In yesterday's post I talked about coming up with a range of essay topics that you could use. Chances are you're going to have more than one essay to write between your college and scholarship applications. Once you have identified your brainstormed sheet of ideas - you will be able use this information to think about what you want the college to learn about you that will not be apparent in the rest of your application. At this point, it is now time to start looking at the college essay prompts. Sometimes the colleges will ask you for a personal statement which means that you just get to write anything at all about yourself to be your introduction to the admissions committee. At other times the college application will give you one or more essay questions that you can choose from. If you are given multiple questions, it is often helpful to work backwards and focus first on what you want to convey and consider the stories and examples that can illustrate your point and then consider which of your anecdotal stories fits best with the questions.
When colleges review your application they can read things like your grade point average and test scores, but they still want to know more about YOU – the person behind those grades, scores, and activities. You should be the star of your college essay! This is your chance to communicate to the colleges who you are and how your mind works. It is important to remember that your essay will be one of hundreds or more-likely thousands that the admissions committee members will read. (Can you imagine reading all of those?!?) Try to interest them in what you have to say and be sure that it is written well so that it will stand out. Think of this as your opportunity to personally introduce yourself to the admissions and scholarship officers reading your application. Be open, honest and real.
I mentioned this at senior college night and I genuinely believe it is true – think of your essay as a blind date. You are trying to make a positive impression on someone you don’t really know by showcasing who you are and all of the great things about you. You want them to walk away knowing that you are special and thinking, "Wow, I really want to meet this kid." The best news of all though is that you don’t have to suffer from the nerves of making a silly mistake on this “blind date” – you can perfect your essay so that you can make sure you are putting forth a positive message with a good tone that also shows your ability to think and write clearly and logically.
As you start coming up with topics and begin drafting your essays, I look forward to hearing the fun, unique, "so you" stories that you decide to share with the admissions committees. If you are struggling to figure out how your brainstorm handout can translate into the essay responses, please don't hesitate to come see me and we can look at it together. And, yes, the essays are such a big deal and a big topic that I still have more to say about them... but that will wait for tomorrow.
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