College Application Essays
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Lesson One: College Essay Question
Please select from the
following common application essay question topics:
Evaluate a significant experience, achievement, or risk that you have taken and
its impact on you. EssayEdge says: This question is actually a combination of two
common questions: Describe a significant achievement and describe a time when
you grew as a person. Accomplishment questions show the admissions committee what you
value, what makes you proud and what you are capable of accomplishing. A common
mistake in answering this question is repeating information that can be found
elsewhere in the application. You should not try to squeeze every achievement
on your resume into the essay. If you do choose to write about an
accomplishment that the committee can read about somewhere else on your
application, be sure to bring that experience alive by demonstrating what it
took to get there and how it affected you personally. Do not be afraid to show
them that you feel proud. This is not the place for modesty. However do not
fall to the other extreme either-you can toot your own horn, but do it without
being snotty. You will not have to worry about either extreme if you spend the
bulk of your essay simply telling the story. If you feel like you have not done anything worth focusing on,
then remind yourself that the best essays are often about modest
accomplishments. It does not matter what you have accomplished as long as it
was personally meaningful and you can make it come alive. Unless specified, the
accomplishment can be professional, personal, or academic. Did you get a
compliment from a notoriously tough boss? Did you lose the race but beat your
own best time? Did you work around the clock to bring your C in physics up to
an A. Do not think about what they want to hear-think about what has really
made you proud. For the second part of the question, they are asking you to open
up about who you really are. Although you do want to show that you have
matured, do not overplay what a terrible person you once were just to make the
point of what a great person you are now. No one changes that much. Besides,
the “before” portrait might be the one that sticks in the admissions
officer’s head. Also, focus on your current personality rather than on the
“old you” or on every last detail of the event. The reader wants to
know what you are like now, not what you were like a long time ago. Finally,
describe real events and scenarios to prove that your growth resulted from the
decisions you made and actions you took. Significant events and people can
serve as inspiration. Real change, though, always results from the work,
effort, and initiative you have put into yourself. Take some credit. For examples of and short
critiques for the Influential Achievement Essay, click here. Back to Top
Discuss some issue of personal, local, national or
international concern and its importance to you. EssayEdge says: This question is among the hardest to answer.
Even here you need to stay personal. If a cause is important to you or you have
a strong opinion about it, relate it back to your life. What about you, your
experiences, or your upbringing has made this issue resonate for you? Why do
you care? Does the issue affect you personally in any way? Be sure to write
about both sides of the issues to show that you can think objectively and
logically. Showing that you are passionate is great; showing that you are
one-sided or bull-headed is not. Finally, be sure to refrain from making
sweeping generalizations about issues that would be out of your range of
experience. For examples of and short critiques
for the Social/Political Concern Essay, click here. Back to Top
Indicate a
person, character in fiction, an historical figure, or a creative work (as in
art, music, etc.) who has had a significant influence on you, and describe that
influence. EssayEdge says: This type of question attempts to learn more
about you through the forces that have shaped you. Many students make the
mistake of believing that this is an essay about a person. They go on at
length, describing the influential person in detail without making a connection
between it and themselves. The school doesn’t care about your uncle, or
some fictional heroine. They care about you. What about that person made an
impression on you and how. What action did you take to turn this impression
into personal development and change? Colleges learn a lot about your values and standards through
your description of your mentors. It is like getting to know a person by the
people he chooses to hang out with. If you are skeptical, consider the
different impression you would have of the candidate who admires a dynamic,
colorful athlete compared to someone who looks up to an accomplished but
soft-spoken academic. Neither is better nor worse-just different. There are no wrong answers here. Far more important than whom
you choose, though, is how you portray that person. In other words, do not
choose someone because you think it will impress the committee. Name-dropping
is not only very obvious, it is very ineffective. Heed this one word of
caution, though. Applicants very commonly pick one of their parents. Describing
your father gives you the advantage of knowing your subject well, however, it
also means doing some extra work to make your essay stand out from the
crowd. For
examples of and short critiques for the Influential Person Essay, click
here. Back to Top
Why do
you want to spend two to six years of your life at a particular college,
graduate school, or professional school? How is the degree necessary to the
fulfillment of your goals? EssayEdge says: Knowing the schools to which you apply is an
essential step in answering any essay, but questions such as these ask you to
write about them directly. In answering these questions, mention specific
factors that tie in with your area of interest. Doing this will help you to
avoid the insincere, ingratiating tone that is a danger in this type of essay.
Each point will be honest and well supported, thereby lending credibility to
the essay and, in turn, to you. Another challenge is finding a balanced yet truthful tone. Do
not be cocky or self-effacing. Show a solid, well-researched knowledge of the
school. Be honest and be thorough. For examples of
and short critiques for the Future Goals Essay, click here. Back to Top
 Move on to
Lesson Two: Brainstorming a Topic From ESSAYS THAT WILL GET
YOU INTO COLLEGE, by Amy Burnham, Daniel Kaufman, and Chris Dowhan. Copyright
1998 by Dan Kaufman. Reprinted by arrangement with Barron's Educational Series,
Inc. | 