Why it matters Your essay reveals something important

about you that your grades and test scores can't—your personality.

It can give admission officers a sense of

who you are, while also showcasing your writing skills.

College Applications Essays that Set You Apart

Choose a Topic That Will Highlight You

DON’T focus on the great aspects of a particular college, the amount of dedication it takes to be a doctor or the number of extracurricular activities you took part in during high school.

DO share your personal story and thoughts, take a creative approach and highlight areas that aren’t covered in other parts of the application, like your high school records.

Keep Your Focus Narrow and Personal

DON’T try to cover too many topics. This will make the essay sound like a résumé that doesn’t provide any details about you.

DO focus on one aspect of yourself so the readers can learn more about who you are. Remember that the readers must be able to find

your main idea and follow it from beginning to end.Ask a parent or teacher to read just your

introduction and tell you what he or she thinks your essay is about.

Show, Don’t Tell DON’T simply state a fact to get an idea

across, such as “I like to surround myself with people with a variety of backgrounds and interests.”

DO include specific details, examples, reasons and so on to develop your ideas. For the example above, describe a situation when

you were surrounded by various types of people. ○ What were you doing? ○ Whom did you talk with? ○ What did you take away from the experience?

Use Your Own Voice DON’T rely on phrases or ideas that people have used

many times before. These could include statements like, “There is so

much suffering in the world that I feel I have to help people.”

Avoid overly formal or business-like language, and don’t use unnecessary words.

DO write in your own voice. For the above example, you could write about a real

experience that you had and how it made you feel you had to take action.

And note that admission officers will be able to tell if your essay was edited by an adult.

Generalities: Rather than saying, "I'm very hardworking," describe a situation that demonstrates how diligent you are. For example, "When it comes to special academic projects, I am the kind of person who both starts way in advance and at the end sometimes stays up all night to make sure that an assignment is the best that it can be.”

Clichés: Rather than saying, "I like working with people and want to save the world," how about saying, "I joined the Diversity Club at school because I wanted to get to know students from different cultures, learn about their families, religion, traditions and even their food. I also wanted to find out how we are alike and unalike. I believe that when people really get to know one another, they have a better chance of getting along."

Jargon: Rather than saying, "I get really ADD when it comes to studying," say something such as "When I do homework in the evenings, I often find it difficult to concentrate, get easily distracted and don't seem to be able to focus.”

3 common college essay questions

“Describe yourself”

“Explain why you want to attend our college”

“Discuss an issue”

Video

The “describe yourself” question

With this type of question, the college is looking to get to know you better and to see how you present yourself. “Please complete a one-page personal statement

and submit it with your application.”

Video

How to answer it This type of question can be

intimidating because it’s so open-ended. The key is to look at it as a

chance to show who you are and what’s important to you.

Try to keep your answer focused and avoid the urge to spill everything.

Instead, discuss one or two subjects that reveal your best qualities.

The “explain why you want to attend our college” question

With this type of question, admission officers want to find out about your goals.

They also want to know how serious you are about attending their school. Questions in this category include:

○ “Why is this college a good choice for you?”

○ “Tell us about your career goals and any plans you may have for graduate study.”

How to answer it The focus here is why you chose a certain college

or path. It’s a pretty straightforward question, but be sure

you know your subject well. For example, if you say you want to attend this college

because of a specific academic department, make sure you’re clear on what that department offers.

The “discuss an issue” question

Admission officers look at both how intelligent and how creative your answer to this type question is. They want to see your ability to think outside the box. Here’s an example from Denison University:

○ “Do you believe there's a generation gap? Describe the differences between your generation and others.”

How to answer it Here you are asked to write about your views on a

topic. Even though this is a creative piece, make sure to back

up all your points with facts and intelligent explanations. And don’t take the creativity too far. Inventiveness is good, but wacky may not be the best

choice.

"Look Up"

Format Introduction: One paragraph that introduces your essay. Body: 1-2 paragraphs explaining the main idea with

examples. Conclusion: One paragraph that summarizes and ends

the essay.

1-inch margins Indent each paragraph Times New Roman 12 Double spaced