Summer essay writing
If you'll be a high school senior planning to apply to colleges in the fall, I'd like to suggest a task to work on this summer. If you either don't know yet where you'll be applying or plan to apply to at least one school that uses the Common App, the summer before senior year of high school is the ideal time to write your Common App personal statement. Here are my thoughts:
1. Read the prompts posted on College Board's website, but you don't need to obsess over them. The prompts are written in such a way that you can write about almost anything and it will most likely fit one of the prompts. College Essay Guy's website has "100 brave and interesting questions" that can help spark you.
2. Tell a story. Vivid details and experiences will make your essay come alive much more than general statements of what you learned, or what you achieved. Good storytelling will enable you to find these specifics.
3. Make sure that your essay allows admissions committees to learn something about you. While it can be a humble gesture to write about your admiration for someone else, it doesn't really allow the admissions committee to learn very much about your personality or your character. This is one time when it really is okay to talk about yourself. Rather than bragging about your accomplishments, I recommend allowing the essay to reveal your character, values, and personality.
4. Use the space you have. The Common App personal statement is capped at 650 words. Use them! The essay prompt says to write between 250 and 650 words, but a 250-word essay is going to feel pretty skeletal to most readers.
5. Get feedback. Many applicants are reluctant to let anyone else see their essay. This is a mistake. Find someone you know and trust who can give you specific feedback and offer suggestions for revision.
If you'd like help figuring out what you want to write about, how to get started, how to draft your essay, and how to polish it for submission, use the contact form on my website to reach out. I thoroughly enjoy working with students on their college essays during the summer!
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