Writing the College Application Essay

Sample Lesson - Introduction

Lesson 1.01: Things You Should Know (And a Couple That Might Surprise You)

This is not your college admissions reader, so please don't try to impress her.
(Source)

Chances are good that you already know a few things about application essays, including the fact that if you want to go to college, you're going to have to write one. If you don't know this, well, surprise.

But there are a couple of things you may not have considered. For example, would it surprise you to learn that a number of college application readers are younger than your parents? They may even wear skinny jeans to work. And that they listen to the same music you do?

When you write your college application essay, it's important to keep your audience in mind. So, today, we'll introduce you to a real, live admissions reader to help you put a face to one member of the often nameless, blood-sucking hordes—er, uh, committees—who may be reading your essay this fall. We have a feeling she's going to look a lot different from the bespectacled senior citizen you might picture in your mind when you hear the intimidating words "Admissions Officer." She may still suck blood, though. That's debatable.

We'll also talk a little bit about the important role your essay plays in your admissions package. Just how important is it? Funny you should ask. We're about to tell you.

Sample Lesson - Reading

Reading 1.1.01a: So, What's the Big Deal?

Wondering how important your application really is? Very.

Correct that: Verrrrrrry. Or how about (very)³?

We're hitting you over the head because here's a free lottery ticket to change the failings of your past. Or in positive light, in a brilliant essay, you can magnify all the great things you've done thus far in your young life.

The essays are in many ways the most important part of the qualitative application. They are you. But they also speak in your voice. They tell the poor admin people who have to read 10,000 of these things that you are different. (If you write it right, right?) They scream, "You want me!" Or they whisper it, if that's your style.

And oddly maybe, you'll remember this essay for a very long time. Most people who attended competitive, high-octane universities will be able to tell you even when they're 40—yeah, that's like ancient, almost dead—what they wrote in their college application essay. For some great ones, check out these samples.

Obviously, not all colleges are the same. Some are really "just by the numbers." That is, there is some formula that a bureaucrat at the state capitol created to fairly allocate a given number of seats. It might be something like, "If your adjusted-GPA is over 3.5 and your SAT scores are in the 90th percentile or better, you automatically get in."

That's great. But a lot of kids who don't fit this bill likely got in, too. Why?

• Maybe they could run a 40-yard dash in 4.4 seconds in a helmet and full pads. For sure a possibility.
• Or maybe they wrote a killer essay? Well...

Unfortunately, a golden ticket college essay probably won't be the key that gets you into college. Admission officers know that plenty of students get tons of help—too much help—on their essay from moms, dads, and highly-paid professional college essay coaches. Admission committees know this "short cut" is the easiest part of the application to game and don't appreciate reading essays that scream in $5 words.

In many cases, the college essay is a sort of a pass/fail piece. You need to pass a certain bar, at which point, other parts of your application—your academic record, your list of extracurricular activities, and your teacher recommendations—become more important. Basically, writing an A+ essay isn't necessary for admission, but writing a bad essay? It could kill your whole application.

Part of the key to the college essay then, is simply not to shoot yourself in the foot. We're here to help save you from crutches.

So, how do you not appear to have lots of help?

• Write intimate.
• Write real.
• Write right.

Tell 'em who you really are in such a way that some $250 an hour college-essay-writing pro couldn't have written. Speak from inside your heart, and good stuff will flow out.

Sample Lesson - Reading

Reading 1.1.01b: Who Reads My Essay?

Now that you're thoroughly intimidated (or maybe totally pumped about the chance to really show your stuff—it's cool, let the fist pumps roll), let's talk about your audience. Have you ever wondered who actually reads your application essay? They drink sherry, read Derrida on their lunch breaks, and gleefully throw your essay out the window if you use "who" instead of "whom," right? Not quite.

Gnomes? Elves? The Jabberwocky?

They come dressed to universities wearing ties and dresses and appear in human form. But they aren’t. They did something very bad in a former life, and karma is punishing them by having them read 9,500 bad essays to find the 500 decent ones and the three dozen awesome ones that then become part of their Pantheon?

Sorry.

The key fact to know about your audience (and yes, you're writing for a specific audience, and it doesn't include Grandma) is that they're bored. Tired. Jaded.

Think of all your friends applying to the same school who'll spend an hour on their essay with trite blurbs about how good it felt to help the needy. These people must read them, every word. Bring the pain.

Who are these admissions gnomes? Imagine that

• you're locked in your office from approximately November to March every year. 
• you read applications day and night, and we're not exaggerating.
• you work your booty off trying to find the students that will be a good fit for your school, and vice versa. 
• you respect every applicant, and you know how much time it takes to put an application together. 
• you've read hundreds and hundreds of applications this year alone. They really start to blend together.

Now, imagine that you're that same admission officer and that you've come across one really rad college essay. It's like the smell of fresh-baked cookies, making you sit up in your chair and smile (and reach for milk). The applicant took the time to make sure there were no spelling mistakes. The applicant really thought about what she wanted to say. She wrote from the heart and conveyed a sense of personality. She told a compelling story.

Bliss. You'd want to put this application in your "favorites" pile.

Write for that pile. Get the gnomes excited. Or, at the very least, don't put them to sleep.

Sample Lesson - Reading

Reading 1.1.01c: Meet Stacey

Okay, so you get the idea, right? Admissions readers have a pretty tough—and potentially boring—job. But now we're going to take it one step further.

Essay writers, meet Stacey. She's an admissions reader at Boston University, and she'd like to tell you a little bit about herself and the work she does during application season. Read the two blog posts below. And once you've been properly acquainted, head on back for your first activity.

• Allow Me to Introduce Myself
• A Day in the Life of an Application Reader

Sample Lesson - Activity

Activity 1.01: Dear Stacey

Now that you've had a chance to meet Stacey, we'd like you to write her a letter. Yes, a real letter, one made from wood pulp ground together into a flat, white surface. What? Never heard of it? We'll make an e-mail exception this one time.

Good essays have the same engaging, conversational tone as letters do, and this activity will help you practice using a less formal, academic writing style than you'd in your lit class where you get bonus points for spouting out how The Great Gatsby reflects the socioeconomic conditions brought on by excess spending and big business ethics. Or something. 

Plus, now that you know your admissions reader will probably look more like your older sister than your grandmother, you can lighten up a little. Keep your audience in mind and focus more on the stuff that you really want to say, like why you're interested in art school, instead of the formal kinds of things you think a stuffy admissions officer would want to hear, like how your art is going to bring about world peace and solve the AIDS crisis in Africa. If you talk about that, Robeefalo will personally come to your house and kick you in the shins.

Step One

 Start by setting a timer for 20 minutes. Then, begin with the following line:

Dear Stacey,

Here are a few things it's important for you to know about me…

Don't worry about grammar, punctuation, or sentence structure. Instead, think about who you are at your core (besides a liver and vertebrae) and what kind of events and experiences have shaped you into the person you are today. We know that sounds a little cheesy, but if you can think back to an experience that had some kind of impact on you (and didn't blow you to smithereens), you'll probably have a good story to tell about it. But you can also include fun stuff, like what kind of music you listen to, what you like to do on the weekends, and your most embarrassing high school experience.

If you get stuck, try thinking about your life chronologically.

• What's your earliest memory?
• What happened in elementary school that made you the kind of high school student you are today?
• What happened in high school that will influence what you do at college?

Most importantly, just write. And keep writing until the timer goes off.

Step Two

At the end of your 20-minute writing session, reread your letter and highlight or circle three interesting, unusual, or unexpected "things" about yourself that you think you could expand on in an essay.

Then upload your letter/stream of consciousness masterpiece/brain dump below.