College Essay Writing Tips

Keep Your Focus Narrow and Personal

• Your essay must prove a single point or thesis.
• Remember, it’s not about telling the committee what you’ve done—they can pick that up from your list of activities—instead, it’s about showing them who you are.
• Develop your main idea with vivid and specific facts, events, quotations, examples, and reasons.
• Okay: “I like to be surrounded by people with a variety of backgrounds and interests.”
• Better: “During that night, I sang the theme song from Casablanca with a baseball coach who thinks he’s Bogie, discussed Marxism with a little old lady, and heard more than I ever wanted to know about some woman’s gall bladder operation.”

Be Specific

• Avoid clichéd, generic, and predictable writing by using vivid and specific details.
• Okay: “I want to help people. I have gotten so much out of life through the love and guidance of my family, I feel that many individuals have not been as fortunate; therefore, I would like to expand the lives of others.”
• Better: “My Mom and Dad stood on plenty of sidelines ‘til their shoes filled with water or their fingers turned white of somebody’s golden retriever signed his name on their coats in mud. I think that kind of commitment is what I’d like to bring to working with fourth-graders.”

Don’t Tell Them What You Think They Want to Hear

• Bring something new to the table, not just what you think they want to hear.

Don’t Write a Résumé

• Don’t include information found elsewhere in the application. Your essay will end up sounding like an autobiography, travelogue, or laundry list.

Don’t Use 50 Words When Five Will Do

Don’t Forget to Proofread

• Typos and spelling or grammatical errors can be interpreted as carelessness or just bad writing.

Starting Your College Essay

· Step 1: Think about yourself

What are your strengths and weaknesses? What are your best qualities? Are you an intellectual? A creative type? Curious? Passionate? Determined?

· Step 2: Choose a positive quality you’d like to convey to the admission committee

Don’t pick an event or something you’ve done. President of the Nuclear Awareness Club is not a personal quality. Focus on a quality of your mind or of your character. Complete this sentence: “I am a very ______ person.”

· Step 3: Tell a story

Set a timer for 20 minutes. Pretend you’re taking an exam at school and the question is, “Tell a story about an experience or time when you showed you were a very ________ person.” Use the characteristic you identified in Step 2. Write or type non-stop for 20 minutes; force yourself to keep telling the story and what it reveals until the timer goes DING.

Sample College Essay Questions

The “You” Question

Many colleges ask for an essay that boils down to, “Tell us about yourself.” The school just wants to know you better and see how you’ll introduce yourself.

• Please complete a one-page personal statement and submit it with your application.” (James Madison University)

• “How would you describe yourself as a human being? What quality do you like best in yourself and what do you like least? What quality would you most like to see flourish and which would you like to see wither?” (Bates College)

• “Describe any interesting experience you have had during your college admission search.” (Juniata College)

• “Creative people state that taking risks often promotes important discoveries in their lives or work. Discuss a risk that has led to a significant change (positive or negative) in your personal or intellectual life.” (Simmons College)

• “Describe the most challenging obstacle you have had to overcome; discuss its impact and tell what you have learned from the experience.” (Guilford College)

• “To learn to think is to learn to question. Discuss a matter you once thought you knew ‘for sure’ that you have since learned to question.” (Bryn Mawr College)

The “Why Us” Question

Some schools ask for an essay about your choice of a school or career. They’re looking for information about your goals, and about how serious your commitment is to this particular school.

• “Why is UVM a good college choice for you?” (University of Vermont)

• “Please tell us about your career goals and any plans you may have for graduate study.” (Westfield State College)

• “Tell us about yourself, your reasons for applying to USF, and your reasons for seeking a college education.” (University of San Francisco)

• “Describe your reasons for selecting Loyola College and your personal and professional goals and plans for after college.” (Loyola College MD)
• “We would like to know…what experiences have led you to select your professional field and objective.” (Boston University)

· “Please relate your interest in studying at Georgetown University to your future goals.” (Georgetown University)

The “Creative” Question

Some colleges evaluate you through your choice of some tangential item: A national issue, a famous person, what you would put in a time capsule, a photograph. Here the school is looking at your creativity and the breadth of your knowledge and education.

• “Do you believe there’s a generation gap? Describe the differences between your generation and others.” (Denison University)
• “Indicate a person who has had a significant influence on you and describe that influence.” (Common Application)
• “Discuss some issue of personal, local, national, or international concern and its importance to you.” (Common Application)
• “In your opinion, what is the greatest challenge that your generation will face? What ideas do you have for dealing with this issue?” (College of the Holy Cross)
• “What is the value and importance of community service in our society and tell us what it means to you.” (Ohio Wesleyan University)
• “John Keats said, ‘Even a proverb is no proverb to you till your Life has illustrated it.’ Please tell us about an experience in your own life which illustrated a proverb, maxim, or quote that has special meaning for you.” (Duke University)

This information was retrieved from the College Board and based on information found in The College Application Essay, by Sarah Myers McGinty.