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College Essay You Say?

As if it isn’t enough to make good grades, narrow down those tough choices between colleges you want to apply for, then go through the paperwork for basic admission, but you have to write an essay to get into a college too? Yes, that’s right. Getting into most universities requires taking a seat at the old word processor and putting out a good essay about why they should let you into that fine establishment of higher learning. Some college-prep organizations like Embark would say this is the most difficult part of applying for a college. Before you run to cower behind the DVD of Toy Story 2 for the fifth time, pretending the essay is a fictional boogeyman, read up on picking a subject as well as a few tips that might help you write a killer college entrance essay.

Subject Slinging

Choosing what you write is an important part of a good college essay. But you don’t have to come up with an idea all on your own. No school will instruct you to just write an essay. Each will give you some direction on a topic. It can range from a direct question about you or some could be tricky and ask you to write about a book or why you chose to apply to their school. But college admissions boards expect you to take a creative route that, in about 500 words, arrives at a personalized answer.

Often you’ll hear that there is no “correct answer” to the essay. Well, that may be the case, but you still want to come out sounding like a good choice to the admissions people. Whatever you choose to discuss in your essay, you want to have genuine feelings about it. Trying to write the “right thing” for the admissions board shows. Yale University’s admissions department has two steps for writing an essay as an entering freshman. The first is to write an essay on a topic you feel important. After finishing the essay, the next step, according to their Website, is to “write the essay you would have written if you were not trying so hard to say just the right thing to the Yale Admissions Committee.”

Not all universities ask for a second essay written in a relaxed, genuine tone. In those cases you have to do it the first time. Writing about any barriers you’ve overcome, a humorous situation or something that interests you is always good. But the number one topic to center your essay around is your life. Your personal experiences are really the only thing that distinguishes you from any other high school grad walking around. You may think your life has been pretty average, but don’t bet money on it. Once you start writing, you’ll find that sharing a few of your life events is the best proof of your passions and beliefs. Whatever you select as a subject, you want it to show the college something other than grades and activities. They got all that stuff off the little fill-in sheet.

Prep Time

Right off the bat, get started early on this puppy. That doesn’t mean wake up a couple of hours early on graduation day to do some jumping jacks and then sit down to write the essay. You need to get into having a college essay done early in your senior year. Don’t worry, you can still sleep... some.  Here are a couple of prep steps you can take to be in shape for writing your essay:

• Gather up some tools ­ We aren’t talking socket wrenches here. It’s an essay, meaning you’re going to be doing some writing, so get the things you need in order to write well. Make sure you have your thesaurus, dictionary, and grammar guide handy. It’s a simple step, but important, those little books, or Websites if you take the online route to getting your writing support, can be the difference between sounding like a smooth university applicant or an uncoordinated wannabe.
• Track down plenty of advice ­ The more sources the better. Chat with your high school counselor, your parents, and catch up with that year-older friend who got into a good university and talk about what they did. Also look at college advice sites like Princeton’s Review.com or the College Board Online and see what they have to say. Check the site for the school you’re applying for too, see if they have admissions tips.
• You’ll be amazed how much difference a day makes. Since we know you will be writing well in advance, you should write the essay and leave it alone for a day. Coming back to it with a recharged brain will help you catch mistakes and improve the flow of your masterpiece. After you’ve done this a few times, have a friend read over it.