event that changed their life forever. The fact is that most of us have not had such a life changing situation before the age of 18 (so don’t make one up either!). Even if you have had such an experience, don’t write about it. These types of pieces can come off negatively, and sometimes a teenager’s perception of a life changing event is much different than that of a college admissions reader. As college application deadlines near, students across the country are hoping that their essays will earn them a spot at their dream school. I’m surprised when students have trouble writing their college essays. For most students, it takes about 10 hours to write a good college essay. If you’re applying to schools that request supplemental essays or do not accept the Common Application, you may have several different essays to write. Although that's not necessarily a terrible idea, keep in mind that this could be a common topic, so you'll have to make your essay unique for it to stand out to admission officers. As a former high school teacher, I have worked with hundreds of students on their college essays. Later, as a private college essay consultant, I worked with students and parents at some top private schools before I became an admissions counselor for a small liberal arts college. Pizza, community service, grandmothers, barnacles…you name it, and admissions officers have probably read an essay about it. I once had a student who wrote about how he observed a water droplet while on vacation. This seemingly insignificant event caused him to think about why he loved art and philosophy over science and math. Evaluating a college essay, much like any piece of writing, is highly subjective. Two people might both like the same movie or song, but for totally different reasons. The problem is when a student seeks so many opinions from trusted adults. It's highly unlikely that any of these people have actually read college essays before â€" and certainly not as a member of a college admissions committee. A lot of students feel anxious about this because they don’t feel like anything unique has happened to them. But everyone has a different perception of their experiences, and the more you can share that, the more you’ll stand out in that stack of applications. Nothing has more impact than just being yourself. I worked with a student last year who had played in the marching band all of high school, which is something thousands of students can claim. And given that thousands of students are admitted to colleges each year, I hope we can all agree there is no one “best” topic on which to write yourCommon App essay. What makes a college essay strong isn’t necessary its theme, but the personal and reflective story that emerges from that theme. That intimidating college application essay is becoming increasingly important for transfer students. The college to which you are applying wants to evaluate your preparedness for that major and your committment to completing your bachelor's degree in a timely fashion. George did more than 30 drafts, spending a summer writing whenever he wasn’t working at his job or hiking outdoors. It was one of the hardest things he’d ever done, and it made him miserable. Even if I happened to read another essay about being a drummer in the marching band, there’s no way I could confuse it with this one. These details belong only to this student, and they show us her leadership qualities rather than just telling us. With a January 1 application deadline racing toward us, now is a great time to be brainstorming, creating, polishing and revising those essays. In September we published a blog post that provided a basic framework for how to write a killer college essay â€" and offered tips on how to incorporate the Outward Bound experience into the application. This month, we’re giving you another nudge â€" and a slightly different perspective from yet another expert. Students have keen powers of energetic observation about themselves and the world around them, but ask them to share any of those ideas in a college essay, and the silence speaks volumes. Are you looking to write the most awesome personal statement ever? Are you wondering what factors comprise essays that make college admissions staff go “WOW! For students applying to colleges with more generous admit rates, a “wow essay” can help secure admission to reach schools. The coronavirus has upended the lives of many students, so it's natural that some high school juniors plan to write about this topic in their college essays.