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The Basics Of Writing A College Application Essay

The Importance Of A College Admission Essay

One of the most intimidating parts of a college application is writing a personal college application essay. Students are expected to take a very general prompt, and from that, develop a perfect essay that justifies their admission to the college of their choice. 

However students should consider writing their personal essay as an opportunity rather than a calamity. The rest of the application process is very structured — an essay is the only opportunity that applicants have to separate themselves from all of the other students with similar transcripts, letters of recommendation and standardized test scores. 

The Ideal College Application Essay

College admission officers purposely choose essay topics that have no correct answer. Instead, when reading a student’s essay they look at the effort put into writing the essay, and the personality of the student, as communicated by their writing. College admission officers ask themselves the following questions: 

• Did the writer care enough to proofread and check for grammar? Does the essay read like a first draft or like a polished final product?
• Does the writing sound recycled? Does it seem as if the student reused an essay from another college application?
• Does the essay simply repeat information from other parts of the application? Or does the student demonstrate characteristics that make him or her more than just a few words on a page? 

For students looking to create the sort of college application essay that impresses admission officers, these questions are a good starting point. An essay should be the best product that a student can produce, and it should be proofread and polished. If necessary, students should ask others to read over an essay before submitting it; however, they should also be wary of making changes that substantially change the essay from the student’s own style of writing. 

Students should also remember that their essays need not be complicated. Admission officers look for essays that answer questions, rather than groundbreaking works of literature. A simple structure is sufficient as long as students present a clear thesis at the beginning of the essay and support it throughout their writing. 

Students should also focus their writing on their own experiences. They should make the question or prompt relevant to their own lives, and include appropriate anecdotes and reminiscences. A college admission essay is meant to be personal and to come directly from a student’s experiences. Application officers are less likely to be sympathetic to essays that focus on abstracts.