How to Write Your College Essay

One of the most daunting tasks of the college application process is writing your main essay. It is arguably one of the most important elements of your application because it is how the admissions officer gets to know you and your story. In just 650 words, you are meant to encapsulate who you are and why. As the admissions officer reads your essay, they want to know what you will add to their college and the incoming class. What do you have to offer? How are you unique? They are evaluating your identity, your potential, your resilience and abilities, and your interests. What so many students get wrong is that they straightforwardly share this information in a bland or cliché way. The art of the college essay is about expressing who you are in the most creative (but also clear) way that you can. Because it is so difficult to describe who you are and why in just a few words, students must start early because the process is longer than you might think.

Anyway, here are the steps you should take to write your essay:

1. Brainstorm

• This method of brainstorming is not what you expect. You will not first be brainstorming topics for your essay, but instead, you will be writing down any significant life events or facts about you

• Don't think about these events in the context of your essay just yet; simply create a long-running list of life events

• The purpose of this exercise is to make you recognize who you are and why. It's difficult to answer this question while you're still in high school, so this exercise will help you sift through moments and memories throughout your life that categorize your story and identity

• When I first did this exercise, I went way back to my childhood and wrote down memories and moments, working forwards from there

2. Narrow Down Your List

• Now that you have your list of life events, you need to narrow down this list

• I would choose six events maximum (because you can definitely work each of them into the essay), or you could simply choose one or two; it really depends on your situation

• The best events are ones that showcase who you are, your personality, or character traits, as well as your interests

• It might be helpful to write one or two words next to each event to categorize what this event says about you (maybe that's "kindness," "interest in science," "ambition," or "resilience")

• For those that you can't categorize like this, eliminate

• If you start to see a pattern in the categorization of these events, you might want to use events that match each other, for example, narrow down your list to events that only show your resilience

3. Outline your Essay

• Now you might have an idea for what you want your essay to be about, but now we must think about how we're going to present this information

• There are a few options: You could tell multiple different stories from your list, you could tell one chronological and connected story, you could present this information as a stream of consciousness, or you could come up with a completely different way to convey the instances from your list

• If you're really stuck about how to present this information, it might be helpful to look up college essay examples, but this should be your last resort because it could result in you copying an essay (intentionally or not)

• Once you've figured out how you're presenting your list, label each paragraph and make bullet points for what event or instance you're describing in each paragraph

4. Create the First Draft of Your Essay

• If you wrote a good, detailed outline, writing the first draft of your essay shouldn't be too difficult

• However, you will need to figure out how to write a good hook (this is what will get the admissions officer engaged!)

• You can always write your hook last, or first; either works!

• When writing, keep in mind that your sentences should be clear

• Don't worry about using "big words" (an admissions officer can tell if you purposefully looked up bigger words to replace the words you originally used), but if that's how you naturally write, then go for it!

• And never, ever, use AI. Not only will your writing sound cliché and unoriginal, but admissions officers can detect when you use AI, and it will result in an immediate rejection

• The biggest thing to keep in mind is that you should show, not tell, with your writing. Because of the exercises you already did, this shouldn't be too difficult, but make sure to be descriptive and paint a story (almost like a movie script or a book!)

5. Continue Drafting

• You may need to tweak and rewrite your essay multiple times

• This process should take a long time; it's difficult to get a perfect essay!

• Have others read it and give their input (teachers, parents, guidance counselors etc.)

• Ask others what they get from your essay, and what does it say about you? Does it paint a picture in their mind? Do the first few sentences grab their attention?

  
  

  6. Finished Product

• Finally, check your essay for any grammar or spelling mistakes and make sure you have the correct formatting (no titles or MLA format etc.)

• When you paste it into your college application (most likely the common app) click adjust preview to make sure the formatting is correct (you typically have to add a space between paragraphs)