College Application Essays
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Lesson Three: Essay Templates
Writing admissions
essays is not formulaic; the best essays will have the most personal detail and
passionate writing. However, if you are suffering from severe writer’s
block and need help piecing together an effective essay, we have provided
generic templates for the most common types of essays. If you stick strictly to
these templates, you will end up with pretty awful essays; they are solely
intended to jumpstart your writing in its earliest stages. Warning: If you rely heavily on these templates in
your final draft, you will write one of the worst admissions essays possible.
Use these templates only to get your own creative juices flowing.
Describe An
Influential Person The person
who has had the biggest influence in my life is _______. Because ______ was
__________ he/she taught me __________ but also much about __________. I have
been close to _______ ever since I was _____ years old and we ______. I feel a
debt of gratitude to ________ for always being there for me through
_________. __________
has always been my role model. I have long admired his/her success in ________,
_________, __________, and the way he/she ________. My goal in life is to be
just like him/her, to get the most I can out of life. Because of ______’s
strong influence, I find _________ fascinating. I am always impressed that
he/she started __________ at my age and rose to be ____________ in just a few
years. _______ has supported my interest in ________, and was very proud of me
when I __________. I also admire
__________’s devotion to ____________. This was ___________ and quickly
became _____________. This endeavor took up his/her life for ______________
until he/she _____________ in __________. Since then, ______________ has
_____________ in part because of ___________’s efforts. ____________’s accomplishments have meant _________to me.
__________ has been ___________ in my life, showing me that ___________ and
___________. I hope to inherit his/her virtues and _____________ in order to
make him/her proud.
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Discuss an Activity Outside of the
Classroom ________ has
been a crucial part of my life ever since ________. Back in _________ when I
started ___________ I never imagined that __________. _________ used to
encourage me/cheer me on/drive me back and forth as I practiced/continued to
__________. During this time I met ___________, learned ____________, and
became better at ______________. The best part
of ____________ is _________________ because ____________. Doing ____________
means __________. The __________ team/group/club/organization introduced me to
__________. For most of my peers in _______, the goal was ____________. But for
me, my main objective was ____________. I will never forget the time when I/we
__________. This team/organization gave me the opportunity to _________ and
learn ___________, which has benefited me in ___________. In addition
to the fun/competition/other, ___________ has confronted me with many
challenges. I am not naturally a good ___________. I am not ______, _________,
or _________. However, I discovered that in order to excel at ___________, I
needed to ________. As a result, I am known on my team/organization as
_________. Each day, I become stronger at ________ and _________. Whether I
continue _______ or not, I know that I have already built strong __________ and
skills in ___________. My experiences with ___________ have taught me lessons
that I can apply beyond ___________, and I will always have __________ for
years to come.
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Discuss an Issue of Importance During the
last __________ years, I have devoted a significant amount of time to
___________, an issue that is often _______________ because of ___________. In
my quest to ____________, I faced many obstacles of my own such as
______________. But after _____________, I realized that I could
_________________ and ______________. One reason
why this issue is so ________ is that ___________. Most people do not realize
that _____________. Moreover, those who find themselves ___________ do not have
________________. With ___________ and ____________ people who/a society that
is _____________ has little chance to ___________. In this
difficult ___________, I realized there were many _________________ who needed
my ______________. By _______________, I helped ___________ to _____________.
Finally, in ___________, I reached a turning point when I ____________ with
______________ at _____________. At this time, I had the opportunity to
_______________. I helped with _____________ and ___________. I realized that
in order to _______________, I had to _______________ and ______________. I
started by ____________ and ____________, which had the affect of _____________
and ________________. Since this
time in _____________, I/we have accomplished/managed to/seen ____________.
Many problems remain, such as ____________ and ______________. But with
____________ in mind, I know/our organization is prepared to/our society can
________________. My interest in __________ has taught me that I am __________,
that my group is ___________, and that society/our culture is _______________.
In the future, I would like to continue ____________ for the sake of
______________ and hope to incorporate ___________ into my time at
____________. Back to Top  Move on to
Lesson Four: Style and Tone 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. | 