Meta Description/Summary : In this article we answer the following questions: 1º What is a college application essay? 2º How do you start a college application essay? 3º What makes a good essay?
How to write college application essay?
Meta Description/Summary : In this article we answer the following questions: 1º What is a college application essay? 2º How do you start a college application essay? 3º What makes a good essay?
What is a college application essay?
As the name implies, the college application essay is part of applying to college. While parts of the application process are very straightforward (SAT score, GPA, etc.), the essay is more creative and so more subjective in nature. However, this doesn’t mean that there aren’t ways to make your essay stand out.
Meredith Reynolds, the associate director of admissions at Tufts University, has written an article entitled “The Only Four College Essay Writing Tips You'll Ever Need” (the full article is available on Tufts University’s website). The following article will quote and reference information from Reynolds’ article on college application essay writing.
How do you start a college application essay?
How to start college application essay? Well, before one word is written, you need to put yourself in the right mindset as to the reason and focus of your college essay. The first tip (and first step) Reynold’s talks about covers this idea in greater detail.
Step 1..
The first of Reynolds’ college application essay tips (and so the first step for writing a college application essay) is to be self-centered in terms of the subject of the essay. In other words, the essay needs to focus on yourself rather than “an experience, another person, a favorite activity” so that a person reading it will get to know who you are. Think of it as college application essay do's and don'ts where the don’t is to take the emphasis off yourself and the do is to put the focus on who you are. Or to put it more simply what should college application essay be about: you.
Step 2..
The second tip Reynolds gives is to figure out the details and in particular the approach you want to take with those details. She breaks this down to either a broad or a deeper approach. She gives as an example two approaches to art history:
Broad: talking about enjoying museums, an art history course in high school and a list of favorite artists
Deep: focusing on one artist in great detail and that artist’s impact on you
Although Reynolds lists both approaches, she recommends the deep approach because, she writes, it will help a student stand out.
Step 3...
Beyond the focus, Reynolds also recommends to write in a way that reflects your personality. She explains that describing yourself as uninhibited and outgoing but then writing in overly formal language contradicts how you’ve described yourself personality wise. Writing in a way that reflects your personality offers literary proof of what your personality is.
Conclusion: What makes a good essay?
What makes a good college application essay is a well thought out, honest composition that reflects who you are. Does that guarantee being accepted at a particular school? No, but submitting something carelessly thrown together and hoping for the best greatly increases the chances of rejection.
To that point, Reynolds has one final tip: show your essay to just two people for feedback but avoid the trap of overediting.
To read Reynolds full article visit https://admissions.tufts.edu/blogs/inside-admissions/post/the-only-four-college-essay-writing-tips-youll-ever-need/
