So you’ve perfected your resumé, got your amazing SAT/ACT scores, and now there is just one more thing left to do that’s stopping you from hitting that “submit” button on the Common App page. And what thing is that? Dun dun dun… the College Essay! Daunting words, aren’t they? Yes, I agree completely. But I have gone through that process only a year ago and have gotten into a good amount of top universities, and with these tips and tricks I am hoping that you could do the same, too.
1. Know Yourself
Know what makes you special. Don’t even try to tell me you’re not, because everyone has something about them that distinguishes themselves from the person on the right. If you really can’t think of something, take a small thing about yourself and magnify it. For example, if your best trait is being a compassionate person, describe that in story form. Show, don’t tell! Describe a situation in which your compassionate-self shined through, and the effect it had on everyone around you. Blow your ego up, but gently. Don’t sound arrogant, but do display your fabulousness.
2. Make Your Reader Smile
Realize that the person on the admission team has to go through hundreds, if not, thousands of essays in one sitting . Chances are, essays will start to blur together. Reading about someone’s passion about helping the homeless may start to get, well, a tad boring by the time service-lover number 8 comes around. Yes, do write about what you are passionate about, but try to incorporate some humor into it! Do not deliberately try to be funny (because honestly, that usually ends up being a flop), but even one odd sentence about how you were feeling during that moment can change the tone of the whole essay. Make your paper memorable.
3. Go the Different Route
This may be a bit risky, but this is something that I personally did that I believe is what got me into a certain nationally-ranked university. When the prompt asks you to write three words that describe yourself, you don’t want to simply just list out, “I’m smart, nice, and goal-oriented.” NO. That is boring! Jazz it up! What I did in this exact situation was to write a short story about my keyboard and Mac computer, and made them talk to each other. In the dialogue I incorporated the three words that I thought were my best traits, and had them describe to each other the things they have witnessed me doing as proof to these traits.
4. Research
During my college essay stress-out time, what I found extremely helpful was reading other people’s essays to get a sense of what could be considered a well-written paper. The site I most frequented for this was Teenink.com. On there, they have whole section dedicated to college essays, and there you can get a sense of how other writers approached the prompts to make the essay their own.
5. This is NOT a Resumé!
Remember that you already sent in your resumé! They already know that you were the president of the Key Club and that you ran Cross Country and were on Varsity Football since sophomore year! Use this essay to show them something about yourself that has to be explained. Something that was unable to be listed. Remember that is the only time that the college can get a glimpse of who you are as a person. This is the time to let your dazzling personality shine through!
6. Peer Edit, But Not Too Much
One of the biggest mistakes is getting too worked out over this and having multiple people peer edit your paper for you. Yes, peer edit, but don’t take their suggestions too seriously. This paper is about you. Not them. You want your voice to be heard—you want it to sound like you. The more changes you make based on what others say, the less it will sound like your personality. Think about it like when you are trying on an outfit—you really like your fierce dark blue boots with your black skinny jeans, but your best friend tells you that’s a major fashion faux pas because “blue can never be paired with black!” But you know that you look good in it, you like it, and that’s all that matters. If she makes you change your boots to, say, black ones, the pizzazz of the outfit you created is now all lost. You don’t want your essay to seem like that.
And last, but not least…
7. Proofread!
Grammar mistakes are a BIG no-no. This is college you are trying to get into. Your brain matters. Don’t let a little mistake cost you the dream of getting into your top college.
These are all the little things I used when I wrote my college essays. The biggest thing to remember, however, is to be yourself. I know that is something easier said than done, but ultimately, as a general rule of thumb, if you give anything you do your all, you will end up where you are supposed to be. Best of luck, and get to writing!
Live, Love, and Shine!
Melody
