How to Write a College Application Essay
by
Indigo Research Team
&
Published:
September 14, 2024
Last Updated:
October 11, 2024
Writing a great college admission essay can be the ticket to your dream school. This is the essay that will allow you to explain to the admission committee who you are, your experiences, and what you wish to achieve in life.
Therefore, in this article, we will explain in detail how to write an application essay starting from idea generation to final editing.
First of all, what is an application essay? An application essay is a piece of writing a student would write about themselves because it is a requirement for obtaining college admission. Its primary purpose is to inform the admission panel about the candidate who is vying to be admitted to the program.
An essay is different from test scores and grades in that it serves as an outlet for self-expression and also as a tool for showing how the applicant fits into the institution.
Admission officers want a vivid description of the applicant, that is, essays which are sincere and introspective. At the same time, colleges want to see attributes such as articulation, organization, and imagination.
They also want to see you write about how the university and its facilities can help you achieve your vision. You should also highlight your past experience and commitment to extracurricular activities and how you plan to continue this commitment in the college.
For example: “I had a passion for community service in high school and plan to continue this extracurricular activity by joining the Bay Area Tutoring Association at Stanford.”
So, what are the specific issues that you should focus on in order to make sure your college application essay is interesting and captivating? Here’s how to write an essay for an application to a college!
Not following the school’s common application essay guidelines may cause admissions to doubt the student’s capacity to meet the standards set by the university. Therefore, check whether the school has specific limits on word count, themes, etc.
Going back to the literature review, once you have read the instructions and jot down your notes to the fullest, it is now time to begin drafting an outline. This outline will help you structure your paper and determine the most important thought you want to express.
When students choose topics that are of personal relevance to them, they tend to write with more honesty and passion, and therefore more readers are engaged. The same applies to an application essay that centers on you and your experiences; your individual voice will definitely flourish making the essay more interesting.
Therefore, instead of attempting to figure out how to please the admissions committee, write personal essays about who or what is important to you. This can be an event from your life, and a situation that has influenced you or a challenge that you have faced, or something that you love doing.
Journalists say that the best way to catch a reader’s interest is with a strong introduction. This holds true in application essay writing since the admissions committee allocates only limited time to consider each application.
To create an impression that lasts for a long time, it would be more appropriate to start off with a lively paragraph that captivates the reader’s attention in an instant. Also, note that a good introduction will inform the reader about the scope of the essay and tempt them to read on.
Example of how to start an application essay: “The cafeteria was abuzz with a multitude of voices as I took a seat. Even so, I generally felt lonely. I was 15 years old and it was scary moving to another country, but it was this discomfort that taught me how to endure and adapt.” This example sets the stage for an essay about personal growth and adaptability.
Unlike test scores or letters of recommendation, your college application essay is your sole territory where you showcase yourself how you wish. It’s a unique way to make yourself look great, and because of this, the essay should be about you and only you.
Even if you end up referring to an impressive teacher or a person who inspired you, tell the story of how that teacher or that person inspired you rather than explain their characteristics. Illustrate why and how their presence made you want to change, act, or even think differently.
A college application essay gives insight into the applicant’s frame of mind and perspective. Make sure that everything you write as part of the content makes your story credible in some way. It is important to ensure that the essay answers questions relating to your personality, and therein lies the strength of the writing.
If you want the audience to understand an idea, never simply offer a statement, instead, provide details in addition to that statement. This implies sharing examples and anecdotes that support your arguments and reasoning in order to draw a picture of how your identity has formed over time.
When you finish your application essay writing draft, put it aside for a while, and when you come back, identify the strongest points of the paper. The goal is to find what works well in the essay and use that as a foundation in your next draft of the essay.
This is more inspiring than focusing on what did not work because it can actually offset your productivity. Nevertheless, after this round, you will shift to the next three phases, which are revision, editing, and then rewriting.
Revising your paper completes the whole process because it calls for changing the content and the layout of the work. Editing deals with revising the details in order to have a functional piece. Rewriting includes moving ahead and applying the necessary changes and observations in the new draft.
In order to write a successful college application essay, you must proofread it a few times to avoid any spelling, typographical, or grammatical errors. But doing this yourself for long enough may even lead to over-familiarity with one’s own essay, resulting in you overlooking errors.
It is for this reason that you have to let someone else look at your essay and proofread it. They are also helpful in providing a different point of view as well as spotting some errors you may have overlooked. Ask a teacher, parent, or friend to read your essay and give you feedback.
When learning how to write a common application essay, it’s important to start on time and be ready to create several drafts, possibly in a week. When you finish the first draft, keep it for a couple of days and then go back to edit it.
On a second reading, read it to yourself as if you were a board member. Afterward, ask yourself: Are the arguments engaging? Are the ideas in logical order? Does it convey any meaningful information? Is it written in the authentic voice of the applicant?
At times, even the most intriguing topic and personal essay can turn undesirable because, among other things, unnecessary or duplicated information has been included. This leads us to an example of application essay topics to avoid in your submission:
Effective college essays should contain additional facts that are not contained in the application form. The admission panel already knows the student’s grades, courses and other academic accomplishments.
Avoid talking about privileged situations like how a family trip to the Maldives helped you “discover yourself.” Even if this may be meaningful to your growth, it may come across as out of touch and doesn’t meet the admission officer’s desire for stories about genuine personal growth and resilience.
Surprisingly, a lot of people talk about their dogs in college applications, and while your doggy is most likely your best friend, you will not do any better in your college application essay by focusing on her. Instead, think of productive experiences or particular themes that focus only on you and not something broad.
When learning how to write an essay about yourself, do not forget that your college essay should demonstrate your potential and originality. So, repeating clichés and using the same old phrases like “I have always wanted to be a … Since I was a kid” can easily end up with you being perceived as quite lazy. Additionally, some of these sayings might also have some cultural connotations that some readers may not easily recognize.
While it is well and good to portray one’s struggles and challenges, discussing former legal issues does not make for the most favorable narrative in the very first impression. Opt for a subject that does not bring you out in a bad perspective but shows your strong points.
A college application essay free of errors showcases impressive writing skills. Thus, it is advisable to edit your essay seeking any spelling, punctuation as well as grammatical errors. As previously mentioned, you may also ask some teachers, mentors, or trustworthy people to help you with the correction of your essay before submission.
While writing a college essay, formatting your application gives a good impression to the admission officers, which is why paying attention to every detail is very important. Presented below are some formatting tips on writing a personal essay, helping you efficiently organize your college essay.
In terms of content structure, introduce the thesis statement in the first paragraph, which is captivating enough to hook the audience and prepare them for the rest of the essay. The body consists of the central points that one wishes to address, which are structured in paragraphs containing explanations, examples, or both, expanding more on the topic.
Every succeeding sentence should develop the previously made point in one way or the other. End with a good and comprehensive conclusion emphasizing the main points and outlining the purpose of the work.
Concise essays tend to appeal to the readers and as such create their interest in the body of the essay. Students venturing in personal statement essay writing for example do not make any impact if they take too long before coming to the crux of the matter.
In this case, the common application essay length is no more than 650 words and no less than 250. This span gives you room to develop your ideas, but also guides you to keep it short and precise.
Nevertheless, the word limits are designed to help you focus on the most important aspects of your story, so stick to them
Well-defined college essay topics meaningfully bring out the best personality of the writer. Although the aim of personal statements is for applicants to distinguish themselves from the rest, topics that are boring or lack interesting facts or episodes should be avoided.
Even if such situations should be written about, do so with caution. A college essay should give reasons why one is positive. Thus, venturing into topics that are sensitive or harrowing too much may detract from the positives that are within a person.
Let us consider the following strong application essay ideas and topics:
In the end, these tips on writing a personal essay should be enough to help you write an intriguing and impressive essay that officers in charge of admission would love.
To help you fully understand how to implement these college application writing tips, here is a sample essay sample that worked. You will also find the admission officers’ comments at the end.
Essay Title: To Stand Out or Fit In
Author: Caroline J., ’28
Caroline’s Essay:
“Unicorns, rainbows, pink, and glitter.
Those elements were a commonality in my wardrobe, as I packed for a two week sleepaway camp the summer after sixth grade. The possibility of redefining myself in a new environment filled me with excitement as I dreamed of being the unique, yet “popular” girl instead of just the “nerd.” However, upon arrival, that dream was shattered as my fellow campers regarded me with an air of condescension that I didn’t understand. Perplexed, I asked one such camper what was wrong with me, and she said, “The way you dress. And that you ask too many questions.” That summer camp marked the birth of an internal battle between my lifelong desire to stand out and my newfound desire to be accepted in society.
At first, my desire to fit in dominated this conflict. I rejected anything resembling my past wardrobe and surrendered to neutral colors and ripped jeans. However, the confines of conforming soon proved too agonizing, so my naive self devised a plan—I would be my “weird” self and accept that I would never fit in.
Guided by this framework, I began to wear unique clothing again; highlights of my wardrobe include various flowy vintage skirts, countless thrift grandpa sweaters, and my favorite piece, a purple tank top with a star that I crocheted myself. On top of that, I cut and dyed my lengthy hair, once an anchor of my femininity and normalcy. As the war in my head waged on, standing out began to prevail, nourished by the unexpected empowerment it supplied me.
Despite embracing authenticity, however, the unease brought on by my dilemma still remained. Reflecting on this, I came to realize that self-expression was like a colorful Band-Aid for my insecurities. While it boasted originality and spunkiness, ultimately what I lacked was self love. I couldn’t truly embrace being myself if I didn’t love myself and believed I deserved the love of others. Fighting my insecurities began with realizing that standing out and fitting in are not mutually exclusive. We all need and deserve a community to fit in with—not to conform with—but to find a place in, just like each unique piece of clothing has its perfect place in my closet.
For me, these communities came from the people and passions I engaged with. I introduced middle schoolers to the mindblowing world of coding through my passion project, Code to Create. After experiencing the exhilaration of digging into real-world issues in debate club and Youth in Government, I championed my voice in our student newspaper, the Noctiluca. I put my face in front of the entire school by co-founding a video broadcast series, Spark Shorts, where I hosted segments including Teach-It Tuesday (a segment where anyone can teach anything), Spit It Out (a game show encouraging authenticity), and Oblivious Oliver (a story based segment). At the state honors orchestra, I ran a meme page amassing likes and laughs while we triumphed through music together. On the science side of things, a joke on a late-night call with my friends materialized into reality when we founded Quantum Astronomical Science Club, a science club with a fancy name.
Although these ventures may seem spontaneous and scattered, they collectively taught me the pure joy that collaborative learning and creativity spark. Awed expressions as my peers and I learned about Quantum Physics together, celebratory chatter after a successful printing of a newspaper issue, triumphant fist pumps when a student’s code ran correctly—those electrifying moments are what I want to live and impart upon others for the rest of my life. In the end, my internal battle between standing out and fitting in was resolved not through one side’s victory, but through compromise. In my quest to stand out, I had unknowingly found just what I needed—a way to stand out and fit in.”
How did we know Caroline’s essay was a good example of how to write an essay about yourself? It’s because of what the admission officers said about the paper:
“Caroline’s essay focuses on their experiences developing and accepting their identity. We see how Caroline navigates the challenge of being themself while also trying to fit in with their peers. After reflecting on authenticity and self-love, Caroline better understands who they are and what matters to them. This leads them to dive into their passions and find various communities with shared values and interests—from coding and broadcasting to quantum physics. These experiences, born out of a deeper understanding of their identity, ensured Caroline could have the most meaningful impact on themself and their high school. As we build a class of students at Hopkins, this essay helps us to visualize how Caroline might engage with those around them to make an impact in our community.”
Ultimately, in this essay application sample, Caroline was able to present their challenges in an engaging journey, showing how it helped to build their sense of self at the end. This was enough to convince the admission committee that Caroline was a perfect fit for Johns Hopkins University.
Source: Johns Hopkins University
Finally, a reader should understand that writing an emphatic essay in the college application process requires foresight and a number of drafts. Start working on it fast then, pick an interesting theme and try to put into detail the capabilities and past experiences that make you stand out.
Also, adhere to the essay structure, give good illustrations and avoid the usual mistakes. Ask other people to read your essay and analyze whether there are any errors in the text. These can put you on the right track in writing a compelling college application essay.
In conclusion, writing a compelling college application essay is your chance to showcase who you are beyond test scores and grades. By reflecting on personal experiences, values, and passions, you can create an authentic narrative that resonates with admissions officers. If you have conducted research, it's a powerful way to demonstrate your intellectual curiosity and dedication.
To learn how to effectively incorporate research into your college application, be sure to read our article on how to write about your research in a college application. This helps you to convey how your research paper is part of your story, giving your application a bigger boost.
Ready to make your college application essay stand out? Join theto explore your passions and strengthen your application. Our expert mentors will guide you in developing high-quality research that highlights your academic skills.
