This past year, the admissions officers at Harvard University read over 19,000 applications – that’s 19,000 essays – all arranged nicely in Times New Roman font on the common application. In all this mess, your application is looking, quite frankly, common.
So even if you’re not applying to one of the top private universities in the nation – the thousands of common applications, or any application for that matter, that your dream school will receive this winter all start to blend together. The solution? Your application needs to stand out from the masses, be memorable and charismatic. Easier said than done.
Short of writing in gel pens or sprinkling glitter on the cover letter, your essay is where the reader’s attention is captured. So it is critical to select a topic that highlights you as an individual – What do you care about? Who challenged your opinion on an issue? When did you fail at something?
The key here is not to use your thesaurus and infuse your SAT vocabulary list into 500 words of deep philosophy, rather, tell a story that substantiates your impression that you are, in fact, a unique individual. But before you launch into an account of the time you were cliff jumping blind-folded in South America, stop. Pick one or two positive qualities about yourself and think of a time in your life where you exhibited those traits. As cliché as this sounds, your goal is to show, not tell.
Now that you have a memorable, and hopefully slightly entertaining, story. Take a moment to throw every rule of composition out the window. Thesis statements? Maybe next time. Transition sentences? No thank you. The college admissions essay can be just as unique as you are (or are trying to be).
From the very first sentence, your essay needs to hook the reader. The best parallel is a news story from television. Right before the commercial break, the anchor teases you with a brief introduction that captures your attention. Do that.
The first sentence of two should give the reader a taste of what your story is about, but keep them looking for more.
As you develop the essay, detail is a powerful tool. “My friends finally convinced me to go mountain hiking with them” does not sound nearly as good as “As I tripped for the umpteenth time on my way up the rocky cliff, I remembered I was totally scared of heights. Why did I agree to this?”
Additionally, don’t be afraid of self-deprecating humor or laughing at your mistakes. No matter how much you try to fool the reader – he or she is completely aware that you are not perfect.
As you get deeper into the essay – don’t. The typical essay length is 500 words, so if your word count is 750, go back to the drawing board. Essays are not memorable if the reader never finished them.
Finally, be sure your story has some dimension to it. While everyone would love to read about your mission trip to Europe, if the entire essay revolves around the fabulous shopping, the reader can not get a sense of your academic mindset. You are signing up for four more years of school so demonstrate your ability to ascertain a deeper meaning from your experiences.
So as you sit down to write your admissions story (that’s what it really is) – stay focused on showing the true you, but if you haven’t had a tragic or dramatic coming-of-age experience, just breathe. Some of the best essays are about the most ordinary of topics – a bedroom door, slurping spaghetti and a rather severe paper cut have all been the essay topics of admitted students. As long as you adopt a personalized, quirky angle to the story – your annual family camping trip from the perspective of your dog or why breaking your leg before the state championship was oh-so-fun – a new view to a common experience makes all the difference. Good luck!
