Learning Curve: College Essays

Going through my tweets of the last week, I saw a lot dealing with writing college admission essays. I never really had to write an admission essay, so I don't have a lot of personal experience with the process. I did have to write an essay about myself to send in with my housing application last year when I was living in the dorms. One of the best websites I can recommend for any of your college related questions/information is College Board.com. They've got a lot of really great tricks/tips, just really good college information. If the name sounds familiar, these are the same people that do A.P. (Advance Placement) test.

A few of the tips they have about college admission essays seem really helpful & I wanted to share them with you.


1. Keep Your Focus Narrow & Personal: Don't try to explain EVERYTHING you've ever done. Just like with any other essay, find a main point & elaborate on it. Pick a few related events that you think paint a good picture of who you are. Even if you don't have that much to explain, if you explain it well & in enough detail you're usually pretty good.

2. Prove it: Just like any other essay, you need to prove the point you're trying to make with specific examples, quotes, facts, reasons. Sometimes it's better to let your story...well...tell the story..

3. Be Specific: Essays that say "I volunteered at the nursing home 3 times a week. It was fun." or something along the same lines are boring. ELABORATE! Tell them WHY it was fun! Is there a certain patient that would do/say crazy things that you bonded with? What about the time Mr. Jones started the food fight in the cafeteria? (these are totally made up, but hey, it could happen!) Essays like that are the ones that really stand out.

4. Don't Write What You Think They Want to Hear: When you do, you end up sounding fake. Be yourself & write the essay you want to write. Don't worry if you don't think it's up to "college standards". Most essays are for the purpose of getting to know the applicant better, not judging you on your writing ability.

5. Don't Write a Resume: Everything like that that they need to know is already on your application. They don't need your life story either. Most schools just want to know why you would be a good addition to their school, not how when you were 4 you broke your arm because your sister pushed you out of the tree house.

6. Keep it Short & Sweet: Don't get wordy, it's not impressive. College professors have hundreds of papers to read and grade at a time. Say what you want to say in the most simple way possible.

Example from College Board:

Okay: "Over the years it has been pointed out to me by my parents, friends, and teachers—and I have even noticed this about myself, as well—that I am not the neatest person in the world."

Better: "I'm a slob."

7. PROOFREAD!: You might think it's awesome, or you just want to be done with it and don't really look over it. That could be a mistake. Read it 2 or 3 times. Print it off & have your parents, grandparents, friends read it. They might have something really good to add or tell you that the wording of a sentence is weird and that you should change it.

These aren't just college essay tips, these can be applied to any kind of paper you have to write. College essays aren't meant to be scary or intimidating. Take a deep breath & let your fingers do the talking. It'll turn out better than you think, I promise.

Hope everyone had a great week. Things are finally starting to settle into a normal pattern around here, but that doesn't make it any less busy or hectic.

♥ Jen