WRITING THE
ADMISSIONS ESSAY
CollegePathways2017
Why colleges want the essay
The essay is your chance to:
• “stick out from the crowd”
• personalize your paperwork
• give the admissions committee a chance to
know you
It’s also an opportunity for the college to evaluate
your “writing ability, motivation, creativity, selfdiscipline, character, and capacity for growth.”
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Read essays that work
www.conncoll.edu/admission/apply/
essays-that-worked/
https://apply.jhu.edu/apply/essays-that-worked
www.collegeconfidential.com/admit/
great-common-application-essays
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4 essentials of admissions essays
• YOU
• Thoughtfulness
• Genuineness
• Surprise
The topic is always you, no matter what
the prompt.
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Types of admissions applications
• Common Application
700 colleges
• Universal College Application
34 colleges
• Coalition Application
49 colleges
commonapp.org
universalcollegeapp.com
coalitionforcollegeaccess.org
• Institutional applications
college websites & paper applications
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Common App essay instructions
The essay demonstrates your ability to write
clearly and concisely on a selected topic and
helps you distinguish yourself in your own voice.
What do you want the readers of your application
to know about you apart from courses, grades, and
test scores?
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Common App 2017–18 essay prompts
• Some students have a background, identity, interest, or talent that
is so meaningful they believe their application would be
incomplete without it. If this sounds like you, then please share
your story.
• The lessons we take from obstacles we encounter can be
fundamental to later success. Recount a time when you faced
a challenge, setback, or failure. How did it affect you, and what did
you learn from the experience?
• Reflect on a time when you questioned or challenged a
belief or idea. What prompted your thinking? What was
the outcome?
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Common App 2017–18 essay prompts
• Describe a problem you’ve solved or a problem you’d like to solve. It can be
an intellectual challenge, a research query, an ethical dilemma - anything
that is of personal importance, no matter the scale. Explain its significance
to you and the steps you took or that could be taken to identify a solution.
• Discuss an accomplishment, event, or realization that sparked a period of
personal growth and a new understanding of yourself or others.
• Describe a topic, idea, or concept you find so engaging that it makes you
lose all track of time. Why does it captivate you? What or who do you turn to
when you want to learn more?
• Share an essay on any topic of your choice. It can be one you’ve already
written, one that responds to a different prompt, or one of your own
design.
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Universal college application
• Personal statement
• Please write an essay (650 words or fewer) that
demonstrates your ability to develop and
communicate your thoughts. Some ideas
include: a person you admire; a life changing
experience; or your viewpoint on a particular
current event. Please attach your response to
the end of your application.
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Coalition App 2017–18 essay prompts
• Tell a story from your life, describing an experience
that either demonstrates your character or helped
to shape it.
• Describe a time when you made a meaningful
contribution to others in which the greater good
was your focus. Discuss the challenges and
rewards of making your contribution.
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Coalition App 2017–18 essay prompts
• Has there been a time when you’ve had a longcherished or accepted belief challenged? How did you
respond? How did the challenge affect your beliefs?
• What is the hardest part of being a teenager now?
What’s the best part? What advice would you give
younger siblings or friends (assuming they would
listen to you)?
• Submit an essay on a topic of your choice.
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Common App
(700 schools)
Universal College
Application (34 schools)
Coalition Application
(49 schools)
What do you want the
readers of your application
to know about you? (650)
Demonstrates your ability to
develop and communicate
your thoughts (650)
Good essays are often 300–
400 words; most readers
find college essays rarely
improved when they’re
longer than 550 words.
Obstacle, set-back, failure
Viewpoint on a current
event
Person you admire
Hardest part of being a
teen today; advice?
Contribution to others
Life-changing experience
Story from your life
Background, identity,
interest
Accomplishment, event,
personal growth
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Brainstorm
Stories about me:
• Talents, interests, experiences, obstacles,
background, accomplishments, personal
growth
• Hardest part about being a teen; advice
• People I admire (and why?)
• Contribution(s) to others
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First draft
Select a topic (story to tell) and begin writing your
first draft.
Your purpose is to show the college how the event,
person, experience, or idea made you who you are.
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The writing process
Use vivid, specific details:
“rain that stung like lemon juice
in a paper cut . . .”
“Lord of the Van,” Connecticut College
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Opening lines
• Employ the element of surprise.
• Use a “hook” or “grabber” to get your
reader’s attention.
• Don’t give away the whole story
(not a thesis statement).
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4 essentials of admissions essays
Let’s review:
• YOU
• Thoughtfulness
• Genuineness
• Surprise
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Tips, links, and resources
vsac.org/plan/applying-to-college/
college-application-essay
• grammar reminders from the College Board
• five questions to evaluate your essay
vsac.org/collegepathways
• brainstorm charts to help organize your thoughts
• printout to help with the structure of your essay
• Link to Common Application essay prompts
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