19.9 million students entered higher education last year. And you’re about to join their ranks.
You’ve spent the past four years of high school polishing your resume, getting the best grades you can and acing your SAT or ACT. Now it’s time to blow their minds with a great college admissions essay.
You may have reached this blog post by Googling, “How to write a college application essay.” Don’t worry; we’ve got you.
Read on to learn how to write a college essay that will make yours stand out from the rest.
Contents
Focus on One Experience or Aspect of Yourself
You don’t want to make your essay sound like your resume or CV. The admissions committee has already seen your resume and/or CV, and they don’t need it broken down for them again.
Your grades, extracurriculars and test scores show that you’ll be a great student on paper. But they don’t show what kind of person you are, or what experiences you’ve had in life that have shaped you as a person.
Realistically, on paper, a lot of applicants look the same, especially if you’re applying to an elite school like an Ivy League. Every person they look at has perfect grades, has excelled in extracurriculars and aced the SATs or ACTs. That alone doesn’t make you stand out.
Instead, you want to focus on what does. Have you overcome something in your life? Do you live with a mental illness? Were you raised in a socioeconomically disadvantaged area? Did you go on a trip that was life-changing? Did your family emigrate to America?
These are just a few ideas to help you get started but are by no means exhaustive. Brainstorm some ideas with your parents or with a teacher before you settle on your essay topic.
Remember, this is your chance to let the admissions committee get to know you beyond your grades and test scores.
If You Have a Clear Vision for Your Future, Write About It
Some people know exactly what they want to be when they finish college. They may enter into their freshman year of college knowing right away that they want to be a doctor or a lawyer or diplomat. That’s awesome.
If that’s you, and you don’t want to write about a challenge you’ve overcome, or you don’t have one, then write about your vision of success. What made you want to go into this line of work? Why are you so set on it? What skills do you have that will help you in this line of work and what skills do you hope to develop over time?
Most importantly, how will the university you’re applying to help you achieve this goal? That’s one key part of the essay that you don’t want to miss out on.
If You Don’t Have a Challenge You’ve Overcome, or a Plan for Your Future, Don’t Sweat
So, you may not be the person who has all of the plans for their future and has a particular goal in mind. That’s okay. It may seem like everyone else has this all figured out, but really, they don’t. Goals change, people change and realistically; not everyone has their life all mapped out at 17 or 18.
If you’re still confused about what you want to do with your life, you can read more and look at some students who have found their purpose.
But if you don’t have a clear vision for what you want to do in life, or you’ve not faced significant hardship, it may take you a bit longer than other students to find something to write about. That’s okay.
You may wish to brainstorm with a parent, teacher or college counselor at your school. The latter has seen many students in your position and can help you think of an incredible essay topic that lets your university get to know you as you, and not your test scores.
In fact, a person who doesn’t know what they want to do, and hasn’t faced any significant challenges, can still write a compelling essay.
Make Sure You Write in Your Own Voice
This sounds like a no-brainer, but you want to make sure the essay you’re writing is in your own voice. Don’t try to mimic someone else’s, and worst of all, don’t pay someone to write your essay for you. This just ends in disaster for you and is often very obvious.
Through all of your years in high school, you should have created your own voice through the essays and writing exercises you’ve done.
No matter what you’re studying in school, you’ll need to be able to write a quality essay, so it’s important that you show the admissions committee that you’re able to do so.
How to Write a College Application Essay
There is, unfortunately, no easy formula for how to write a college application essay that gets you admitted to the college of your dreams. The big takeaway is to try and showcase your personality so that they get to know you for you. Not everyone fits what every school is looking for, and that’s okay. That’s why it is key for them to know the real you, and not the you that you think they want to admit to their university.
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