Find Your Voice
High school seniors who are applying to college often struggle to decide what to write about in their college admissions essays.
Experts say this is a common problem that students can overcome.
“Sometimes writer’s block comes from a place of anxiety,” Timothy Jaconette, founder of Advanced Admit, an admissions consulting firm, said via email. “So don’t worry about creating something perfect. You can make your essay perfect on the third draft.”
Here are 10 brainstorming strategies experts recommend for college essays.
1. Brainstorm First
Mary Grace Gardner, a college admissions and career coach and founder of the Young Professionista consulting company, says the best way to create a compelling college essay is to create a list of potential topics before you look at the prompts.
“Make a list of your major strengths, key accomplishments and dreams for your future,” she suggests. “Next, jot down personal and educational experiences that are significant to you, your favorite memories, and people who have made a difference in your life. By the end of these exercises, you’ll have several potential topics to choose from.”
2. Give Yourself Options
Nina Berler, a private school college counselor and founder of the unCommon Apps admissions consulting company, says it’s important for applicants to choose the prompt that suits them rather than forcing their story to fit into a particular prompt.
If you’re stumped about what to cover in your college essay, experts say it might be helpful to try a few writing exercises and list as many potential essay topics as you can imagine. Choosing the wrong prompt can lead to writer’s block, Berler says. So if you’re stuck, she recommends trying a new prompt that gives you an abundance of material to talk about.
3. Think Small
Experts say college applicants sometimes have the mistaken belief that they need to fit their entire life story into their college essay. A wiser approach, experts say, is to describe a single formative experience.
“I tell students it is not a movie they are making but a Nike ad,” Parke Muth, an admissions consultant who previously served as the University of Virginia‘s associate dean of admission and director of international admission, told U.S. News in 2010. “The time it takes me to read 500 words is about the time it takes me to watch a Nike ad.”
4. Describe Your Goals
Experts say that college applicants who do not feel comfortable discussing their past can instead write about their personal motivation and their hopes for the future.
“I often tell students to think about one thing that drives you to do what you do,” Olivia Williams, an educational consultant with Florida-based Kampus Insights, said via email.
“Why are you playing varsity sports? What does writing in the school newspaper do for you? Why do you love building things? This is one way to focus on relating your drive, and in essence what sets you apart from other potential applicants,” she says.
5. Target Your Audience
Experts say that your dream school’s academic niche should inform what you write in your personal statement for that school.
“Go to the website for the university you want to attend, find the buzz words it uses on the admission site, then try to come up with an essay that focuses on showcasing your ability to offer the qualities the specific school says it is looking to see,” says Jaconette, a former undergraduate admissions officer at Stanford University.
6. Avoid Bragging
College applicants sometimes assume their college essay needs to document a tremendous accomplishment, experts say, but bragging can backfire.
“The idea isn’t to write an epic story,” Seth Allen, the vice president and dean of admissions and financial aid at Pomona College , told U.S. News in 2010 when he was an admissions dean at Grinnell College. “A behind-the-scenes glimpse into who you are, how you think, or what you stand for is far more compelling. Admission committees know you are a work in progress; otherwise, you wouldn’t be applying to college.”
7. Tell a Story
Experts say that college essays with anecdotes tend to be the most engaging. They advise college applicants to reminisce about their most meaningful experiences and consider using one of those experiences as fodder for an essay.
“Even opening your essay with a brief anecdote gives a great, deep, personal glimpse into who you are as an individual,” Nathan Kiehn told U.S. News in 2016 when he was a college senior at North Central College in Illinois. “It hooks the reader, pulls them in, keeps them reading.”
8. Show Your Personality
Admissions officers say they understand that most teenagers have not had dramatic life experiences. Experts say the best college essays are great not because they describe an exciting event but because they convey an interesting way of looking at the world.
“It’s not the topic that has to be unique; it’s what you say that has to be unique,” Ellen Kim, the dean of undergraduate admissions at Johns Hopkins University, told U.S. News in 2015.
9. Consult a Mentor
One first-generation college graduate says that when she was unsure what to write about in her admissions essay, she asked adults in her life for advice. She urges college applicants to do the same.
“Think of three personal statement topic ideas, even if you think they are not that great, and then share them with a teacher, counselor, or a mentor,” Katherine L. Garcia, a 2013 graduate from the University of California–Santa Barbara, said via email. “This will start a conversation and get the ideas flowing.”
10. Take Needed Breaks
Janet Ruth Heller, a published writer and former college professor of English and American literature, says college applicants often struggle with their college admissions essays due to a lack of confidence and excess stress.
“Applicants should take long walks, listen to calming music, or work out to relax,” Heller said via email.
She also suggests that applicants in this predicament confide in supportive mentors as well as read personal essays by professional writers they can emulate.
More College Application Strategies
Getting into college isn’t easy. Learn the criteria college admissions officers use to make admissions decisions and get advice on how to make a strong impression.
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10 Tips to Inspire College Essays originally appeared on usnews.com
