FOUR TIPS AFTER FOUR YEARS*

College Essay Edition 

Writing college style essays is a skill we will all need when completing college applications. As a senior and a writer, who has been editing essays since 8th grade and college essays since sophomore year, I have compiled a list of great tips for when the time comes. I know how nerve-wracking this process can be, but hopefully these few tips aid you throughout your writing process. This is advice I give to everyone that comes to me for help as I truly believe in them. 

Write Honestly

You do not have to write like an 18th-century monarch, nor do you have to write like a Senior English professor, nor do you have to be funny and witty, nor do you have to be heartfelt and dramatic. What you do have to do, however, is write in a way that is sincere to who you are. The college essay is an opportunity to showcase what cannot be shown on a resume. Think of it like this: your resume is the book cover, while the essay is the words that make the book what is it. If you are a naturally quirky and funny person, let that show through your writing. If you are writing about a very personal topic, let the emotions you experienced seep through. College admissions officers can recognize the sincerity behind an essay, so take this chance to showcase your true colors. 

To summarize this tip: write in a way that your best friend would be able to read your essay and know that it was you who wrote it.

Write Wisely

There are two reasons that you will wait until the last minute to write a college essay: you don’t care very much about the school, or you were so nervous to apply that you waited until the very last minute in attempts to get your mind off of it. For this reason, we tell you to write wisely. Of course, you should apply to as many schools as you can, but consider how the application process is time-consuming and energy draining. Instead of spending hours writing essays for the 4 schools you know that you won’t go to even if you get in, use that time to write the perfect essay for your dream school instead. 

To summarize this tip: be honest to yourself and know what schools you should actually dedicate time to.

Write Unconventionally

Who told you that you had to write on of their outlined essays? No one–that’s who. If your school gives you the option of writing one of their prompts or writing one of your own, choose your own! This shows the college or university to which you are applying that you are willing not just to think outside of the box but to get rid of the box altogether. Remember, the “open-ended question” is a chance for you to create your own prompt, but also for you to merge multiple of the available prompts (however, if you feel that one of the available prompts fits what you want to tell the college or university, go for it!). 

To summarize this tip:  don’t write outside of the box–get rid of the box completely.

Write Knowledgeably

This goes basically unsaid, but you cannot fake it till you make it—at least when it comes to college essays. Yes, there are generic essays that get sent out to every school, but these are not the questions we are referring to.  Let’s say you are applying to the University of Pennsylvania’s Huntsman program: an interdisciplinary program for Business and International Studies. When writing this essay, you cannot use a generic essay in which you state that “this program has done amazing things” and that “you want to be inspired.” Mention the great things that the program has done—SPECIFICALLY. The Huntsman Program, for example, had one of its 2018 seniors recognized for the Presidents Engagement Prize: a grant which empowers “Penn seniors to design and undertake local, national or global engagement projects during the first year after they graduate.” Mention how opportunities like the Presidents Engagement Prize encouraged you to apply to UPenn and how you feel that specific courses like “Soviet and Post-Soviet Economics” and “The Politics of Food” will prepare you for the intricacies of international economics.

To summarize this tip: BE SPECIFIC!