College Planning Blog

Writing the college essay or personal statement is one of the most daunting tasks that confront students in the senior year. The fact that they might still be working on an essay or two at this point in time is testimony itself to the degree of difficulty involved with finding the words that will adequately reveal the person behind the credentials. While the essays that emerge generally are solid writing samples and “good enough” to satisfy application requirements, only a fraction actually make a difference in the admission outcome.

Engineering an effective essay–one that will grab the attention of the reader–requires time, reflection and a bit of inspiration. Despite the popular notion among teenagers that the urgency and adrenalin rush of approaching deadlines brings out their best work, the reliance on such strategies leaves them woefully short of the time needed to gain perspective–to step back from their working drafts and edit effectively. Unfortunately, students who are still puzzling over what to do with essay assignments in early December are finding themselves in a time bind. One-draft writers, they deny themselves the opportunity to make a good essay great.

Keep in mind that the most systematic approach to essay writing begins with journal entries at the end of the Junior Year and continues through the development of early drafts just before the start of the Senior Year. That said, there is still hope for students who are trying to find the essay “magic.” Consider the following tips in addressing the task.

• Resist the temptation to look for examples of great college essays for ideas and/or inspiration. They will only confuse you more. Besides, those ideas have already been taken.
• Don’t give up ownership. You will find lots of opportunities to let other people (i.e. friends, parents and essay writing services) “help” you. Colleges want to hear your voice–it’s like your DNA. Authenticity is big here. While others can help with reflective editing, make sure the words you use are your own.
• Think about the messages/impressions you want to convey. What do you want the reader to know about you that won’t be apparent anywhere else in the application?
• Choose a topic about which you are an expert. The topic should give you a platform or perspective from which you are comfortable delivering the message.
• Answer the “why” questions. Why is the topic important to you? Why do you care about it? Why has it affected the way you see yourself in the world? As you answer the “why” questions, you give the reader insight into your soul. That might seem intimidating, but if you can pull it off your essay will make a difference.
• Be careful not to reframe information that is already presented on your application.
• Make sure you tell your story. If little-known circumstances have affected your academic performance or your life experience in general, you need to use a personal statement to address them.
• Eliminate distractions. Make sure the reader won’t have to struggle to read through the essay due to misspellings, grammatical errors or illegibility. Use spell-check and read your essay out loud. Your eyes can play tricks on you as you silently read through a draft for the tenth time. Listen to how your words sound.
• Give yourself time to step back from your work–to reflect on what you have written and to collect other opinions about the strength of your presentation. The more time, the better.

Finally, be honest about your effort. One of the most effective collaborators on my early writing projects was my dad. He would look over an essay and hand it back to me with the simple observation, “You’re not going to hand it in that way, are you?” While he was happy to go over things I had written with me, he wouldn’t do the thinking or writing for me. He knew that I knew I could do a better job and he was willing to help me if I was truly interested in helping myself!

This is the college application process and you know the stakes. Don’t settle for “good enough.” Rather, invest the extra time and effort it takes to produce great results.