ownyourownfuture.com || Texas GEAR UP Writting A College Admissions Essay

Writing a College Admissions Essay Prep, Grades 11-12

The college admissions essay is one of the most important parts of the college application. Most colleges do not conduct personal interviews, so the essay is the only way a college can learn about

a student other than grades and scores—and everyone has those! This lesson will help educators give students some general ideas

to think about when writing their essays. The accompanying video Writing a College Admissions Essay sets the stage for students as

they begin to organize their thoughts.

1. Writing a College Admissions Essay Video and Discussion

Before showing the video, ask students to answer these True/False questions on their own paper. Tell them to number 1-6 and put T or F for each statement as you read it.

1. A college essay can be pretty generic. Lots of students write about the same thing.

2. Write an essay about world peace and use a high-level vocabulary so the readers will be impressed.

3. You don’t have to brag about yourself in the essay, just show the college what you are about and how life events have shaped your thinking.

4. Don’t make an essay so personal that it embarrasses the reader.

5. It’s okay to go over the word or page limit if your essay is really good.

6. The essay can really set you apart from other applicants.

Poll the group to see how they fared on the pop quiz, and then show the video.

After the video, ask students to relate ideas they heard that were new to them. Discuss the T/F questions and reasons why the answers now make sense. Perhaps a pair-share would be a good idea here.

Answers 1, 2, 5 – Falseand 3, 4, 6 – True

Journal

This activity helped me in the following ways:

When I start my college essays, I know I can go to ___________________________for help.

2. Good Advice on Writing Essays Activity

Writing a college essay can take quite a while to complete, and students may need multiple checks and dead-lines in order to write a clear and concise essay. English classes or seminar classes can provide a structure for completing and refining the essay. The following activity can help to set the stage for beginning the writing process.

Give students a copy of the Taking It Up a Notch: College Essay Checklist that is included in this lesson and review it together. Ask them to use it when editing the sample essay excerpts that are included on the work-sheet called College Essay Improvements.

Allow students to work in pairs and use sticky notes to edit the sample excerpts. They should refer to the checklist page and write edits on the notes and stick them on the excerpts. If time allows, ask them to re-write the excerpts correctly. NOTE: If they find an excerpt that does not need editing, they should note the reasons.

Allow approximately 10 minutes, and then debrief their work, asking them to cite reasons for their edits.

After completing the exercise, ask the group to discuss their answers and justifications.

ownyourownfuture.com || Texas GEAR UP Writting A College Admissions Essay

Writing a College Admissions Essay Prep, Grades 11-12

Writing a College Admissions Essay

ownyourownfuture.com || Texas GEAR UP Writting A College Admissions Essay

Taking It Up a Notch: College Essay Checklist

Use this checklist to proof the excerpts from the essays that follow. Then use it to edit your own essays. You can also give the checklist to a friend and ask them to use it to proof your essay using these criteria.

1. _____The essay answers the prompt.

2. _____The essay is interesting, but not so personal that it makes the reader uncomfortable.

3. _____Spelling errors, grammar and slang terms have been corrected.

4. _____The tone of the essay is sincere, not flowery and self-promoting.

5. _____The essay is interesting and unique. It is not a formulaic essay.

6. _____The essay tells the reader about you, as an individual.

7. _____The essay shows what attributes you will bring to the college experience.

8. _____The essay states what you hope to learn from your college experience.

9. _____The essay uses various sentence structures and conventions.

10. _____The essay has a strong opening and conclusion. Transitions are smooth.

ownyourownfuture.com || Texas GEAR UP Writting A College Admissions Essay

Writing a College Admissions Essay

Worksheet - College Essay ImprovementS

Here are sample excerpts from college essays. Use the Taking It Up a Notch Checklist and give advice about how to improve each one. If the excerpt is already a good one, tell reasons why it should not be changed.

1. I was a superior, talented cheerleader all four years of high school. I spent a lot of time practicing and thinking about how to get out of the house anyway.

2. When I was in middle school, I wanted to be a vet, but now I’m not so sure. I know I’m interested in a scientific field, but I’m not sure which area I want to study. I hope I will find the answers in college.

3. When I go to college, I want to steady accounting and rad stuff like that. I’m pretty good at math and I want to make a lot of money.

4. I’m not going to say it was easy, I tried to run away severl times from an abusive family situation. Sometimes I sleep in cars and that makes it hard to study, but I am determined to better myself.

5. I pretty much have all the answers, and I plan to come to college to tell everyone about them.

6. What is a stupendous person like me doing to better myself and show everyone that I can be a scholarly, important, significant person in a world that badly needs to ameliorate poverty? I have been volunteering at the Food Pantry in our town for 5 years. I can see first-hand the problems that arise from poverty. I want to save the world from this.

7. My high school years have been an experience in “self-discovery”, and I suspect the next four will be a well. I want to know more about myself and I realize I don’t have all the answers. I’m 17 years old, and I have time to learn. College is another step in that process. It’s a step I’m ready to take on my life journey.

8. In my AP classes we have lots of discussions and I enjoy that. I like to think about ideas that other students submit and pose new ones. I always walk away with many thoughts racing in my head. I find it helps to organize my thoughts in graphic representations. It seems to be my learning style.

9. Every night I stare at the stars from my bedroom window and wonder what lies beyond the tiny world of my town. I want to travel and explore different places and meet people who are different from me. I’d like to learn another lan-guage and discover a culture that is vastly different from mine. I’m not sure where my wandering will take me, but I know that college will open many doors to my future.

10. Please please accept me at this college. I want o go there because my friends are there and they say it is a wild place to be. Of course I plan to study and get a degree, but I hope that won’t take all my time. I’m interested in living in an apartment and being independent from my family. Even if they are paying for my college, I want to be able to make my own decisions.