How To Write A College Admission Essay That Gets Attention

How To Write A College Admission Essay That Gets Attention

Many students often get confused when writing college admission essays because they are so used to writing academic essays for school that they tend to want to follow that same pattern.  However, a college admission essay is very different.  An admission essay, unlike academic/school essays, tells a story and allows the writer to show his or her voice and personality in a way an informative/academic essay never can.  

The college admission essay should be more of a narrative...it tells a story about you.  Therefore, we must go back to the basics of what makes a good story.  What are the building blocks of telling or writing a good story?

A Great Story.

You know what makes a great story and a terrible story because throughout your life you have heard many of both.  If you go back to your middle school language arts class, you'll remember what makes a great story.  

A great story follows the following structure or formula:

1.Introduction/Exposition (Introduction to your essay)

2.Rising Action....3.Climax....4.Falling Action (Body Paragraphs)

5.Resolution/Conclusion (Last paragraph of your essay)

Your essay should tell a story and follow the same basic structure of it.

1.  Introduction - Set up your story with a great first line which really captivates the reader.  Follow up by basic setting of the story.

2. The next few paragraphs should be the rising action, climax, and falling action.

3. The conclusion should offer the resolution of your story and offer a lesson learned and reflective narrative.

Before You Start Writing

Your essays will take time.  A great essay will not be written in days or weeks; it will be written in months.  Therefore, start thinking about the essays the summer BEFORE senior year begins.  Before you even begin writing your essay, brainstorm ideas on what would make an interesting way to address the prompt.  Many times, you can use the same story to address more than one prompt, so figure out which story ties in best with the question posed in the prompt.  Don't be scared to be creative and bounce off ideas with your parents, counselor, teachers, and friends.  Remember it takes time, so plan out your essay and create and outline before you begin writing.

Essay Musts

Your college admission essay should definitely have several ingredients in order for it to be captivating and effective. The essay should focus on telling a particular story which answers the essay prompt, captivates the reader, and demonstrates your voice and character beyond what your grades and SAT scores can.  Your essay should also be well focused and organized.  Depth is much more effective than breadth.  Be creative and honest, and allow the essay to be a way of the college to get to know you and your personality.  Do not include grades, GPA, rank, or test scores.  They know that from your transcript and test scores.  

Finished Writing? Now Proofread Again and Again.

Once you are done with your essay, share it with others to get constructive feedback and make changes if needed.  Proof read your essay time and again before you send it with your application.  Grammatical mistakes are a big NO NO in college admission essays. 

Get Started!

Be ready to devote time to essays and have fun doing it.  Many students become very stressed out over writing essays because they procrastinate getting started.  Give yourself reminders on your electronic devices and give yourself time to work on them, so you won't be panicking last minute.  

Applying to college is an opportunity to reflect on what you have learned so far and what you want for your future.  Important decisions will be taking place within the next months years, but that doesn't mean you can't have fun in the process.