Writing the College Essay
- Some students have a background, identity, interest or talent so meaningful they believe their application would be incomplete without it. If this sounds like you, please share your story.
- The lessons we take from obstacles we encounter can be fundamental to later success. Recount a time when you faced a challenge, setback or failure. How did it affect you, and what did you learn from the experience?
- Reflect on a time when you questioned or challenged a belief or idea. What prompted your thinking? What was the outcome?
- Describe a problem you’ve solved or a problem you’d like to solve. It can be an intellectual challenge, a research query, an ethical dilemma — anything of personal importance, no matter the scale. Explain its significance to you and what steps you took or could be taken to identify a solution.
- Discuss an accomplishment, event, or realization that sparked a period of personal growth and a new understanding of yourself or others.
- Describe a topic, idea, or concept you find so engaging it makes you lose all track of time. Why does it captivate you? What or who do you turn to when you want to learn more?
- Share an essay on any topic of your choice. It can be one you’ve already written, one that responds to a different prompt, or one of your own design.
Do start early. Leave plenty of time to revise, and reword. You can improve on your presentation.
Do read the directions carefully. Answer the question and be within the word limit. Express yourself as briefly and as clearly as you can.
Do tell the truth about yourself. The admission committee is anonymous to you; you are completely unknown to it. Even if you run into a committee member in the future, he will have no way of connecting your essay (out of the thousands he has read) to you.
Do focus on an aspect of yourself that will show your best side. You might have overcome some adversity, worked through a difficult project, or profited from a specific incident. A narrow focus is more interesting than broad based generalizations.
Do consider using the three Common Application form topics as early practice possibilities: (1) evaluate a significant experience or achievement that has special meaning to you; (2) discuss some issue of personal, local, or national concern and its importance to you; (3) indicate a person who has had a significant influence on you, and describe that influence.
Do feel comfortable expressing anxieties. Everybody has them, and it's good to know that an applicant can see them and face them.
Do speak positively. Negatives tend to turn people off.
Do write about your greatest assets and achievements. You should be proud of them!
Don't repeat information given elsewhere on your application. The committee has already seen it, and it seems as though you have nothing better to say.
Don't write on general, impersonal topics like the nuclear arms race or the importance of good management in business. The college wants to know about you.
Don't sacrifice the essay to excuse your shortcomings unless you intend it to be a natural and integral part of your topic. If it's a question of underachievement, you should find a spot somewhere else in the application (or use a separate sheet of paper) to explain why you had not been working to your ability.
Don't use clichés.
Don't go to extremes: too witty, too opinionated, or too "intellectual."
Remember: The personal statement is yours. If it looks too professional, the admissions committee will assume it is not yours.
A "gimmick" essay rarely goes anywhere. The committee is amused, but unimpressed with your candidacy. Write a serious essay, from the bottom of your heart, in the most mature manner possible.
- Proofread your essay twice.
- Read your essay backwards. This will prevent you from skimming the text and force you to look at each individual word.
- Have someone else proofread your work.
- Put your essay aside for a few days, then read it again with a fresh eye.