Making Your College Essay Stand Out
The Common App essay gives you a chance to show the readers—who may not get to meet you face-to-face—what kind of person you are beyond your courses, grades, and test scores. Much of this advice applies to any piece of writing required in the application process. Use these ten tips to help you get started.
Parse the prompts! Read all of the prompts and then analyze each part of the question to thoroughly understand what it is asking.
Reflect on this crucial question: What do I want the readers of my application to know about me apart from courses, grades, and test scores? (e.g., perhaps you are a good listener, funny, outgoing, shy, adventurous, or a dreamer)
Think about a positive trait that is important to you, but not reflected elsewhere in your application. You will showcase that trait in your essay!
Pick a prompt that helps you answer the question in Tip #2 and that illustrates your positive trait.
Use the prompt to inspire and structure your response. There is no need for an introduction or conclusion. Just tell us about a moment in time, a specific story, that responds to the prompt.
Be specific: Answer the prompt with a detailed story that recounts something new about yourself.
Be clear and direct: Answer the question clearly and concisely in your own voice.
Be authentic and genuine: This is not the five-paragraph essay from your high school English classes. Forget about that kind of writing. Just use your own conversational tone. Avoid showing the essay to too many people - too many suggestions can change your voice!
Demonstrate reflection: Try to go beyond the superficial to teach us something about you as a person that is not expressed in the rest of your application.
Return to the original question, What do I want the readers of my application to know about me apart from courses, grades, and test scores? Make sure you are satisfied with the answer and that you sound like yourself.
Contact Best Fit Education. We can help you with your college essays and applications