College Essay

College Essay Provide evidence by citing specific instances from your life. The essays that make up The Common Application & supplements are not just typical pieces of writing, nor are they just another step in the application process. College essays are an uncommon genre that must catch the attention of admissions officers and illuminate students’ intellect, personality, and potential. Our Senior Counselors have years of experience guiding students in writing essays that make admissions officers take notice. Our veteran admissions counselors are frequently asked to share expert advice about writing compelling college essays. Make a plan to meet with your college counselor and go over your college list and essays, and ask for feedback on your writing. Your college counselor can provide valuable insight into how to improve your college application essays, so seek feedback on your drafts as soon as possible. School-based counselors have a lot of students to advise and are very busy, so seek guidance early and often. Workshops at our labs have a maximum of seven participants. College Essay Workshop programs are only available to students who are high school juniors or seniors. Personal Essay/Pre-College Essay Workshops are available for freshmen and sophomores. A common mistake that students make while writing their essays is focusing completely on an event that took place. While what occurred is important, you need to demonstrate how it affected you and how you felt. Admissions officers want to see how you think and how you’ve grown. The essay is the only place on your application to truly take them into your mind. We’ll help you demonstrate your vision throughout your application and your essays, so that, in admissions speak, there will be the proper “resonance” across all of your college admissions documents. When students lack professional college admissions guidance, they often will write essays that they think admissions officers want. They may envision a professorial old man sporting a bow tie and dowdy sports jacket as their gatekeeper. Though a few admissions officers may fit that profile, most AO’s do not belong to that demographic. Your college counselors are there to help, but they can’t if you don’t ask or wait until the last minute to seek guidance and feedback. Essay writingis an important part of the college application process. Using the Common Application, you will have to write one major essay, and possibly write a series of smaller essays for each school on their Supplement Forms . The college essay is often the most difficult part of preparing your application. To help you get off to a good start, we’ve put together the following tips and hints. Many of the prompts on the Common Application are left open-ended for a reason. They serve as starting points while giving you freedom to show colleges who you are. We asked our admissions counselors to share their perspectives on why the college essay matters and what matters most. We trust you’ll find this information useful as you prepare your college applications. Feel free to contact our admissions staff with additional questions. While it’s important to put considerable effort into all college application components, essays are often the finishing touch and should be treated with great care and consideration. Students can receive Writopia Lab college essay writing instruction at our labs through a College Essay Workshop or Private Sessions. Your IvySelect college counselor will help you tie together the various pieces of your application in both the academic and extracurricular contexts. Through our strategic vision, you will understand how your school-based and summer activities, as well as your personal and family experiences tie together to showcase your life themes. These are comments from our admissions staff who actually read your essays and evaluate them in the admission process. We can’t guarantee results, but this advice might help you get started. You should read a college guide book, methodically review the website, and hopefully, if at all possible, visit the school. Additionally, you might email an admissions counselor at the school with some questions or speak to a current student or alum.