WHAT IS IT?
The college application essay is a
personal statement. No matter what the essay question, it comes down
to the fact that this is an essay about you. It is uniquely an essay
that only you could write. This is not the place where you include a
laundry list of ALL the accomplishments of your short life. They
already know that you were a member of the cheerleading squad, class
treasurer, a member of NJROTC and the captain of the basketball
team. They know your GPA and the honors and AP courses you took or
didn't take. It's all in your transcripts and letters of
recommendation. This is not the place to brag your way to success
and glory. Instead, this is your opportunity to allow the admissions
committtee to get to know you, to see how you think and analyze
problems. The admissions committee members see thousands of
applications and read as many essays each year. Why should they
remember yours? It is because your essay reveals the person behind
all the numbers, and gives them the opportunity to see the person
you are becoming, that you are able to step out from the crowd and
become an individual.
WHAT SHOULD YOU WRITE ABOUT?
All essay topics,
regardless of wording, are set up to give the reader a sense of you
as a person and to let them see how your mind works. They want to
get a sense of just who John Q. Applicant really is. The reader can
learn so much more about the writer if the essay's focus is specific
and not a generic paper that anyone could have written. Therefore,
keep it simple. Do not try to tell the story of your life in two
pages. The result will be superficial because it will necessarily,
(due to length restrictions) lack depth. Instead you might write
about a defining moment, one that gave you insight into life or how
you've lived it or the person that you are. It is not enough to
describe that moment, you must react to your experience. The
question becomes, how has that experience shaped your identity? You
might write about a person whose example has shaped your thinking.
Though the essay may be about that mother, father, teacher, friend
(notice these are people you really know, not icons), the focus is
still about his/her impact upon you. You may even write about a
favorite book or piece of music or art. (Don't try this if you don't
have a favorite.) The focus here is still the same, how does this
book, music or art reveal the nature of you the writer or how did it
give you a moment of epiphany so that something became clear to you
for the very first time. Don't try to impress the committee by
claiming your favorite book is War and Peace if it is not. The
deception will be obvious to the reader. Be honest. I'm not
recommending this in general, but successful essays have been
written about Dr. Seuss books when the impact of the first reading
of The Cat in the Hat, for example gave the writer a love for the
printed word she's never outgrown and led her to the career choice
of elementary school librarian. Don't make the mistake of writing an
essay that reveals you to be a non-entity, with nothing that defines
you. In this essay you want to present your best self. Recently a
student showed me an essay in which she discussed her "bad attitude"
and how she had not "gotten along with" her teachers. This student
has many excellent qualities which would make her attractive to
colleges and universities but the focus of her essay, revealed
someone who has a chip on her shoulder, is argumentative and hard to
know. Had she actually sent this essay to colleges, it would have
hurt her chances of admission not helped them. The point... yes, be
honest but remember your audience. You are not writing this essay to
your mother, clergy person or favorite English teacher. Do you
really want to tell people who have this much power over your life
that they don't want to know you. I don't think so.
QUALITIES OF THE BEST ESSAYS
*Engaging: The
essay reveals the writer who is interested in the topic. This helps
pull the reader in.
*Honest: The essay lacks pretense and
phoniness. PUT THE THESAURUS DOWN! It uses the writers own voice
dressed up for company. It speaks with his/her own vocabulary in the
voice we use when we talk to our elders and those who don't know us
well. It does not use slang or profanity. Would you talk to your
grandmother that way?
*Thoughtful: They avoid superficial
observations and cliches.
*Sensitive: The writer shows his/her
values. Even when writing of his/her own experience, an awareness of
the rest of the world is evident. The essay makes the reader feel
what it is like to be you.
The best essays are not about
extraordinary experiences. Instead they are about ordinary
experiences carefully examined. They are deep, not broad.
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CONSIDER YOUR AUDIENCE
As in any piece of
writing it is always necessary to consider your audience. The
admission committee members who will read your essay are well
educated people from a variety of backgrounds. They are of different
ages, races and sexes. They are not your enemies and are therefore
not out to get you, but neither are they your mothers. They don't
have to like the you that you present in your essay. So with that in
mind there are a few points to remember when addressing this
audience. Don't talk down to them; they will be insulted. Don't be
disrespectful, condescending or a smart aleck. They have power over
you. Don't turn them against you. On the other hand be polite with
out being a "suck up" or falsely flattering them or the school. The
audience is neither stupid nor naive. They know the value and
reputation of their universities and you will not fool them with
platitudes. | |
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SUGGESTIONS FOR GETTING STARTED
Remember that no
matter the question, or topic, you remain the focus of this essay.
Even knowing this, there are many things you could write about. You
must focus specifically so that your essay is not too broad.
Brainstorming is a good way to begin the process.
I.Think About
Yourself
One way to begin the process is to make a list of
adjectives and traits that define you. Ask others who know you well
to help with your list. Are you competitive, sentimental, ambitious,
intelligent? Now make your adjectives as concrete as you can. For
example, intelligent is good but to state that you are analytical or
well informed would be more percise. Now select one to three
important traits. Find an experience that highlights them and write
about it.
II. Think About Your Experiences
Another
brainstorming strategy is to to ask yourself Who? When? What? or
Where? in order to discover Why. For example: Make a list of Who
questions.
Who most influenced me? and WHY and in what
way?
Whom do I most admire? and WHY?(not an icon)
Who was the
first person who really made me think? and WHY and in what way did
it reach me?
Who gave me some information or knowledge or skill
or emotional support that really helped me? and WHY was it
helpful,etc. etc. etc.
Or When Questions
When did I decide I
wanted to go to college? and WHY?
When did I first feel
responsible and WHY?
Or What Questions
What do I want to be
doing in twenty years? and WHY?
What is my favorite...book,
movie, activity and WHY?
What event is most significant in my
life? or the life of my country? and WHY
Or Where
Questions
Where do I want to live? and WHY?
Where have I
lived? and WHY is that important to whom I am?
Some of these
questions are used by some colleges for their admission essays. If
you answer them it may provide you with a subject. Make note of
those questions that you have a lot to say about. For the admission
committee, the answer to a question like these in essay form, will
reveal the kind of person you are, therefore it is imperative that
you go beyond the answer to the question, to the reason for the
answer to the question. Give the supporting details that clarify
your statements. This is key to making your essay one only you could
write.
III. Think About the School
You chose the colleges to
which you are applying for specific reasons. Another way to get
started is to think about the special qualities of the college when
you write your essay. For example, a religious school might respond
to a student with strong moral values. A school with an important
creative program might be interested in the student who can
highlight that appreciation in his/her own experience. A school that
allows students the freedom to develop their own programs and majors
might favor students who are independent, etc. Students may write
essays highlighting experiences that reflect the personal appeal of
that particular university. However, Don't Make It Up! Don't change
your life to fit the school profile.
PUT IT IN WRITING
At this point don't worry
about organization, mechanics, grammar, word choice or an
interesting opening paragraph. Worry about those things in the later
drafts that will be necessary in order to turn out the best essay
possible. In order to refine the work you must first have the raw
materials to work with. That done, remember that it is in fact an
essay and therefore needs those things all essays need, an
introduction with an attention grabber and a central idea or thesis
stated in a single, complete sentence; body paragraphs which are
well organized and have unity and coherence because you have used
transitions and linking expressions to connect your ideas to your
thesis; and a conclusion that offers insight on a deeper level upon
the topic discussed. Make sure that your essay deals with one topic
only. If your topic has two components make sure that they are
related and connected so that their relevancy to each other is
clear. Make sure that your thesis is clear and complete. For
Example:
DON'T SAY:
*"This essay is about my parents'
divorce," or whatever(What about it? This sentence does not reveal
the direction you are going in this essay)
DO SAY:
"In my anger over my parents' divorce, I
behaved like a little kid, but eventually, learning to face this
reality helped me to mature." This sentence is better because it
reveals the direction of the essay, not just the
subject.
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THE VOICE
You have taken a look at your life and
experiences in order to find a subject.
You have given that
subject considerable thought over a good period of time.
You have
organized your essay so that it has coherence and all of your ideas
fit together like a properly arranged jigsaw puzzle.
Now make
sure that the essay sounds like you and no one else; now make
certain that the voice in your essay speakes in an appropriate way
to your audience. For example, the words that you might use to show
affection to your girl or boy friend are not likely the words you'd
use to show affection to your parents, your little sister or your
dog. We adjust our words and how we say them according to whom we
are speaking. Even if we are saying the same things, the way we say
them to one person may be inappropriate for another. With that in
mind be yourself, but remember to whom you are talking.
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UPCLOSE AND
PERSONAL:
