Writing The College Essay

Writing The College Essay Ah, college application essays â€" the necessary evil of college-bound high school seniors everywhere. If you’ve just finished your junior year of high school, then these may very well be in your near future. College essays can seem overwhelming, but you are sharing who you are as an individual. Many college admissions counselors have said that the more unique your essay â€" the content and writing style â€" the more captivating it is to read. Many of the colleges and universities that accept the Coalition application require you to submit at least one essay as part of your application. Free writing, ideally done with pen and paper instead of on the computer, is an exercise in opening the creative mind and letting ideas flow. Knowing this, you will be more relaxed and inspired as you write. Whether you’re prompted to write about a formative experience, why you think you’d be a good fit for the university or about a person who has influenced you greatly, answer the question honestly. Don’t just write what you think the admissions office wants to hear. Always ask for help and stay focused on your topic. Remember that the college application is important, but not as important as your grades. Your essay may be your own ideas, words, and writing. Ask people to read your drafts to provide you corrections and advice on your essay. In your own voice, tell a story that reveals a defining moment that helped to shape who you are today and influences who you’ll be tomorrow. In other words, your college essay should give the reader a real sense of your unique personality, characteristics, and qualities. You can start working on these essays at any time and save drafts in your MyCoalition Locker. To the college essay admissions process I bring skills honed as a television writer, a screenwriter, and a journalist. Entering my ninth year, I have worked with nearly 400 bright, motivated, and exceptional applicants who each year are accepted to T10 colleges and universities. I love what I do and am immeasurably proud of every applicant I work with and their results. I hope that after reading this post you feel a bit more confident in your ability to write your college admissions essay. Very often they are inundated with essays that cater to “what they want to hear,” making such essays exactly what they don’t want to hear. See how the first relays information in apassivevoice, while the second paints anactivepicture? Feel free to start out by painting a vibrant picture of yourself too! Do not get overwhelmed and stressed by the essay. Use this module as an opportunity to develop your essay step by step. It may feel scary and impossible, but with right approach , you can write an essay that showcases your unique personality and impresses admissions officers. Vagueness isn’t a problem unique to admissions essays. It’s something all writers struggle with â€" including myself; I struggled with it while writing this very article. It’s impossible to write an article covering every possible essay prompt you could encounter in the college application process. Is there a way to find out what essay questions colleges are asking before you start the application process? Would it relieve some of your stress, or help you focus your search on fewer colleges, if you knew what essays you'll have to write? Reading your essays gives us insight into how you define yourself and how you will define yourself as a member of the Babson community. When you apply to Babson, you’ll be required to submit two essaysâ€"a Personal Statement and a Writing Supplement. Some of the most frequent questions about the application process we get from students are about the essays. While you are always welcome to contact us with these questions, we provided some tips to get you started. Choose a topic that recounts “that moment when”…The most impactful and memorable college essays focus on an ordinary topic that resulted in deep self-reflection and increased self-insight.