Importance of Your College Essay
Although many schools do not require college essays as part of their applications, at others the college essay or personal statement can be the most important aspect of the application for admission. And even though there are many schools who value grades or test scores as more important, the college essay is unique.
No matter how well you did academically, you can count on there being many people with similar grades and scores, but nobody will write the same college essay as you. This is the part of the application that provides you with something very precious: the opportunity to stand out.
Here are some tips to get the most out of your college essay:
1. Be Yourself
Something to keep in mind while crafting your essay: admissions officers usually read hundreds or even thousands of essays from students all over your city, the state, or the whole country. People who spend that much time reading essays develop what might be described as a nose for baloney-they know phoniness when they see it.
So don’t put on airs in your essay; don’t fill it with big words you looked up in the thesaurus or references to obscure poems you found on wikipedia.
Don’t puff yourself up, claim to be the next president, or pretend that your work in so far deserves a Nobel prize. Most of all, don’t present yourself as interested in something you’re not because you think doing so will get you in.
If you’re applying to an MBA program, you probably don’t need to talk about architecture. Being well-rounded is important, but being honest is more important. This doesn’t mean you can’t be strategic in your essay (we’ll get to that in a second) but it does mean that the best writing-and the best application essays, come from a truthful place.
2. Stand Out
The essay is your chance to show how you are different and more interesting than other applicants with similar test scores and grades. And while it is not the only “tie-breaker” in a college application, it can certainly be the most memorable one. Ask yourself this question as you begin to write: “What makes me unique, and what will I bring to a college community and to my program or major in particular?”
Maybe you have a fascinating life story; maybe you’ve moved around a lot and seen many parts of the country; maybe one summer you did an internship that opened your eyes to a new love of mechanical engineering.
If you are applying to a graduate program, talk about your undergraduate experience. Tell your story. The point is to say something memorable-not necessarily earth-shakingly, ground-breakingly fantastic-just memorable.
Imagine an admissions officer taking a five-minute break and relating your amazing story to his co-workers around the water cooler. That is what you should shoot for.
3. Be Extremely Careful With Humor
If you are considering writing a comic essay, perhaps even one smugly mocking the college application process, think back to your poor admissions officer, locked in some ivory tower somewhere, reading fifty essays everyday. If your wicked jokes or your biting satire are even a little bit off the mark, you could be in serious trouble. This is not to say that humorous essays have never been done successfully, but they should be approached very carefully. Remember, while it is vital to stand out, you don’t want to stand out in a bad way.
4. Frame Yourself
In baseball, sometimes catchers will “frame” important pitches-as they catch the ball, they position their glove so that the pitch looks like it was definitely a strike. And it works, all the time. Framing, however, is not cheating-the pitch has to be close for it to the umpire to even consider calling a strike.
When you think about yourself as a candidate for admission to a university or graduate program, you should see the essay as a chance to frame yourself: you know you are in the ballpark, but this is your chance to show an admissions officer that you are the real deal.
No matter what form your essay takes, whether it’s about your family or the time you spent volunteering, you should take it as a chance to highlight some of the stronger aspects of your application. Mention your extracurricular activites, your educational experience, your work experience, or your hobbies, and, most importantly, relate it to the story you are telling.
Remember, you aren’t only telling a story about yourself; you are telling a story about why you should be admitted to college. To make that case, you’ll need to present some evidence, and you’ll need to frame that evidence in a manner that best makes your case for admission.
5. How You Write Really Matters
Last, but certainly not least, you must write well. This is absolutely not optional. You can tell the most heartwarming, fascinating story ever told and relate it perfectly to your strong grades and impressive work experience, but if your prose is sloppy and unorganized, your essay will hurt you more than help you.
Typos, misspellings, and grammatical errors are completely unacceptable, and you should have your essay proofread by as many people as possible before you send it in.
Ask anyone who will listen for help on this-teachers (especially English teachers), parents, classmates, siblings, grandparents, writing tutors, anyone. Your tone needs to be appropriate, as well. Casual or slang-filled writing can seem flippant, like you are not taking the process seriously; overly flowery language makes you look arrogant and showy, and you will never seem as smart as you think you sound. Keep your language crisp and to the point.
