Sample College Application Essays

Sample College Application Essays Later, as a private college essay consultant, I worked with students and parents at some top private schools before I became an admissions counselor for a small liberal arts college. The coronavirus has upended the lives of many students, so it's natural that some high school juniors plan to write about this topic in their college essays. Although that's not necessarily a terrible idea, keep in mind that this could be a common topic, so you'll have to make your essay unique for it to stand out to admission officers. Maybe he’ll advise students on their college essays, grow rich, and support me in my dotage. Every year dozens of College Essay Mentor students are accepted to elite schools, including the Ivy League, Stanford, and MIT. This year's early admissions include Harvard, Yale, Princeton and Stanford, as well as UChicago and CalTech. But it's also a unique opportunity that can make a difference at decision time. Admissions committees put the most weight on your high school grades and your test scores . However, selective colleges receive applications from many worthy students with similar scores and gradesâ€"too many to admit. So they use your essay, along with your letters of recommendation and extracurricular activities , to find out what sets you apart from the other talented candidates. The essay is supposed to be reflective of the STUDENT, not the parent, and admissions reps are hoping to get a better picture of the applicant’s individuality and unique attributes. I attribute most of my students' success to their academic prowess and non-academic endeavors. My contribution is understanding the college context and showing students how to write essays that will engage and intrigue admissions officers. While it’s important to put considerable effort into all college application components, essays are often the finishing touch and should be treated with great care and consideration. There is no definitive answer to disclosing your disability in your college essay. The goal of the essay is to provide admission professionals an opportunity to see you, beyond your GPA and test scores, as an individual person with your own unique experiences. We have found that students write better college essays in less time with feedback and editing from someone who is experienced in offering guidance. The personal statement might just be the hardest part of your college application. Mostly this is because it has the least guidance and is the most open-ended. This is a personal decision for you to make on your own. It might help the admissions team to understand you holistically or explain a gap in performance. You may decide that it will not benefit you in anyway to disclose before you are accepted to the university or college. It is a personal decision that will depend on your own disability and how it has affected your life. There is no requirement to disclose your disability anywhere in the college application. In fact, usually the essay is the only way you would be able to disclose your disability. My niece is working on hers and that got me thinking about the college essay I wrote 33 years ago. Writing an essay is something students learn to do in school from a fairly young age, but it is a skill that must be perfected over a number of years. The college application essay is the true test of those skills and of your ability to present an accurate picture of who you are. According to an article published on Time.com, college application essays aren’t as important as they are cracked up to be. As a former high school teacher, I have worked with hundreds of students on their college essays. That intimidating college application essay is becoming increasingly important for transfer students. The college to which you are applying wants to evaluate your preparedness for that major and your committment to completing your bachelor's degree in a timely fashion. George did more than 30 drafts, spending a summer writing whenever he wasn’t working at his job or hiking outdoors. It was one of the hardest things he’d ever done, and it made him miserable. With any luck, he’ll avoid following in his dad’s footsteps (I’m a writer) and go on to earn an honest living. One way to understand what colleges are looking for when they ask you to write an essay is to check out the essays of students who already got inâ€"college essays that actually worked. After all, they must be among the most successful of this weird literary genre. It may sound like a chore, and it will certainly take a substantial amount of work. You should discuss the pros and cons of disclosing your disability with your family, friends, and school counselors to decide the right decision for you. Nearly all colleges and universities require students to write an essay to supplement their application to attend the institution. Applicants are usually given an essay prompt and a word limit within which to express themselves. The essays usually cover topics relating to the student’s experiences and opinions.