What is a College Application Essay?
A college application essay is an essay you write to apply for a college academic program. It provides admissions officers with a glimpse into your life. It allows them to better understand your unique personality and why you would be the perfect fit for their school.
College essays are used to determine a student’s ability in logical reasoning and sentence structure. The best part about them is that they give you an opportunity for creative expression as well. You can talk about your expertise and the things that would make you stand out from others.
“How long should a college application essay be?”
College application essays are typically between 250-650 words in length.
Common App, a popular college admission application platform, suggests keeping a word limit of 650 words.
Longer essays can lose the interest and attention of the readers and shorter essays might lose in terms of depth. Hence, 650 words are adequate enough to create an interesting and engaging college essay.
Types of College Application Essay
There are three popular types of college application essays. They are as follows:
1. “You”
The “You” essay is a popular type of personal statement for college applicants. It requires you to write about yourself.
It's for admissions officers who want to know more about their future students. This type of personal statement asks applicants for honesty and creativity but most importantly their personality traits or interesting facts.
2. “Why Us”
The “Why Us” essay is a type of personal statement that tells the admission officers why a particular applicant wants to attend this particular university.
Hence, it's better to research the institute a little bit so you can give valid reasons for why you want to join them.
3. “Creative”
A “Creative” essay is an opportunity for students to show off their creativity. It is a great way for admissions officers to evaluate the applicants’ ability in writing and thinking outside of the box.
It also provides the applicants with an opportunity to share what they believe about a given topic. They are graded on knowledge and expression of the topic at hand.
How to Start a College Application Essay?
Once you know what you want to focus on in your college essay application, you need to come up with a hooking start. An engaging and interesting beginning to your essay will instantly capture the attention of the reader and make him want to read further.
Here are some effective ways to start your college application essay:
1. Full Hemingway
You can start off with an image-based description that should be engaging and not explain everything at once. There is room for dialogue, actions, or details to allow the reader's imagination to engage as well.
2. Mini Hemingway
You can start with a vivid description of an event or moment that is short yet captivating and captures the reader's attention immediately. You can then explain the event with further comments and descriptions.
3. Twist
You can start by talking about a particular aspect of yourself or your life to build certain expectations and emotional responses. Then, take your narrative in another unexpected direction.
4. Philosopher
You can also start by asking philosophical questions that you might not be able to talk about further in your essay. This gives you a chance to show your intelligence and creativity and keeps the reader hooked on something interesting.
5. Confession
Another way to start to capture the reader’s attention is to admit something that others might judge you or you judge yourself for.
6. Trailer Thesis
You can also give an overview of what you will talk about further in your essay but still not give away too much so as to keep the reader hooked. This thesis statement may comprise of 1-2 sentences and is usually written at the end of the introduction paragraph.
7. Fascinating Concept
You can begin your essay with a fascinating or unusual concept or idea. Then, you give an explanation of how the idea is relevant, where it came from and why are you talking about it.
8. Random Personal Fact
Another interesting way to start is to present a random but interesting fact about yourself and then describe how it relates to your essay.
9. Scriptwriter
Start off your essay with dialogue to immediately hold the attention of the reader.
10. Storyteller
You can also begin by telling a short story or an anecdote.
How to Write a College Application Essay?
Here are the simple steps you can follow to write an exceptional college application essay:
1. Brainstorming
The first step to writing a college application essay is to choose a prompt to write on. Then, brainstorm ideas to include in your essay.
2. Creating an Outline
Once you’ve decided on a prompt and gathered your idea, it’s time to organize. Create an outline to plan and structure your ideas in your essay. Divide your essay into different sections where each section will focus on one main point or idea.
A standard college application essay outline has three components:
- Introduction
- Body paragraphs
- Conclusion
3. Writing
Now that you have your outline, you can easily start writing your essay.
- Introduction:
First, write your introduction. A great introduction paragraph should hook your readers and make them want to keep reading. You can introduce who you are as a person or student. For an attention-grabbing introduction, use the different techniques we mentioned above. - Main Body:
Follow your introduction paragraph to write your main body. Write several paragraphs about why you would be the perfect fit for their school based on what makes you unique. Each paragraph begins with a topic sentence that identifies what the section is about. Add creativity into your perspective to make your essay unique. - Conclusion:
“How to conclude a college application essay effectively?”
End with a conclusion paragraph that wraps up everything previously said while restating why the school should admit you into their program. For an effective conclusion to your essay, talk about what you’ve learned from the experiences you discussed prior and how it will contribute to college and practical life.
The closing of an essay should be in the same tone and theme as its introduction. Include some final thoughts for the readers. These can include questions aimed at encouraging deeper thought about certain topics
4. Proofreading
The final step is very crucial. It is pertinent that you proofread your essay a few times before submitting it. Your paper should be organized and flow well.
Ensure that your sentences have varied lengths so they don’t seem too choppy. Look for grammatical and punctuation errors as well.
Have a look below at a college application essay template to write your own
How to End a College Application Essay?
Once you’re done writing your essay, look at the questions below to make sure that you have included all the important elements in your college application essay.
Have a look at them and see if there are any questions left unanswered.
- Does my essay meet all the requirements of the institute?
- Have I formatted and outlined my essay properly?
- Is my content genuine and original? Does this sound like me?
- Have I mentioned my future goals and aspirations?
- What image of me does this present?
- Is it interesting?
- Does it show my enthusiasm for wanting to join this particular institute?
- How will this make the admissions officers want to admit me?
- Does this add any information that is not in the rest of my application?
- Are there any grammatical or punctuation errors?
College Application Essay Format
“How to format college application essay?”
If you’re confused as to how to format a college application essay, follow the guidelines mentioned below.
- Margins should be 1 inch on all sides.
- Line spacing is either 1.5 or double-spaced.
- Use Times New Roman, Arial, or Calibri font.
- Use 12 points for text size.
- Justify your text with left alignment.
- Place your headings on the upper left-hand corner of the page, which include your name, course code, and submission date.
- Put the title of your essay below the headings and center-align it.
- The first line of each paragraph should be indented.
- MLA, APA, Chicago, or Harvard are the most widely accepted citation styles.
Many colleges provide their own specific instructions for the format of college application essays. However, these are some general guidelines that you can follow.
College Application Essay Examples
Now that you know how to write a college application essay, let’s take a look at some examples of successful essays that scored students' scholarships and admission into top schools.
College Application Essay Topics
“What are some good college application essay ideas to write about?”
Check out our list of some interesting college application essay prompts to write about below:
- Share your story if you have something meaningful or interesting to discuss about your background, identity, or talent.
- Share a time when you faced a challenge or failure. Explain how it affected you and what you learned from it.
- Think about a time when you questioned or challenged an idea you believed in.
- Discuss a problem you’ve solved in the past or you’d like to solve in the future.
- Share an experience that made you grow as a person.
- Write about a topic that you’re passionate about.
- Answer a philosophical question that captivates you.
- Discuss your favorite book or movie.
- Talk about your bucket list and how you aim to fulfill it.
- Select a quote that resonates with you on a personal level. Explain why it speaks to your heart and how it has helped you in your life.
College Application Essay Tips
Along with a complete writing guide, we’ve also compiled a few tips that you can follow to ensure your essay is top-notch. Have a look at them below:
- Make sure you check and follow the college application essay requirements of the college you’re applying to.
- Don’t procrastinate. Many students put off their application essays till the end but lose track of time in the whole admission process. Start writing early so you can give your essay adequate time to revise as well.
- Choose a prompt that resonates the most with you.
- Research your chosen college so you can give authentic reasons for why you’re applying there or what you like the most about them.
- Be genuine when talking about yourself. Focus on the things that make you unique.
- Don’t mention your test scores or academic results. The admission officers will get that information from the other documents you’ve submitted with your application.
- Don’t simply mention the extracurricular activities you’ve participated in. Instead, discuss what you’ve learned from all those experiences.
- Use simple language that seems natural.
- Don’t forget to proofread again and again for any mistakes.
- Have a professor or a professional writing service review it for you.
So, here’s a comprehensive guide on how to write a good college application essay. It can be intimidating to think about writing a personal statement. However, with our writing guide and examples, you can put together an essay that will make you stand out from the crowd.
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