While the college process can seem very overwhelming and unknown, the one thing that should remain unchanged is the reason you are applying to college and what you want to get out of your college experience. For this reason, your common app essay should reflect this one main reason you are seeking a higher education.
Five steps to writing a powerful and convincing essay
1. REALLY consider who you are as a person, and what parts of you, you want to showcase to admissions officers. I know this is a big question, but at the end of the day, admissions officers want to know who you are, and who may be joining their campuses. They want to feel you, rather than read your grades and list of accomplishments.
So, consider, your values, your most memorable moments and/or your most proud achievements. Write them down. Keep a notebook beside your bed. Really ponder how your values and memories can come through in an essay.
2. Identify why college is valuable to you. You are applying to college to study something and hopefully go to graduate school or work at an organization post-graduation (or work for yourself!). While your main common app essay should address who you are as a person, it can also include the benefits you will gain from going to college.
Benefits of going to college may include a job you ultimately want, desired career path or simply skills you want to possess for your lifetime.
If you have several ideas of your career path or job desires, for the sake of your essay and overall application, pick one to write about (and keep everything in your application consistent around this one goal). I have seen some students write about four different career paths in all their various essays (common app + supplementals) - this gets messy and admissions officer may feel you are unfocused and/or unclear of your goals.
Although I recommend keeping one main storyline, possibly mentioning a specific career path, once you are at you dream school, you can explore other options!
3. Connect the dots and outline your essay. Your essay should be a story, rather than a list of facts about yourself. The list of facts are included in your activity section - you don't need to repeat yourself. If you have several moments you want to illustrate to admissions officers, think about how your stories string together, to ultimately show who you are as person, how you have grown overtime and why you are applying to college. Outline your essay first to make sure your flow makes sense and there is a clear story and thought process throughout.
4. Just write. And write a lot. Don't worry about your word count or phrasing initially, Simply write as much as you can. This will help you flesh out your stories and identify what is most important to truly talk about and share.
5. Have someone review your essay that doesn't know you well. Your essay should be easily understood by anyone who reads your essay. You don't know who in the admissions team that will be reading your essay - you don't know their background, interests or preferences (or even the time of day they will read your essay). That said, your essay should be easy to read, include minimal/no technical terminology and clearly state your intentions for pursuing a higher education.
Have More Questions?
Do you have more questions or want another set of eyes on your essay? Feel free to reach out to Rose College Prep at rosecollegeprep@gmail.com. We offer free 15-minute consultations. We are here, if you need us!