3 Tips For Writing College Essays In The Age Of Covid

3 Tips For Writing College Essays In The Age Of Covid Work with your students to help them with this important piece of their application. A good college essay is one that stays with the reader after he or she finishes reading it, maybe even thinking about it later that day, or the next day. When possible, select a topic that engages you and is one you are interested in addressing. It is important that your voice comes through and that the reader feels he or she has had an opportunity to experience a more personal facet of your character and your unique perspective. For a small college, there is a chance that you essay will only be read by a couple of individuals, but for a larger school it can make its way through several hands before being put down. While essays don’t weigh as much as grades or course selection, if you are applying test-optional or to a smaller school, more attention will be given to this section of the application. I cannot make that claim, but I do believe that most of them are read. In smaller to mid size colleges they are certainly read, at least by two readers, and all Honors College essays are read. Avoid cliches at all cost and never write what you think someone wants to hear. When you are finished with the essay, read it out loud and carefully listen to the content, grammar, and pay attention to spelling or word glitches. A great college essay gives the reader a glimpse of the person behind the page. When you can show the reader a slice of your genuine self â€" you are on your way to a great college essay. The uniqueness of an essay stems not from some external experience, but your internal responses. A great college essay combines creativity, excellent writing, and honesty. It’s important that your essay be a solid reflection of you as a person and as a student, and that you follow the guidelines provided in terms of topic and word-count. The personal statement is your best chance to show off your writing, so take the time to craft a piece you're really proud of. However, some schools do ask you to respond to multiple prompts or to provide supplemental essays in addition to a primary personal statement. Some campuses have a pool of reviewers, while others are more specific. A great college essay is one that makes your reader want to get to know you better, to engage in a conversation with you. It is an essay that makes your reader laugh or cry or think. The best college essays deal with specific examples from the writer’s life. Some colleges will choose only to look at your GPA, Course Rigor and SAT/ACT scores. If you GPA and Test Scores are high enough, they may not feel that and essay is necessary. This is a tough question to answer as there is no way to know for sure. At a smaller school, it is more likely that the admissions officers will have the time to look at each essay, whereas at huge universities it would seem less likely. In terms of how many officers read each essay, that also varies from school to school. They are not general or abstract, the more details the better. The best essays are 20% about the “topic” (the “what”) and 80% about the writer. It is well-written with college bound vocabulary and style, but easy to read and somewhat unassuming. Lots of counselors tell students to “tell a story only you can tell,” and I definitely agree with that. But sometimes students misinterpret this to mean â€" “tell me about a totally unique experience” â€" and they get totally stressed out because they don’t feel that they have any unique experiences. Telling a story “only you can tell” means that you tell the reader a story from your perspective. So you don’t need to have great exotic vacations or heartbreaking stories of community service in some far off land â€" you just need to reveal your point of view about a topic. You can be certain that you did not spend all that time crafting the perfect essay in vain. How much weight a college puts on that portion of the application may differ. Just how many readers digest your words can vary as well. Still, don’t waste the opportunity to put another dimension on your application file. Usually one to two admissions officers read an essay. Some read regionally which means that one officer reads all the applications from all the high schools in a certain geographic region. Often they are read in committee where several officers might look at one essay. If you want to know how you will be assessed at any given school, you should feel free to ask the admissions office. Your students’ college essay is their opportunity to reveal their best qualities and to show an admission committee what makes them stand out from other applicants.