Pointers for Writing:College Application Essays

Purpose of the Application Essay

The information in the college application essay should add clarity, richness, and meaning to the information students provide elsewhere in the application forms.

An application is not considered complete without a Personal Statement (UC) or response to a Common Application Prompt (specific private colleges).

Purpose of the Essay cont.

Admissions officers are looking for personal characteristics such as creativity; intellectual curiosity and achievement; unusual talent or ability; initiative; motivation; leadership; service to others; special potential; persistence; substantial experience with other cultures; ability to overcome or manage significant challenges.

Use of the College Application Essay in the Comprehensive Review Process

The college essay is one component of the application. An admissions decision will never be based on the content of a personal statement or prompt response alone.

Additional Advice

Topics to emphasize and/or encourage . . .

personal triumphs or challenges

leadership opportunities

outside-the-classroom experiences (travel, youth groups, work, community service, etc.)

coping with a genuine disability

experiences which have deepened or extended a student’s cultural identity

General Guidelines Applicants should follow the word-count

guidelines closely to stay within the strict word limits. The “wiggle room” which was permitted in previous years no longer exists. Encourage concision whenever possible (e.g., active verbs rather than adjectives).

Students should proofread their personal statements very carefully for spelling and grammatical errors. Although admissions officers do not evaluate specifically for grammar or style, a poorly written personal statement is not an effective one.

Make the Essay Come AliveStudents should . . . stay focused and stick to one topic per

response. give concrete examples to support their

assertions. use “I” statements; this is a personal essay. demonstrate sentence variety throughout the

composition in order to develop momentum and promote reader engagement.

Pitfalls to Avoid

Students should not . . . rely upon quotations fall back on generalities make lists of accomplishments or

activities raise questions without answers repeat themselves (within one prompt

or across prompts)

Electronic Submissions

Today, virtually all students submit their applications on line, and they will find separate entry boxes for each question. A word counter helps applicants track the length of their responses. Still, essay coaches should encourage students to first draft their responses in a word processing program and save subsequent changes to disk. The UC site times out students; thus, changes in essays can be lost. Time limits may also apply to private college sites.

UC ApplicationPrompt #1:

Describe the world you come from — for example, your family, community or school — and tell us how your world has shaped your dreams and aspirations.

UC ApplicationPrompt #2

Tell us about a personal quality, talent, accomplishment, contribution or experience that is important to you. What about this quality or accomplishment makes you proud and how does it relate to the person you are?

Common Application Prompts

Evaluate a significant experience, achievement, risk you have taken, or ethical dilemma you have faced and its impact upon you.

Discuss some issue of personal, local, national, or international concern, and its importance to you.

Indicate a person who has had a significant influence on you, and describe that influence.

Describe a character in fiction, a historical figure, or a creative work that has had an influence on you, and explain the influence.

A range of academic interests, personal perspectives, and life experiences add much to the educational mix. Given your personal background, describe an experience that illustrates what you would bring to the diversity of a college community, or an encounter that demonstrated the importance of diversity to you.

Topic of your choice.

New This Year (2011-2012)for Common Applications: Word Limit: 500 words

This is a large decrease from the 1,500 word limit in past years.

For UC applications, the total word count is 1,000 words. A good rule of thumb is approximately a 300/700 split between the two prompts