Acing Your Application Essay

Acing Your Application Essay

College applications can be anxiety-inducing. Even when the Common Application simplifies much of the process by narrowing it down to one application for multiple schools, supplemental essays and colleges that do not accept the Common Application can leave students confused and overwhelmed.

The Common Application essay is a personal statement, giving colleges an opportunity to learn more about you. You can use this essay to tell a story, and reveal different parts of your personality. In the Common Application, you will be able to choose between one of the seven prompts and respond in 250 to 650 words. You will be able to submit this essay to all colleges that use the Common Application.

Though some colleges do not accept the Common Application, they likely still require an essay. Some colleges do accept the Common Application, but also include supplemental essays, and filling out these essays is a key step in getting accepted. The personal statement(s), or essay(s), you submit to a college is a crucial piece of your application, and a way to set you apart from other applicants. Elizabeth Benedict, a former Princeton writing instructor, says, “The more selective the college, the more the essay matters.”

So, how can you ace your application essay?

Choosing a Topic

According to Whitney Soule, Bowdoin College’s dean of admissions and student aid, “Overuse of a topic doesn’t make it a bad topic.” Jennifer Gayles, the director of admission at Sarah Lawrence College, agrees. “It’s not just about the topic, but why it’s important to you and how you can showcase who you are as a student and an individual through that topic.”

Similarly, Harvard Summer School argues students can make popular themes (sports-related, volunteer stories, immigration stories, moving, a summary of personal achievements or overcoming obstacles) fresh by taking different approaches to them. An example of this would be instead of exploring victories in a theme, students could choose to write about what they learned from their losses.

However, it is also more than fine if an essay is a rare topic. As Harvard Summer School states, “You may want to stay away from well-worn themes entirely.”

Harvard Summer School also argues that students can make their essays stand out by how they craft the piece. “If you are an especially talented writer, you might play with the element of surprise by crafting an essay that leaves the response to a question to the very last sentence.”

What matters most is what the essay says about you, your inspirations, and your passions. “If an essay topic makes your heart beat fast, that’s a good sign,” says Benedict.

Writing Your Essay

The most important part of writing your essay is being authentic. Show admissions officers who you are, through your unique writer’s voice, sense of humor, and natural way of speech. This means not over-using flowery language or large words you do not use in real life.

Another important step is to focus on themes. An essay overflowing with facts, figures, and descriptions of activities does not reveal your passions and personality. As Harvard Summer School states, “College admissions officers are interested in learning more about who you are as a person and what makes you tick.”

When you uncover these themes, you should expand them through showing, not telling. This can mean setting scenes and anecdotes, rather than listing accomplishments or activities.

You may want to end your essay with a “kicker.” According to Harvard Summer School, this is a “last punchy line, paragraph, or section that brings everything together.” A kicker will leave a lasting impression and concludes the artful tapestry of your piece.

Refining Your Essay

That being said, there are ways you can refine your essay while still retaining your unique voice.

First, you may want to avoid using derogatory, offensive, and inappropriate language. Educational consultant Ian Fisher says this can look like using words such as “debate” instead of “fight,” or “undeveloped” instead of “stupid.” Students can also refine their essays by not using cliches. Examples of cliches include “happily ever after,” “beggars can’t be choosers,” and “crack of dawn.”

Writing several drafts can be a good way to get to a final draft. Harvard Summer School suggests setting an essay aside for a few days, and then coming back to it. “Often, you’ll discover you have a whole new perspective that enhances your ability to make revisions.”

Reading your essay aloud can be a good way to uncover mistakes, floppy writing, and run-on sentences. This is a technique you can apply whenever you need to.

Tools such as Grammarly, Semrush, and Wordtune can help students with their grammar, phrasing, and word choice.

Counseling and Feedback

Getting feedback before submitting your essay(s) is important. You will want to show your essays to someone who can not only offer feedback but who will edit and proofread your writing.

These people can include admissions counselors, English teachers, or advisors. Student Coaching Services offers coaching for application essays. Coaches can help students brainstorm topics, write the essay, and edit and proofread. Check out this link to learn more!

In the meantime, you can show your essay(s) to two people you know: One who is a strong writer, and one who knows you very well.

According to BestColleges, “Getting feedback on your Common App essay should be a top priority.”

Though your essay is not everything, it can be a big factor in helping students get into colleges, especially when candidates have similar GPAs and backgrounds. However, the task of writing an application is more doable than it may feel. You got this!

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