Writing A College Essay

Writing A College Essay If a story in your life resonates with the stories populating news feeds, and you can draw that personal connection with a more societal level context, your story can resonate with readers more. To be clear, a “wow essay” is not the same as a “wow factor.” But they are related. A “wow factor” is an activity or accomplishment that you achieve before sitting down to type that first draft. A “wow essay” is a piece of writing that arrests the reader with its ideas and narrative. Often the material for a “wow essay” comes from a “wow factor.” Still, you can write an amazingly engaging essay, even if your activities don’t place you among the modern gods of extracurriculars. Additionally, incredible “wow factors” can sometimes lead to unexpected admissions . If you don't plan on using the Common App, these prompts can still offer insight into a topic you'll likely be writing on for your school of choice. So whether you’re seeking flexibility in your college admission essay or you’re just doing a little preliminary research on likely essay prompts, the Common App is a good place to start. If you fall into the excited category, consider this a complimentary resource. We’ll spotlight some of the essay prompts you’re likely to see, and we provide a few examples of essays that have actually earned students passage into the colleges and universities of their choice. Consider this a good set of references as you hammer out your ideas, and work through your essay drafts. We learn that the author knows how to turn a phrase, the author is a warm and caring person, the author has a sense of humor, and the author will bring us cookies if we admit her to our imaginary college. All in all, we see a student who is a skilled writer with a warm heart â€" positive traits, to be sure. In our College Essay Clichés to Avoid post, we advised students against writing about moving to America from a foreign country. For more expert advice on college essay writing, check out our Application Essay Writing program. Keep an eye peeled for course listings, recent news events, maps and descriptions of important campus buildings, student run organizations, and other key terms. Then take those terms and plug them right into Google, Youtube and Linkedin! After reading links on the things that interest you, you’ll understand it almost as well as someone at the school! Statistical websites like College Factual are tremendously helpful here as well, as are blogs from current and former students, Vlogs, Instagram feeds â€" anything and everything is fair game. Cite a wide range of sources in your essay to show the depth of your research. My fellow coaches and I will guide you step-by-step through the writing process and help you craft impressive, polished essays. Keep in mind that the admissions counselors at each of the colleges to which you apply will read hundreds of applications each week. Here are a few pieces of advice to consider as you write, revise, and submit your college essays. Another kind of essay that I’ve seen wow admissions offices is an essay that taps into the current societal debate in a meaningful way. The Common Application also gives you the option of responding to one of 7 different essay prompts. If you will be using the Common App, you’ll be able to choose, and write about, one of these prompts. DEEP WEB RESEARCH. This should be the heart of your essay, as well as the meat and potatoes. Reading the school’s website is not a bad start, as it will give you a basic overview of what’s on offer. People often ask me about the value of the application essay. ” I assure you, at my university and in admissions offices across the country, we do. colleges, so a question like “What do you want to major in and why? But with a wow essay, you’re likely just getting in to Harvard when your grades/scores/activities are on par. If you are applying to 8-10 schools, and will thus be composing 8-10 of these essays, your inclination to take shortcuts is completely understandable. Just make sure that these timesavers don’t turn into admissions-killers. To put it another way, in a world where everything else is equal between the applicants, a good essay can make a difference. There are, however, different ways to write college essays that can increase your chance for an admission offer and things you can do that may hurt your chances. This essay doesn’t share many life-defining revelations; we learn, as a brief aside, that the author often cared for her younger siblings, but little beyond that. Yet despite its relative lack of major information, it reveals a lot about who the author is.