The time has come. You’ve spent three years in high school, slogging through the mush of extra-curricular activities and AP courses. You ran for president of your school’s Chess Team to ensure you had valid leadership experience. You dominated the SAT and ACT tests with help from Victory Step. Now, it’s time to sit down and write your college admissions essays.
Remember, this is your one chance to show the college exactly who you are. You want to make sure your essay is a valid representation of your personality. Don’t be afraid to make jokes or use figurative language. But most importantly, don’t be afraid to brag. Many of us feel self-conscious about listing our positive qualities, and we sometimes try to temper these good qualities with negatives to make it sound like we aren’t conceited. But think what the purpose of this essay is – to show the admissions counselor that you are a better candidate for their school than every other candidate applying. Of course you should brag! Of course you should list every tiny thing you’ve ever done that’s great! Of course you should hide your faults and brush off your insecurities! Admissions counselors are not going to see you as a braggart; instead, they’re going to see you as a bright, confident young person who knows what they want and how to get it.
Make sure that the emphasis of your essays is on you. If the prompt asks about how the school or program will be the best fit for you, don’t write an essay about the school – write an essay about you and your needs and your goals! The admissions counselors already know about the college or university they work at – probably, better than you. What they don’t know about is you! Make this an opportunity to go into depth about your hobbies and dreams and how the facilities will be specially suited to assist with those. Definitely do your research – if the school you’re applying to has one of the largest collections of Civil War memorabilia in the world and you’re a huge Civil War buff, you’re going to want to include that in the essay. But the focus should be on your interest in the Civil War rather than the specific items their collection holds.
Treat your essay like a first date. You wouldn’t admit to your hang-ups and your baggage on the very first date, would you? No, you’d wait until three or four dates in, when your personality and great looks and charm have started to soften the blow a little bit before letting out that you have serious commitment issues and only shower twice a week. Likewise, leave all the bad stuff out of your essay. While you should never lie to an admissions counselor, there’s also no need to mention that you have chronic low school spirit and a tendency to sleep through your morning classes. The point of these essays is to get you into the college; what happens afterwards is up to you.
Written By: Catherine Martin
Victory Step Education Team
