Crafting An Unforgettable College Essay

Crafting An Unforgettable College Essay We have been mentioned in the Washington Post, the Economist, and other papers around the world for our exceptional college essays. The college essay is an important component of the college application process. Most colleges require at least one essay from applicants, and several schools require two or three. We checked in with Jodi Then, High School Counselor at Boston Green Academy, to ask her advice on crafting the best college essay. Jodi has several years of experience guiding Massachusetts students through the college admissions process, and she offers some wise words below. One common essay mistake is telling a particular story without answering the prompt. Since many colleges allow students to choose from a few different prompts, addressing the topic of your choice is an easy way to tell your story within the constraints of an essay. When writing, consider the admissions officer who will read your essay. Take this opportunity to expand on your application -- but remember to re-read your essay with the prompt in mind. Drawing on many years of experience, Mr. Mark can help students at any stage of their essay writing process -- brainstorming, planning, revising, and editing. The class may also involve brief instruction and peer review as well, but it will focus on intensive essay work time. Reading other successful admissions essays is the best way to learn how to write a college application essay. GradeSaver provides the best sample college application essays in this premium content section. Many were written by students of Ivy League colleges. Take the time to write original responses to all the prompts. It’s a lot of work, but it will pay off in the end. Some colleges have a team of people read each file. Others divide them up, and then only share files that require further discussion. There is not one way that all colleges work, so I always tell students to assume everyone in the admissions office could their essays so that they cannot write anything that anyone and everyone cannot read. Also I believe that students should believe that the more people who read an essay the better as these essays should really captivate and engage readers and help them see why you belong on their campus. This class was designed to help motivated Seniors get a strong start on their college essays -- especially those who will be applying in the Fall. So the primary purpose of the college essay is to provide an opportunity to tell your whole story. With upwards of 25 or more essays to write for a balanced college list of schools, it’s tempting for students to repurpose essays across applications if the prompts are similar. While students can use the same main essay on the Common App for multiple schools, we always recommend that students tailor their supplemental essays to the individual colleges. Telling Caltech why you want to attend MIT is a quick way to end up in the “no” pile. As students write their essays, it might help to keep in mind why colleges ask them for these writing samples in the first place. College application essays are important to winning over the admissions officers. So many students think that they “know” what colleges want from an applicant, and this can have a big influence over their essays. Students will abuse the thesaurus and write about strange topics in an effort to impress and stand out. Instead of writing what you think the admissions office wants to read, write about what you want them to know. Again, the essay is a great space to reveal something new about you, so stand out by being yourself and showing another side of you as a person or student. College admissions officers are very busy and only want to read essays that help them make admissions decisions. Pizza, community service, grandmothers, barnacles…you name it, and admissions officers have probably read an essay about it. And given that thousands of students are admitted to colleges each year, I hope we can all agree there is no one “best” topic on which to write yourCommon App essay. What makes a college essay strong isn’t necessary its theme, but the personal and reflective story that emerges from that theme. Because colleges are looking for students who know themselves well, have academic goals and a career direction, and can articulate them clearly. However, admissions reps also need to know how you think. Mr. Mark is also able to assist on scholarship application essays as well. The style and tone of a college essay are very different from most essays and research papers you write in school. So, often students aren’t sure exactly what to aim for when writing their essays. A quick and easy remedy is to read example essays written by successful applicants.