By
EssayEdge.com: the Net's Admissions Essay
Resource
It may be only 500
words, but the admissions essay portion of a college application can mean the
difference between acceptance and rejection. How you write your personal essay
shows the admissions committee why you are different from everybody else. It
provides information about you that test scores, grades, and extracurricular
pursuits just cannot. You can use the essay to describe a favorite activity,
to tell a story about yourself, or even a story about your dog, but make sure
to really use it -- in a way that captures the readers attention and
shows that you are exceptional.
Step
One: Brainstorming
You should expect to
devote about one to two weeks simply thinking up possible essay subjects. From
this process of brainstorming, you may find a topic you had not thought of at
first. Here are some questions to consider:
What Are You Like?
- What is your
strongest personality trait? Does any attribute, quality, or skill
distinguish you from everyone else? How did you develop this attribute?
- How would your
friends characterize you? What would they write about if they were writing
your admissions essay for you?
- Consider your
favorite books, movies, works of art, etc. Have these influenced your life
in a meaningful way? Why are they your favorites?
- Have you experienced
a moment of epiphany, as if your eyes were opened to something to which you
were previously blind?
What Have You Done?
- What are your major
accomplishments, and why do you consider them accomplishments?
- What have you done
outside of the classroom that demonstrates qualities sought after by
universities? Of these, which means the most to you?
- Have you ever
struggled mightily for something and succeeded? What made you successful?
Have you ever struggled mightily for something and failed? How did you
respond?
- What was the most
difficult time in your life, and why? How did your perspective on life
change as a result of the difficulty?
Where Do You Want to
Go?
- Of everything in the
world, what would you most like to be doing right now? Where would you most
like to be? Who, of everyone living and dead, would you most like to be
with?
- What are your dreams
of the future? When you look back on your life in thirty years, what would
it take for you to consider your life successful?
- How does this
particular university fit into your plans for the future? Why do you want to
spend two to six years of your life at a particular school?
Step
Two: Selecting an Essay Topic
As these thoughts start
to solidify into an essay topic, think about execution. What sounded like a
good idea might prove impossible in the writing. Most importantly, think of
how you can make the subject matter original. Even seemingly boring essay
topics can sound interesting if creatively approached. With an essay question
in mind, think over the following questions:
- Will your topic only
repeat information listed elsewhere on your application? If so, pick a new
topic. Don't mention GPAs or standardized test scores in your essay.
- Can you offer vivid
supporting paragraphs to your essay topic? If you cannot easily think of
supporting paragraphs with concrete examples, you should probably choose a
different essay topic.
- Will an admissions
officer remember your topic after a day of reading hundreds of essays? What
will the officer remember about your topic? What will the officer remember
about you? What will your lasting impression be?
Choose a Story
The best essays tell a
story about the applicant. The essay does not have to be the story of your
whole life, but rather a small glimpse of it, one that is rich with meaning
and alive with imagery. It often helps to think about the impact that past
events have had on you. In one admissions essay written by a student who was
accepted to Harvard, Princeton, Dartmouth, and Stanford, an ordinary story is
told in a unique and captivating way. In this narrative about hiking up a
mountain, the student also conveys a deep appreciation for science, as well as
a dedication to the hard work required to fully understand the universe:
Although the first
few miles of the hike up Mt. Madison did not offer fantastic views, the
vistas became spectacular once I climbed above tree line. Immediately, I
sensed that understanding the natural world parallels climbing a mountain.
Much like every step while hiking leads the hiker nearer the mountain
peak, all knowledge leads the scientist nearer total understanding.
Entitled "Hiking to
Understanding," this essay tells the story of one hike, but at the same time,
gives a complete idea of the authors values, interests, and philosophy. Thus,
the essay presents run-of-the-mill subject matter in an out-of-the-ordinary
way.
Step
Three: Writing the Essay
You must bear in mind
your two goals: to persuade the admissions officer that you are extremely
worthy of admission and to make the admissions officer aware that you are more
than a GPA and a standardized score, that you are a real-life, intriguing
personality. But before you can convince an admissions officer of this, you
must first grab his or her attention.
The Introduction
Most admissions officers
spend at most 2 minutes reading your essay. With this reality in mind, spend
the most time on your introduction. One technique is to create mystery or
intrigue in this first paragraph. At the very least, you should not give away
the whole story right at the beginning. Give the admissions officer a reason
to keep reading. As an example, the first sentence of the "Hiking" essay reads
as follows:
Surrounded by
thousands of stars, complete silence, and spectacular mountains, I stood
atop New Hampshire's Presidential Range awestruck by nature's beauty.
This first sentence sets
the mood for the essay, it draws the reader into the scene, but it does not
state the authors argument or even the plot of the story to follow. The reader
has to continue reading in order to learn what happens next.
The Body
After the first
paragraph has been perfected, you must ensure that the body paragraphs relate
to the introduction. It helps to have a theme or phrase that runs throughout
the entire essay. In "Hiking to Understanding," the author uses the mountain
as a unifying image:
Some people during
their lives climb many small hills. However, to have the most accurate
view of the world, I must be dedicated to climbing the biggest mountains I
can find. Too often people simply hike across a flat valley without
ascending because they content themselves with the scenery. The mountain
showed me that I cannot content myself with the scenery.
Also notice that the
author uses simple language. Many students think that big words make good
essays, but powerful ideas are often best expressed in simple and elegant
prose.
Another way to impress
an admissions officer is by using specific examples and evocative touches of
imagery that stay clear of cliché. The application essay lends itself to
imagery, since the entire essay requires your experiences as supporting
details. Successful essays stick to the mantra, "show, don't tell." Here's one
example from the "Hiking" essay:
When night fell upon
the summit, I stared at the slowly appearing stars until they completely
filled the night sky. Despite the windy conditions and below freezing
temperatures, I could not tear myself away.
This passage shows how
description of the stars and cold can make us both imagine the scenery and
understand the authors point of view. It tells us what the author feels and
thinks, more so than if the author had spelled it out for us.
Finishing Up
The conclusion is your
last chance to persuade the reader or impress upon them your qualifications.
Expand upon the broader implications of your discussion. The "Hiking" essay
does this successfully, both expanding on the description of the scene as well
as on the scenes meaning for the author:
When observing
Saturn's rising, the Milky Way Cloud, and the Perseid meteor shower, I
simultaneously felt a great sense of insignificance and purpose.
Obviously, earthly concerns are insignificant to the rest of the universe.
However, I experienced the overriding need to understand the origins and
causes of these phenomena.
Don't be surprised if
the writing process takes many days. Few writers can dash out a quality essay
in just a few sittings. It takes awhile to find the perfect structure,
wording, and imagery. If you have the time, spend a week away from your draft;
when you return to it, you will read it with fresh eyes. Ask friends and
family for help. Other readers will find small mistakes that your brain has
ceased to recognize, and they will answer the essential question, "what makes
this essay memorable?"
Admissions Essay Help - Put
Harvard-Educated Editors to Work For You at
EssayEdge.com!. 300+ Free Sample
Admissions Essays.
