Sample College Application Essays

Sample College Application Essays See what you should do with them on the next page. Deciding which college you want to attend is stressful. Preparing your college applications and meeting various deadlines is an ordeal. What will get you into college is writing an essay that will be distinguished from the rest. The purpose of the college essay is to get into college. Both Stanford University and University of California Berkeley officials insist they read all essays. Patricia Krahnke, president of Global College Search and former assistant admissions director at Rutgers University and Vermont State Colleges’ dean of admissions, agrees with Stevens. Write a story with a setting, a beginning, a middle and an end. In drafting your essay, focus on the content of the narrative. Do not “write” seven paragraphs of conclusion and your thoughts; content is writer’s craft. “We don’t have a problem with having some assistance,” she says, understanding that students want to present themselves in the best light. She encourages applicants to ask someone who doesn’t know their narrative, such as a neighbor or church member, to provide a fresh look at the essay. Moreover, it impedes a school’s ability to see who they are, get a sense of their authentic voice and writing style, and determine if they are prepared for the writing demands of college. There is no way to know who will be assigned to read a given essay, says Jager-Hyman. Every reader has his own taste in what he wants and what matters to him, and a student sometimes gets lucky. Every piece of advice you have ever received on the purpose of the college essay is wrong. When you construct an essay that satisfies you, ask a trusted teacher to proofread and critique it. Make any changes required, and type the essay into a word processor or text editor so that you can copy and paste it onto the electronic college application. This will help prevent errors and typos that might occur if you retype the essay into the essay window when you're filling out the application form. Choose one that focuses on a specific anecdote rather than the three asking for your whole life story. It makes it easier for your essay to make an impact on your admissions if you carefully pick a prompt, unlike the majority of applicants. By the time someone is considering your essay, they have reviewed your grades, your scores, two teacher recommendations and a guidance report, and your activity list. They know you in most ways that are relevant to admit you to a school. CampusChat keeps parents, students, educators and counselors informed of college news, tips, and resources -- all delivered directly to your inbox. College essay writing can be a BEAR, no doubt about it. (Annoyed yet? Consider how painful some of this stuff can be for essay readers.) A well-written essay, one which gives the reader a sense of the true you, in all of your original wonderfulness, is a joy to read. Prompt invests thousands of hours identifying top Writing Coaches. We help thousands of students gain admission to top-50 colleges every year. Worrying about the essay questions you'll be asked -- and how many you'll have to answer -- is agonizing. Get the college essay help you need, right when you need it with the convenience of online lessons. “Parents have the gift and burden of knowing their students better than anyone; they are therefore uniquely qualified to help them identify good essay material,” Heathman says. But, if they can’t limit their participation appropriately, or are causing their student needless stress, they should seek out a teacher or counselor. “You have to hope that (the reader’s) taste jives with your sensibility,” Jager-Hyman says. In other words, they wouldn’t ask for them if they didn’t read them. Last year, CMC had eight admissions officers and 10 part-time readers for 7,100 applications.