Writing a college essay is not only about showing off your writing skills. Yes, admissions officers will keep an eye on grammar, spelling, and narrative, but they will mostly focus on creativity and originality. College essays are your chance to make your voice heard and showcase your personality. It is the one chance you have to highlight what makes you special and worthy of getting into the college of your dreams. A college essay is a personal statement that allows you to stand out in the crowd and shine through. Invest time and effort to tell your story with your own words! Make the most of your college essay for a successful college admissions process.
When to start writing your college essay?
The earlier the better! The best time to start writing your college essay is the summer before senior year. Summer doesn’t pack so many extracurricular activities and homework, so you will have the necessary time to start thinking about what you are going to write in your college application essay.
The summer before senior year should at least be dedicated to the brainstorming process. This is when you should write your first thoughts on paper and think about your essay topic. If you start now, you’ll have plenty of time to review multiple drafts and perfect your story.
College application deadlines are just around the corner and can be as early as October 15th through November 1st, for students who are determined to receive an early decision. Furthermore, some colleges ask applicants to submit supplemental essays or short answers so, if you start writing your essays earlier, you will have plenty of time to prepare both your college essay and additional supplemental essays.
How to start writing your college essay?
When you’re brainstorming your college essay topics, make sure you keep in mind what the admissions officers want to know about you. First, they will want to know who you are, what are your values, goals, and even feelings and needs.
In addition, they will want to know if you will contribute to the campus and add value to their student body. College admissions officers are looking for students who resonate with the university’s mission and vision and are eager to contribute to its success. And lastly, they will evaluate your personal statement to see if you know how to write a good essay at a college level.
If you write your essay with these questions in mind, your chances to create the perfect college essay will increase significantly. Remember, you’re writing to impress your audience, so it’s alright to be self-centered now.
How to choose your college essay topic?
Your college essay will give you a chance to tell colleges everything you want them to know about you. Think about any significant challenges you’ve had to face in your life and the impact they had on you. Are you willing to write about these life experiences? This can help the college admissions officers to gauge your determination, goals, and ambitions. They will also discover a soul, heart, mind, and story behind your perfect test scores and grades. Perfect scores are not always enough to get you into your dream school. You’ll likely be competing against other students with scores as perfect as yours or better. Your personal essay can be the reason why admissions officers will pick you over all the other perfect candidates!
If you don’t want to write about challenges you had to face, don’t! This is not mandatory and will not increase your chances to get accepted into college. Don’t write about something just because you think it will look good on paper. Focus on experiences you want to share with the college admissions committee and let your authenticity and character shine.
You can very well focus on your vision for your future or passions and hobbies. It is encouraged to let your passion transpire through your personal statement. Are you passionate about history, a cause, or social issues? Write about it! Choose a topic that makes your heart beat faster. Something you love to talk about. This is when your true self will come through! And be specific. Don’t summarize. Get into details. Don’t be afraid to add a touch of humor. But only if humor comes naturally to you. Be true to who you are otherwise the admission folks will sense you want to trick them.
How to structure your college essay?
While most colleges don’t have strict word count limits, limit your college essay to about 650 words. That should be enough for the admissions officer to get a sense of who you are without the risk of boring them or saying too much. If you’re writing a supplemental essay, stick to 250 words in general.
Review the essay requirements before writing the first draft to make sure you don’t miss anything that may disqualify your essay for a technicality. Some colleges let you choose your topic while others may ask you to respond to an essay prompt. Check the required file format and also the minimum and maximum word count necessary for your essay.
After brainstorming essay ideas and choosing your topic, start writing. Write one, two, three, or as many drafts as you need to feel satisfied with your work. Your essay should have a beginning, middle, and end. And remember! The opening sentence is very important. It needs to hook the reader and promise them an interesting journey.
Always edit and proofread your college essay!
Never send your college essay to a school without having a person or two edits and proofread your final draft. You can read your college essay a thousand times, and misspelled words or grammatical errors can always find a way to go unnoticed.
You need a pair of fresh eyes to go over it. Don’t show your essay to too many people though. One or two opinions should be enough for you to make the right changes and refinements. Incorporate any relevant input you get into your statement but choose carefully. Choose to listen to a person who knows you well and a person who knows what college admissions officers are looking for in a college essay.
Let the second person be one of our college coaches. MORZEP college coaches have plenty of experience to help you write the perfect college essay and go over your drafts. They can help you polish your essay to perfection to increase your chances of getting into the college of your choice. We will offer informed advice and help you stay away from passive language, forced sentences, and phrases that you think should be there just because that’s what admissions officers want to hear. We will help you find your story and craft it into a little masterpiece.
