The College Essay

When the college essay is required as a part of the admissions process, it is important to put serious effort into its composition. Probably no other piece of admissions criteria receives as much attention or generates as much discussion.

Here is your chance to reveal your intelligence, sense of humor, maturity, sincerity, enthusiasm, and writing ability. Consider this personal statement as an opportunity to "present" yourself.

Areas of Evaluation

In general, colleges look for:

1. Skill in using standard written English.
2. In-depth insights reflected in content and substance, and the ability to reflect true feelings and opinions about a subject.
3. Creativity and uniqueness showing fresh and original viewpoints.

Essay Directions

Be careful to address what the directions request, which may be one or more of the following:

1. Discuss something which has significantly contributed to or challenged your growth as an individual.
2. Assess your uniqueness as an individual; tell something about yourself beyond the general application information.
3. Address your particular opinions or feelings on a particular topic.
4. Reflect on your goals and aspirations, sharing how you expect your education at that college to help you attain them.
5. Describe any special circumstances that may have affected your grades or test scores positively or negatively

Tips for Composing the Essay

Following these suggestions will help you develop an essay which conveys your personal qualifications:

1. DO NOT WAIT UNTIL THE LAST MINUTE TO WRITE YOUR ESSAY!
2. Make a list of your qualities (particularly any you know the college seeks), aspirations and goals, activities, honors and awards, personal or academic shortcomings you are trying to overcome, persons or courses which have influenced your career goals or aspirations, an any specific strengths of the college (if you know them) and how you wish to make use of them.
3. Do not repeat information in your essay that appears in other parts of your application.
4. Write a draft; be sure to follow the essay directions carefully.
5. Put your draft aside for 24 hours and read it again to spot clichés, vagueness, and triteness.
6. Make corrections in sentence structure, grammar, punctuation and spelling. Read aloud what you have written to help you locate any rough spots you need to rewrite. Ask yourself if the essay is focused on your theme, or does it ramble? Is it confusing or boring? Does the introduction engage the reader?
7. If possible, let someone else, whose opinion you respect, read and evaluate your paper.
8. Rewrite the essay, revising it with "evaluation" in mind. Put it aside again and repeat the process until you are satisfied. Polish it by checking again for spelling and grammatical errors, awkward phrasing, inaccurate usage, unnecessary words or anything else that does not flow or sound right. Read your essay aloud to locate rough spots.
9. Type your essay unless a handwritten version is requested. Proofread for any errors. Make it look as perfect as you can.
10. Photocopy the essay for your files. If you used a computer, save a copy on disk.
11. Follow the instructions for mailing your essay and do so on time.
12. Relax! If you have prepared your essay using all of these "tips," you can be sure your efforts will be noted and appreciated.