What you've accomplished in high
school is an important factor in college admissions decisions, but even more
important is how you present yourself.
By the time you're putting the
applications together, you may not have much control over your test scores,
grades, and teacher recommendations. However, the essay is your blank slate to
show the admissions officers why they should want you at their school.
Here are some pointers I've
developed over the years to help students shine on this part of the
application:
1. Remember that this is an
essay about you.
Whether the application asks about
a defining moment in your life, or for page 237 of your autobiography, or for a
nutritional analysis of your favorite breakfast cereal, the goal is the same.
They want to learn about you as a person. What would you like to tell them
besides your grades and test scores? What may your teachers not have thought
(or known) to include in their recommendation letters? Use this as a chance to
show -- not tell -- them who you are and what you have to offer.
2. Be conscious of your reader.
All writing is addressed to an
audience and written for a purpose. You just thought about your purpose as you
read #1 above. Who is your audience? You're writing to one or more college
admissions officers who will spend many long days and nights reading
application after application. At the most competitive schools, the vast
majority of applicants are turned away. Therefore, you don't want to blend into
the crowd. You want to stand out. Hit your reader with an attention-grabbing
first sentence, one which will make her want to keep reading.
3. Capture a moment; paint a
picture.
Since you need to show, and not
just tell, the admissions officer something about you, it helps to put her in
your shoes. Let your reader see herself at that point in your life, or between
the lines of your autobiography, or there at the breakfast table eating Corn
Flakes with you. Then, use these images to support the points you'd like to
make. How did this experience help to shape the person you are -- and the
person you'd like to become by attending your dream school?
4. Don't be afraid to get
personal.
When it comes to college
admissions, few topics are off-limits. Admissions officers read many essays
every year about how sitting in the front row in biology class and paying close
attention enabled a student to get the most out of his education. Delve deeper.
Write about your emotions, your innermost thoughts, things most people don't
know about you. Be honest and authentic; let your reader see the real you.
5. Leave an impression.
Essays that the admissions officer
is still thinking about while he's cooking dinner are the ones that beat the
competition. Keep this in mind throughout the essay, but pay particular
attention to your last few sentences. After sifting through dozens of
applications, they start to all look the same. Give the reader something by
which to remember you at the end of the day.
