Overview
Many selective colleges and universities ask prospective students to write an essay as part of their application for admissions. Usually, there are guidelines, such as word length, a quotation, or a common question. The goals of the essay are for the admissions officer to see how well students can express themselves in writing, and reveal themselves as interesting potential students.
Choosing a Topic
Most of the time, college applications contain essay questions that are open-ended, but specific. Some common application questions ask students to describe an experience, achievement or event that stood out to them; a person who has influenced their life; a character in fiction, an historical figure, or a creative work and how it has impacted personal philosophy; or any other topic.
Write About Yourself
Admissions officers are looking for student essays that reflect individuality. Maybe you haven’t spent a summer in a foreign country or received awards for outstanding community service or heroism. However, even mundane life experiences can be made interesting. Write about something that excites you, whether it be making art or music, playing sports, hobbies, or academic interests.
Show, Don’t Tell
Engage the senses to engage the reader. If your passion is for hiking in the mountains, describe the feel of the warm sun on your back, the smell of the pine forests, the taste of the icy water from a mountain stream, the sight of the glaciers and peaks; and the cries of hawks as they glide by. Draw the reader into the scene, whether it is onstage presenting a drama or traveling in a foreign land.
Proofread Carefully
Most writers cannot write a perfect essay on the first draft. Even with spell-check as part of the word processing program, words remain that are not the correct ones, such as “there” for “their”, typos that are still words, or when a word is left out of the sentence. Wordiness can create problems, as well as weak forms of the verb “to be”, strings of adjectives; run-on sentences; and mixing up tenses. Leave enough time to write and rewrite, ask someone else to read the draft, and feel free to go in a different direction if one attempt doesn’t say what you want it to say.
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