The College Essay

The College Essay No generic essays come out of this process, because this is real essay writing, not essay shopping. ” Instead, ask, “What should I tell them about me? ” Have someone read your essay to see if your point comes across. Be clear about the theme of your essay from the first paragraph. Rachel has won numerous awards and intends to play at the intramural level in college. She decides that would make a better topic for Michigan’s “extracurricular activity” essay. Rachel takes a few days to relax after completing 11th grade before creating a spreadsheet listing her colleges. They were the most popular people in school, in direct contrast to all that was socially acceptable in New Haven. Our peers recognized them as being unique, but instead of ostracizing them or pitying them, the students in Berkeley celebrated them. She considers dropping her application to Barnard but has a flash of inspiration during a study hall, envisioning herself sitting at a Jerusalem café asking Golda Meir questions about the call of leadership. She now has a short draft of the “Why This College? ” essay for Barnard and a Community essay for UVA; if she has time, she’ll tweak them later for Michigan. She doesn’t even start the basketball essay for Michigan now. Let’s give her the way-too-peppy name of Rachel Resilient. It’s an odd, vibrant place with odd, vibrant people. Originality is celebrated there â€" not in the half-hearted “good for you” way, but in the full-throated “GOOD FOR YOU! She plans to write each morning and see her friends in the afternoon only if she has made real progress on her essays that day. Rachel decides to write about her local and global communities of Third Culture Kids. To be able to tweak this essay for several colleges, Rachel will write about her most meaningful community in the first half of the essay, and then gear the second half to each college. Because UVA and Michigan request similar word counts, she will not have to adjust these for length. One of the first of my fellow students to befriend me wore corset tops and tutus and carried a parasol with which she punctuated her every utterance. Her best friend was a boy with purple hair who once wore a shirt with built in LED lights for Christmas. Grab the reader’s attention with a compelling opening sentence. For example, instead of “it was really very important to me â€" and my parents too - that…” use “it was imperative that I…” Keep your essay around 500 words, unless otherwise specified in the application. Show this draft to your college English teacher, your counselor, your Transfer Center director, or a relative who will be brutally honest. Ask this reader if your essay sounds like you, is interesting to read, wanders off the topic anywhere, and is vivid and coherent. She then uses both the Common App and individual colleges’ websites to find guidelines, deadlines and essay prompts. If Rachel has established a relationship with a college admissions representative, she will ask if supplemental essay prompts for next season will change. If she hasn’t been in touch with a rep, she will use this year’s prompts as a guide. Her counselor also suggests the University of Mary Washington, another Virginia public school, because it’s close to D.C. Right now, halfway around the globe, an American high school junior is gearing up for the U.S. college admissions process. But she does complete very rough drafts of the Catch-22 essays for UVA and George Mason. After returning from vacation, Rachel finds herself jet-lagged, distracted by friends and uninspired. Finally, she checks the Common App to make sure supplemental essay prompts have not changed, then gets to work. Remember that her list was ambitious, with quite a few supplementals, and her momentum was disrupted by vacation. As her schedule grows heavier, she ends up taking Michigan off her list. Now school is starting, and she hasn’t even begun the unique essay for William & Mary or the conversation with a historical woman for Barnard.