How to Write an Uncommon Essay for the CommonApp

If you are a high school senior -- or the parent of one -- you may be well aware that the new CommonApp went live just a few days ago. And although the complete application package won't be due for months, August is the best time to get started on (or finish!) your personal essay. Without the hassle of homework, extracurriculars, and other "time sinks," you can use this relatively unstructured time for creative pondering and planning an outstanding profile.  

But where to start? Logistics first: Keep in mind, the main personal essay on the CommonApp has a limit of just 250-500 words, which may sound like good news. In reality, though, effective shorter essays can be more challenging to master than longer ones. Remember the famous words first penned by Blaise Pascal (and also used by Thomas Jefferson and Mark Twain), “I didn’t have time to write a short letter, so I wrote a long one instead.”

To write a lean, power-packed essay that says a lot about you in a short space, keep your eye squarely on the target. The basic essay topics haven’t changed:

• Evaluate a significant experience, achievement, risk you have taken, or ethical dilemma you have faced and its impact on 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 (as in art, music, science, etc.) that has had an influence on you, and explain that influence.
• A range of academic interests, personal perspectives, and life experiences adds much to the educational mix. Given your personal background, describe an experience that illustrates what you would bring to the diversity in a college community, or an encounter that demonstrated the importance of diversity to you.
• Topic of your choice.

As you mull these over, keep in mind a few key factors:

1. Make sure your choice of topic lets you keep the spotlight squarely focused on YOU. The topics relating to issues, or other people and characters, may sound appealing, but they make it easy to avoid writing about yourSELF, which is of course the main purpose here.

2. Remember that how you treat your topic is much more important than the topic itself. Many students squander valuable time and energy fretting about whether they should choose to write about, say, a summer experience versus an extracurricular activity versus a volunteer job, etc. Like a good photograph, what makes a good essay is not necessarily the particular subject matter: it's how it's framed. Consider all the great photos of sailboats and sunsets, flowers and fauna. What makes each one compelling is its clarity, composition, balance, vibrant colors, contrasts, etc. In other words, when it comes to your personal essay, it’s not so much WHAT you say as HOW you say it. If you have to write a few different drafts and see which one stands out, so bet it. Yes, it’s a little more work, but hey, you can still do this while you're sitting on the beach of lounging by the pool. Take the time to make it POP.

3. You would be well-advised to “retro-engineer” your topic from the take-away message you want to leave the admissions committee. Figure out what it is about yourself you want to communicate to committee members first, and then think about a story, or personal anecdote, that embodies that message. Too many times, students leap to a “great story” from their personal histories, only to find out after it’s written that it doesn’t communicate their most salient and attractive qualities. Admission committee members tend to like essays that reveal genuine intellectual curiosity, genuine passion for an activity, and leadership and initiative (see, for example, Behind The Scenes: How Do You Get Into Amherst?).

4. You may want to listen to CollegePrepExpress' archived "Prep Talk" BlogTalk Radio show about Conquering the College Essay. 

For personal attention with your main essay and all the other elements involved in application packaging, including the rest of the CommonApp, interview preparation, lettters of recommendation, and maximizing your chances of getting in, email me, DrYo@CollegePrepExpress.com or call CollegePrepExpress (860) 519-1000 this summer to get it done before school starts in the fall!