College Essay

College Essay More than anything, officers want to get to know you through your essay. You will end up sounding like every other applicant. However, it's not enough to just explain how much you loved SpongeBobâ€"you must also explain why and how watching the show every day after school affected your life. A great college essay is one in which the student’s voice and though process comes through clearly. It should be consistent with the rest of the application and showcase an aspect of the student not highlighted in the rest of the application. For example, maybe it was a ritual you shared with your brother, which showed you how even seemingly silly pieces of pop culture can bring people together. Dig beneath the surface to show who you are and how you see the world. You need plenty of time to experiment and rewrite, so I would recommend starting your essays at least two months before the application deadline. For most students, that means starting around Halloween, but if you're applying early you'll need to get going closer to Labor Day. It is also well written and grammatically correct. We haven’t all pulled babies from burning buildings or sailed around the world in a catamaran. Tell a story from your own life that shows something unique about you. The story that your friends perk up to listen to- that’s the stuff that makes for great app essays. It’s important that your essay be a solid reflection of you as a person and as a student, and that you follow the guidelines provided in terms of topic and word-count. It is well-written with college bound vocabulary and style, but easy to read and somewhat unassuming. Lots of counselors tell students to “tell a story only you can tell,” and I definitely agree with that. But sometimes students misinterpret this to mean â€" “tell me about a totally unique experience” â€" and they get totally stressed out because they don’t feel that they have any unique experiences. Telling a story “only you can tell” means that you tell the reader a story from your perspective. So you don’t need to have great exotic vacations or heartbreaking stories of community service in some far off land â€" you just need to reveal your point of view about a topic. When it comes to the college essay, admissions committees have seen it all. The worst thing you can do is make up a story for your college essay. You are good enough the way you are, and there is definitely a topic out there that you can write about without having to lie. You don’t even need to tell a slightly exaggerated story. You don’t have to pull out all the stops to impress the reader, you just have to be authentic and creative. There should be no mention of how miraculous your life is and how profound you can be. A great college essay gives the reader a glimpse of the person behind the page. Like great works of fiction, these essays clearly paint a picture in the reader’s mind. The main character is developed with depth and detail. Great essays are memorable because they distinctively portray their subjects without relying on clichés or formulaic topics. They convey on paper a sense of who the writer is as a person. After reading a great essay, I feel as if I have just had an enlivening conversation with the person even though it was entirely on paper. When you can show the reader a slice of your genuine self â€" you are on your way to a great college essay. The uniqueness of an essay stems not from some external experience, but your internal responses. A great college essay combines creativity, excellent writing, and honesty. But, if you feel like you don’t have anything to say, start here. Imagine an admissions counselor reading that in your college essay. While it seems like an interesting story, the excerpt above is a complete lie. The reader should never think about fact checking what you’ve written. Your essay should be genuine and based on fact, not fiction.