College Application Essays

 

If you are applying to practically any college or university, you will have to write an essay, either in response to a specific question or topic (or “prompt,” as the SAT people call their essay question topics), or just as a general statement. While this may frighten you at first, the task of writing these essays will not seem quite so daunting if you keep a few simple ideas in mind.

 

First, a few general details:

 

(1)        Write using sophisticated, but not pretentious, language. You don't want to sound like a kid, but you don't want to sound like you are trying to impress the admissions officers with your huge vocabulary. Don't use slang terms if you don't have to, and if you have to (meaning your writing is more effective using the slang terms), make sure you define the terms.

 

(2)        Set up a structure – you can use the SAT essay format, which copies the Toastmasters method – “tell ‘em what you’re gonna tell ‘em; then tell ‘em; then tell ‘em what you just told ‘em,” which I discuss in detail in my blog entry on essays for the SSAT. You can also make your essay a narrative (you know, a story, with a beginning, middle, and an end). Any structure that makes your essay make sense and easy to read is a good thing. Now is not the time to try some avant-garde, postmodern narrative style. Just tell a story that answers the question.

 

(3)        It should go without saying that you should not make references to any legally protected class. By “protected class,” I mean race, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, etc. Basically, I suggest you follow the old advice about conversational topics in mixed company- "Never discuss sex, politics, or religion." The only exceptions that come into my mind are: 1) if you were the first member of a protected class to achieve something, or be admitted to an organization (for example, you were the first girl on your high school's wrestling team) or 2) you made some impressive contributions to a political organization, then, by all means, mention those topics.

 

(4)        Last, but not least, keep in mind the real reason you’re writing the essay. The admissions officers want to know about YOU. A general essay about why education is important, or some current event, or a book you read, isn’t going to do much to improve your chance of admission if you don’t let the admissions people know why you’re any more interesting than the hundreds, if not thousands, of other applicants.

 

Now a few more specific details:

 

If there’s a topic, answer the question.  No one will want to let you into college if you show them on the application, that you cannot follow directions.

 

If there is no set topic or prompt, try to be fresh, engaging, and sincere. Imagine being an admissions officer at a selective college and having to read the same essay about "excellence" for the hundredth time.  You’re going to read the essay and think “Yeah, yeah, you’re a 17-year-old hotshot who’s ‘committed to excellence.’ You and the Oakland Raiders. Wonderful. Hey, I wonder if anyone else has a more interesting essay here?” I know people who’ve gotten into selective colleges with exactly such essays, but I can only imagine their grades and other factors carried them through. All things being equal, the candidate with the fresher, more interesting, essay is going to be admitted ahead of the applicant with the cookie-cutter “Excellent things are excellent; that’s why I work really hard to be excellent!” essay.

 

Any college, university, or educational institution is not just trying to sell you (or your parents) an education. It’s also selling its graduates to employers and government agencies in order to get job placements to make it look better, and for research grants to fund the institution.  That means students aren’t just the institution’s customers; they’re its products.

 

Since you are the potential raw material for the institution’s most valuable, if not only, product, anything you write should let the institution know why you’re a worthwhile candidate for admission. In other words, what can you do for them? “Diversity” is the watchword of all college admissions committees.  What will you bring to their institution to make it a more interesting place? How likely are you to succeed in life once you graduate from there? Are you likely to help other students succeed? Showing ambition, drive, and willingness to help others is the key to a successful college admissions essay.

 

Let someone else edit your essay.  What is important to you, may not be important to someone else. You may be focusing on just one aspect of yourself, or why you want to attend the institution, or the question they asked you on the application.  You may have misspellings, grammatical errors, an inappropriate tone, or other problems with your essay.  It’s always easier to see problems in someone else’s writing, just as it’s always easy to see any problem or fault another person has, even if we have the exact same fault. Use someone you trust, and whose writing ability you respect, as a resource, and really listen to what they have to say.

 

Finally, “be yourself.” It’s a cliché because it’s true. I’d rather read an honest essay that makes a point I with which I do not agree, than read something I think is insincere or, even worse, dishonest.  If you write an essay about how your life’s passion is service to others (subtext: “Hey, I’m a good person! You want me at your school, where I can help others!”), but there’s no volunteer (or paid) work experience on your application to support that statement, the admissions officers will seriously discount it. They’d be happier to see that you’re working hard to advance yourself, and that you’ve written that in your essay, even if they’re die-hard liberals.  Obviously, you shouldn’t write that you did things you didn’t – count on getting caught.

 

I hope this helps; your application essays are the only things that can set you apart from very similar applicants for the same colleges, and, along with your SAT or ACT scores, the only things you can improve during your senior year of high school. Good luck with your applications.  Feel free to contact me if you have any questions, and happy holidays!