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College Application Essay Tips
COLLEGE APPLICATION ESSAY TIPS
Who Are You?? The college application essay provides an opportunity to
tell the admissions committee more about you. As a high school senior,
you have established your GPA, completed or will complete your testing
soon and the essay is the last part of the application in which you still
have some control. A good essay will strengthen your application.
Selective colleges normally require an essay. Many other colleges do
not require essays. Some college applications ask for a short
response. Be sure to give the short answer questions lots of thought.
GETTING STARTED:
Make a list of four things that describe you. (leader, athlete, first in my
family to go to college, started a business, etc.)
What are your personal triumphs or challenges?
What experiences have made an impact on your life? (travel, work,
church/temple, family.)
What have you learned from a mistake?
What makes you different from your friends?
Describe the world you come from (family, community, school)
If you have a disability, talk about it in the context of your ability to succeed.
Has your culture influenced you?
COLLEGE ESSAY TOPICS:
Tell us about a risk you have taken.
Tell us about a talent, experience, contribution or personal quality that is
important to you.
Describe an experience or idea you find intellectually exciting.
How have you taken advantage of educational opportunities you have had
to prepare for college?
What contribution will you bring to campus?
Evaluate a significant experience, achievement, risk taken or ethical
dilemma you faced and its impact on you. (Common Application)
Discuss a personal, local or national concern and its importance to you.
(Common Application)
Select a topic of your choice. (Common Application)
WHAT MAKES A GOOD ESSAY?
It is written in your own words.
It provides personal information about your goals, interests or other
experiences.
It follows the guidelines on the application, answers the question and
stays close to the word limit.
It is well written and proofread. Spell check does not catch every error. You
must proofread several times.
Think of the personal essay as an interview. The reader should be able to
pull out adjectives that describe you after reading your essay.
A good essay should give the college a reason to accept you.
COMMON APPLICATION
Students can fill out the Common Application online or in print and submit
it to over 400 colleges and universities. Most of the participating colleges
are private colleges. Each year more public and private colleges join the
common application.
Colleges participating in the Common Application must use a holistic
selection process including subjective and objective criteria.
Some colleges also have a supplemental application which can be filled
out online.
If you use the common application www.commonapp.org , you will have a
choice of six essay topics. These topics normally do not change from year
to year. You could get an early start on your essay during summer
vacation.
A summary of the six essay topics are as follows:
1. Evaluate a significant experience, achievement, risk you have taken, or
ethical dilemma you have faced and its impact on you.
2. Discuss some issue of personal, local, national or international
concern and its importance to you.
3. Indicate a person who has had a significant influence on you and
describe that influence.
4. Describe a character in fiction, a historical figure, or a creative work that
has had an influence on you and explain that influence.
5. A range of academic interests, personal perspectives, and life
experiences adds much to the educational mix. Given your personal
background, describe and experience that illustrates what you would
bring to the diversity in a college community or an encounter that
demonstrated the importance of diversity to you.
6. Topic of your choice.
Many books are available to help you with your essay:
100 Successful College Application Essays by Georges
The College Application Essay by College Board
COLLEGE ESSAY WORD LIMITS
The essay normally has a word limit. What happens if you are over the
limit? If you are a few words over, it shouldn't be a problem. If you are
twenty, thirty or more words over the limit, you should reduce the words.
It's a good idea to follow directions and stay within the guidelines. Don't try
to reduce the size of the type or make small margins in order to fit all the
words. Colleges can cut the essay after the word limit has been reached.
You don't want your nice ending to get cut.
Following directions does say something about you.
MORE TIPS:
Save your work often.
Ask someone else to read your essay. Does it sound like you? Can
some adjectives be used to describe you?
Always proofread several times. Check it over carefully before you press
the send button. Don't rely on spell check. It doesn't catch everything.
Don't forget to log off.
Always follow the guidelines.
Good Luck!
Who Are You?? The college application essay provides an opportunity to
tell the admissions committee more about you. As a high school senior,
you have established your GPA, completed or will complete your testing
soon and the essay is the last part of the application in which you still
have some control. A good essay will strengthen your application.
Selective colleges normally require an essay. Many other colleges do
not require essays. Some college applications ask for a short
response. Be sure to give the short answer questions lots of thought.
GETTING STARTED:
Make a list of four things that describe you. (leader, athlete, first in my
family to go to college, started a business, etc.)
What are your personal triumphs or challenges?
What experiences have made an impact on your life? (travel, work,
church/temple, family.)
What have you learned from a mistake?
What makes you different from your friends?
Describe the world you come from (family, community, school)
If you have a disability, talk about it in the context of your ability to succeed.
Has your culture influenced you?
COLLEGE ESSAY TOPICS:
Tell us about a risk you have taken.
Tell us about a talent, experience, contribution or personal quality that is
important to you.
Describe an experience or idea you find intellectually exciting.
How have you taken advantage of educational opportunities you have had
to prepare for college?
What contribution will you bring to campus?
Evaluate a significant experience, achievement, risk taken or ethical
dilemma you faced and its impact on you. (Common Application)
Discuss a personal, local or national concern and its importance to you.
(Common Application)
Select a topic of your choice. (Common Application)
WHAT MAKES A GOOD ESSAY?
It is written in your own words.
It provides personal information about your goals, interests or other
experiences.
It follows the guidelines on the application, answers the question and
stays close to the word limit.
It is well written and proofread. Spell check does not catch every error. You
must proofread several times.
Think of the personal essay as an interview. The reader should be able to
pull out adjectives that describe you after reading your essay.
A good essay should give the college a reason to accept you.
COMMON APPLICATION
Students can fill out the Common Application online or in print and submit
it to over 400 colleges and universities. Most of the participating colleges
are private colleges. Each year more public and private colleges join the
common application.
Colleges participating in the Common Application must use a holistic
selection process including subjective and objective criteria.
Some colleges also have a supplemental application which can be filled
out online.
If you use the common application www.commonapp.org , you will have a
choice of six essay topics. These topics normally do not change from year
to year. You could get an early start on your essay during summer
vacation.
A summary of the six essay topics are as follows:
1. Evaluate a significant experience, achievement, risk you have taken, or
ethical dilemma you have faced and its impact on you.
2. Discuss some issue of personal, local, national or international
concern and its importance to you.
3. Indicate a person who has had a significant influence on you and
describe that influence.
4. Describe a character in fiction, a historical figure, or a creative work that
has had an influence on you and explain that influence.
5. A range of academic interests, personal perspectives, and life
experiences adds much to the educational mix. Given your personal
background, describe and experience that illustrates what you would
bring to the diversity in a college community or an encounter that
demonstrated the importance of diversity to you.
6. Topic of your choice.
Many books are available to help you with your essay:
100 Successful College Application Essays by Georges
The College Application Essay by College Board
COLLEGE ESSAY WORD LIMITS
The essay normally has a word limit. What happens if you are over the
limit? If you are a few words over, it shouldn't be a problem. If you are
twenty, thirty or more words over the limit, you should reduce the words.
It's a good idea to follow directions and stay within the guidelines. Don't try
to reduce the size of the type or make small margins in order to fit all the
words. Colleges can cut the essay after the word limit has been reached.
You don't want your nice ending to get cut.
Following directions does say something about you.
MORE TIPS:
Save your work often.
Ask someone else to read your essay. Does it sound like you? Can
some adjectives be used to describe you?
Always proofread several times. Check it over carefully before you press
the send button. Don't rely on spell check. It doesn't catch everything.
Don't forget to log off.
Always follow the guidelines.
Good Luck!