The new school year is coming up quick and while some students are excited, others not so much. Uprising high school seniors are excited, but will soon be applying to colleges. Finances, budgeting, and making important choices regarding a school can be very stressful, especially if students don’t have family members that went to college. Not having guidance during this process can easily make or break a student.
One of the things that plagues students the most is having to write the dreaded essay on their own views, or personal experiences. In my high school career, writing an essay was very common among my AP courses but to many students writing an essay on the knowledge they already have is stressful, and after years of writing essays on historical figures and important events, most students are stunned when asked to open up and be themselves.
The most essay prompts for application essays are:
- What hardships have you experienced, and how did it changed you as a person?
- What qualities do you have that will benefit the campus of … ?
- How can you benefit those around you in a new environment?
These 5 tips were the most beneficial for me and others that have had troubles with writing their essays. I hope that my examples and tips can help put you at ease.
1: You can excel at anything that might be thrown at you as long as you are positive.
The fact is, most 17 to 19-year-olds, probably don’t have a clue what they want to do, and if they have a general idea there is a pretty good possibility that they will change their mind sometime in the future. I would encourage every high school senior to take some time and find something they truly love. It could be traveling, volunteering, musical theater, family, or anything that they can have fun with. This will help them find something to write about, which can anchor the essay, and will also help the student finds friends down the road by getting involved in college activities.
For example, my passion is history . One of my college essays asked about my leadership qualities. I was able to bring in my knowledge of important historical figures, and politics , which showed passion, knowledge, and integrity to myself.
"When asked to about his difficulties in creating the lightbulb, Thomas Edison said" I never failed, I simply found 10,000 ways not to make a lightbulb," Like Edison, I have a passion for what I do, and an ability to piece together a forward-looking, and positive team.."
2: Be yourself.
Though it’s a very tried statement, it couldn't be truer. Those that are reading these college applications have read such similar essays because students write what they think will get them in. The truth is, they want someone different. Use your own quirks to your advantage. They say that all the flaws you hate will one day be all the things someone loves about you. Let your reader in, and they might just do the same for you.
Maybe you're a vegan and organized a movement to save the whales, maybe you were the only one in your school that could hit a high B when singing, or maybe you conducted a science fair experiment that taught you a valuable lesson, dig deep down and find something that is actually good, rather than something that you think seems good.
3: Ask around.
When writing my essays, I asked more than enough people what they thought about me. I work at a McDonalds, so I would ask our usual customers how they would describe me, and I went around and asked random students at school if there were any valuable qualities I had that they enjoyed. Use those around you that just barely know you, while they won't know your personal enjoyments, they will have valuable entail to offer you, and maybe you'll completely disagree with what they say, and that’s okay, knowing what others think can help you realize who you truly are and this will make it much easier to write about yourself.
4: Beauty is in the eye of the beholder.
While readers shouldn't be biased, they're only human. We already discussed being different, but just think about the values you hold and the reputation you want in a more professional setting.
If you are applying to a Christian college, uphold Christian values .
Originality is great but do not degrade yourself to make your essay different. I would not advise you to write about the one time you tried a cigarette or went to a party you shouldn’t have unless you can pull a very good life lesson out of It, and how you changed as a person.
For example, I knew a girl who wrote about sneaking into a club at 14 and got her drink spiked and ended up being admitted to the hospital because of it. She learned from this experience as a whole and became a better person because of it. This was incredible because it made her seem real, and gave insight to a serious issue in many of today's teenagers and now she is an advocate for anti-drug campaigns.
Like I said, be as original as possible, but don’t hurt your image in the eyes of your reader.
5: Work on a team.
In my case, I had participated in pageants, been a member of the Yearbook staff, TV Production AP study groups, and employed. I was used to working in teams, how to be organized and how to emerge as a leader. Colleges want to see that you are willing to take action, let them know how you work with others. If you are not the kind of person to work in groups, find an opportunity and take it, not only with this help you in your essay, it will help you down the road when trying to find a job or internship.
When writing your essay, think about a cousin, sister, brother, or best friend. Think about what you would want to hear from them. Ask your friends about their own submissions and ask as many teachers to proofread your essay as possible. If your school offers Ap classes and you do not take them, I would definitely recommend that you talk to them about your essay as well. They will be busy so you want to talk to them as soon as you can, but because they are preparing their students for a test based off essays at college level, they will know a thing or to as to what the College Board is looking for.
Good Luck, and remember as long as you're you, then there is nothing you can't do!
