Writing Your College Essays This Summer?
Are you a rising senior and thinking about applying to colleges soon? One of the things you have to tackle when applying for colleges is writing an essay.
These essays are not your typical essays that you would write in your English class. They may hold more weight because of its significance in college applications, but there’s actually a lot more freedom that you can have when writing a college essay.
Don’t let the pressure deter you from letting your voice shine through your essay. Here are a few tips you can follow!
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Start early
One of the best things you could do when thinking about writing your college essay, is just to start early and start writing.
Before the year starts and get even busier with your other college applications and tests (like SATs, APs, or ACTs and TOEFL), it’s best to get a head start.
Have people edit & revise
Ready a list of people that you can ask to look over your essay. It may be scary to ask someone to edit your work, but if you want your essay to be the best it can be, then it won’t hurt to have someone look it over.
Tip: ask your english teachers. They would love to help you during your college application process.
Don’t worry about the word limit (just yet)
Although there is a word limit that you must adhere to, when you’re still drafting your essay, don’t worry about it just yet. It’s an easy fix that you can do later. When you’re still in the drafting stage, just focus on getting your thoughts on paper.
Forget about essay structures
Your college essay will most likely not follow a 5-paragraph structure. This is your chance to get creative and forget a little bit about the essay structures you’ve learned.
Get creative. Show, don’t tell!
Get specific and don’t be vague. Remember, it’s not an academic essay. Tell a story of your growth (or whatever the prompt asks of you) reflect on those experiences.
Don’t be afraid to get personal and get creative
Unlike an essay you would normally write for class, it’s okay to get personal and get creative. The point of a college essay is for the college you’re applying to to get to know the person that you are. They want to know, behind the grades and the GPA, who is this person?
Tip: talk about your values and achievements, but also don’t be shy about sharing your mistakes and failures. Why share about your mistakes? Because it’s a great way to talk about what you’ve learned and how you’ve grown. Allow the person reading your essay to truly get to know you from what you’ve written.
