How to Write an Exceptional Essay for College
Applications
by Gina
Catanzarite
As the end
of another school year approaches, kids’ thoughts turn to a summer of sleeping
in and lazy days spent lounging by a pool . . . unless you’re finishing your
Junior year of high school, in which case your stress level is rising like
mercury on a sunny day because (insert
ominous music here) IT’S TIME TO
THINK ABOUT APPLYING TO COLLEGES!!!
Without a doubt, one of the most stressful parts of the
college admissions application is completing the essay. (More ominous music. . .) Essays have become extremely popular as an
educational tool in our country, and young people frequently need to write them
for applications for college or for scholarships and other competitions.
What do you think college admissions officers want to learn
about you from that essay? Proper grammar? Proof that you can write a thesis
statement? How intelligent you are?
Nope!
Take a look at some of these actual essay questions from
college applications:
“Describe
yourself as fully and accurately as possible in 140 characters.”
“Anna
Quindlen says that she ‘majored in unafraid’ at Barnard. Tell us about a time
when you majored in unafraid.”
Don
DeLillo, Libra, said, “This is what history consists of. It’s the sum total of
all the things they aren’t telling us.” What is history, who are “they,” and
what aren’t they telling us?
The essay questions are prompts to help you reveal your
personal philosophies and personality. They are meant to showcase your critical
and your creative thinking skills, as well as your ability to make abstract
connections. They require a deeply personal tone with a theme that unfolds
largely through personal observations, recollections, and reflections on the
writer’s life and experience.
Unfortunately, that rarely happens when so many people
“help” the college applicant polish an essay before submitting it.
These people who try to help are well-intentioned to be
sure, but what happens is that the student writes a very academic-sounding term
paper—thesis, body, conclusion. Parents read it, guidance counselors read it,
English teachers read it—and everyone makes comments and edits until it gets
distilled, even duller and more generic than it was to begin with!
According to the National Association for College Admission
Counseling (NACAC), their number one tip for writing effective college
admissions essays is to be yourself. You can achieve that by following these
guidelines, used in Luminari’s popular
Teen Writer! camps:
TIPS TO WRITE BETTER COLLEGE ADMISSIONS ESSAYS:
·
Relate it to a deeply personal and significant
experience and the life lesson you learned.
·
Explore the value of the life lesson you
learned. How did/will it change your future?
·
Use precise details and descriptive writing to
paint a vivid picture in the readers’ mind.
·
Include research or data to support your
opinions.
·
Consider using the “YOU” voice to engage the
reader more personally in the essay, e.g. Everyone probably has a clear memory
that involved the school bully, and I do, too. VS. You probably have a clear
memory about the bully from your high school. So do I.
Most importantly, let the answer grow out of what you want
to say, not what you think someone else may want to read. When you write from
your soul, the essay will be meaningful, personal, and a reflection of someone
with the maturity and self-awareness who is ready to embark on the next phase
of life... as a successful college student!
Looking for more tips to create more great writing? Check out Luminari’s 2016 Teen Writer!
Fantastic Fiction camp running from June 27 – 30. Learn more about Teen Writer! camp activities and scholarships we offer for reduced tuition!
AND. . . read even
more unusual college essay questions here:Washington Post | Unusual College Essay Questions
***
Gina is the instructor of Luminari’s Teen Writer! camps, being offered June 27 – 30, 2016, in Pittsburgh, PA.
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