You can always read my latest blogpost here.
These are general guidelines, not rules. Not every applicant will be able to do these in this order and some may be more relevant than others.
These are general guidelines, not rules. Not every applicant will be able to do these in this order and some may be more relevant than others.
1. No magic bullet:
There’s no getting around it. The essays are a slog, and if
you’re applying to schools with many supplements or several schools not on the
Common Application, it’s a lot of work. But – the good news! – doing the work
is a way to focus your experience, your perceptions, your goals, and your sense
of yourself as a soon-to-be college student. Finding your voice and your story will help you make that transition. The essays will help you learn how to present yourself, how to talk about your interests, talents and accomplishments - without bragging.
2. Ask for help –
from people and online:
Writers (and doctors and engineers and parents) ask for help
all the time. Just because writing is a solitary activity doesn’t mean you
shouldn’t seek advice and reactions from teachers, guidance counselors, family
friends, parents, or the abundant information online. Ask for help
brainstorming. Read online posts about how to tackle various questions. And be prepared to rewrite. And rewrite.
3. There are no formulas and no right answers.
Students often ask me: What does the school want me to write? The school wants to know what YOU think and
what your experience is. The essay is a kind of interview. Reveal yourself.
Make sure you essay tells us what it is that you want the colleges to know
about you: Your passions, your talents, your ambitions, the qualities that make
you who you are.
4. Choose colleges
before you begin writing.
Make a chart of what essays are required for each college:
1. The topic. 2. The length. 3. The due dates. Have a sense in advance how many
essays you might have to do – whether it’s 3 or 15 or even 20. Some
colleges/universities have 2, 3, 4, or even more essays. Though the essays may
only be 100, 250 or 500 words, they must be well-considered words. Some of the
essays are creative (“What makes you happy?” "What's the sweetest sound you've ever heard?"), others are more straightforward
(why this college/why your major).
5. If you are applying mostly to schools using
the Common Application, it’s almost always best to start writing that essay
first.
It’s critical to know which universities use which essays or
groups of essays. 700+ colleges use the Common Application and many have
supplements in addition to the core Common App essay (1 essay chosen from 5
prompts, 650 words). Other universities have their own essays entirely, among
them: MIT, Georgetown, UTexas, and Universities of California (1
application for all 9 branches). If you are doing Common App schools, plus MIT,
plus Georgetown and UCalifornia schools, that is about 15 essays (from 100 to
500 or 650 words) right there. Once you see the essay requirements all together
– whether they are core essays or supplements – you might change your mind
about your college selections.
6. Recycle essays or
passages where you can.
Once you have your list with all the topics and lengths, you
can start to see what topics and pieces of essays you might be able to
“recycle” and use multiple times. It is NOT cheating to use the same passages
in multiple essays. What you DO NOT want to do is write a generic “Why I Want
to Go to X College.” If your WHY THIS COLLEGE can be used multiple places, it
needs work: specificity, detail, and homework: study the college, the
curriculum and what makes it stand out to you.
7. Which essay should
you do next? It depends on deadlines, recycling, and other factors, such as
where you might be applying early action/decision (usually Nov. 1
deadlines). There are no hard and fast
rules. If you’re applying to the University of California system, you must
submit applications during the month of November – and that’s it. A number of big universities are not Common
Application schools. If these are top choice universities, you might want to do
these first – even before the Common App essay, as long as you’re not applying
early elsewhere.
8. Getting down to it.
There are dozens of websites that give advice about the
nitty gritty of writing the essays. There are also many sites that publish
college essays. DO take a look at these if you need help getting started or
getting ideas, but don’t feel you
must write essays like the ones you’re reading. There is a huge variety in
college application essays. And keep in
mind that the essays you’re reading online have been through many drafts. You
are not going to turn out a terrific essay in one or two sittings. Don’t be
discouraged! Prepare to do 3 or 4 or more drafts.
9. The writing and language, in a nutshell:
Much of the advice comes down to: write in your own voice, as though you are talking more than writing an
academic paper. The tone should be more informal than the stiff, academic
language you would use when writing a history paper. It’s sometimes helpful to
write the essay as though you’re writing a letter to someone – a friend or
mentor.
SS language, word
choices and other writing tips:
The essay is not a place to show off your SAT vocabulary or
your penchant for writing poetry. Use SS language: Simple and Straightforward. But
though it’s SS, it must be precise, detailed, and specific. For instance: “My
parents are in the military and we moved a lot. “ vs: “My parents are medics in
the Army, and we’ve lived in five countries since I was born, including Poland,
Germany, and Botswana.” Specific details are always more memorable, and forcing
yourself to focus on detail focuses your brain and your powers of perception.
10. It’s often great
to start an essay with an active example of what you’ll be writing about. Put
us in the middle of the action and then step back and explain how you got there
and how it relates to the essay prompt.
“The conductor pointed his baton
to the string section, and we began the fugue that ends the second movement of
Brahms’ Requiem. My fingers responded to the building excitement of the rapid
tempo, and I was enveloped by the sweep of sound.
“I fell in
love with the violin when I was six, and music has been the center of my life
since then. I felt joy every Saturday morning when I began my weekly lesson
with Mrs. Jones and later that day when I played in our town’s youth
orchestra….”
OR: A very different sort of story:
“The
policeman grabbed me by the arm and demanded I show him my ID. I had no idea what I had done wrong, and I
didn’t have my wallet with me. I was just riding my bike in San Diego. I didn’t
think it was a crime to ride on the sidewalk.”
“This was
my first experience of discrimination in the United States, where we moved from
Algeria when I was ten years. It would be the first of many times that I would
encounter….”
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