Five Dos and Don’ts of College Essays
Every year we read hundreds of college admissions essays, and we often feel like a broken record in our sessions. That’s because most of our students make the same mistakes when they write their college essays, and our goal is to set them in the right direction. So to save a bit of time, here are the five dos and don’ts of writing college essays.
1. DON’T: Leave it to the last minute
It’s amazing how many students wait until a few days before the deadline before they start working on their essays. As we often say: you’ve spent four years working on your GPA and boosting your extracurriculars list, and many months preparing for your SAT or ACT. What makes you think you can spend only a few days on your college essay?
DO: Think before you write
The hardest part of the college essay isn’t the actual writing; it’s coming up with a compelling idea in the first place. And the only way to do this is to spend time brainstorming what you’re going to write about. When you do start working on your college essay (hint: do it early!), you don’t want to get out your computer and start typing immediately. Instead, take a deep breath, go for a walk, and reflect about what you’ve learned in your life so far.
2. DON’T: Read sample essays
This is such a common mistake that we’ve written a whole post about it: you can read it here. But to make a long story short, the whole point of a personal essay is to write something unique about yourself. If you start reading sample college essays online, not only will you get stressed, but you’ll inevitably copy what other people have said - and then you’ll end up sounding just like everybody else.
DO: Talk to someone you trust about your experience
Instead of reading what other people have written, spend time talking to someone you trust about what you want to write. This can be anyone you like, but it should be someone you trust: a friend, a parent, a teacher, or a college essay coach. The important thing is to sit with someone who you feel understands you as you embark on this unusual exercise of reflecting on yourself.
3. DON’T: Just talk about your resume or extracurriculars
This is a common mistake we’ve noticed a lot of high-performing students make. They essentially summarize all of the activities they’ve done in high school in their essay. But admissions instructors reading your file already know about all that. Instead of wasting their time by writing about it again, use the essay as an opportunity to talk about something else.
DO: Read the prompt and answer the question
We’re amazed at how many students come to us with full drafts of essays without even reading the Common App prompts. We know you’re not obliged to follow a prompt for a college essay, but for the vast majority of students, we don’t recommend winging it. Whatever you do, do read the Common App prompts, because they give a good sense of what readers are looking for. Pick one of the six questions and then do your absolute best to answer it as clearly as possible.
4. DON’T: Say what you think they want you to say
Students often assume they know what admissions officers want to hear, and they put it in their essay. The classic example is when students say, “I underwent a challenge and it was really hard - but I’m glad it happened because it made me a stronger person.” When students do this, they’re essentially reducing their life to a cliche - and that’s exactly what you want to avoid in a college essay.
DO: Be authentic about your experience
The only way to say something not cliche is to draw on what has happened to you. So you need to be honest about specific experiences you had, and you need to discuss the lessons you drew from these experiences. If you trust that your experience is enough – and you then describe exactly what made it so important to you – you’ll write a compelling college essay.
5. DON’T: Underestimate the essay
The essay is the most underestimated part of the college application. As we said at the beginning of this post, students often assume they can write it in a matter of days, and that’s a big mistake. After all, the essay is essentially graded by admissions officers. You may not see your grade like you do when you take the SAT, but admissions officers are writing numbers down every time they read an essay.
DO: Revise, revise, revise
When you’ve done the hard work of coming up with your college essay topic and writing your first draft, you still need to revise your essay multiple times. Revising is extremely important, and you can read our post about it here. You’ll find that the more you revise your essay, the better it gets, until a point comes when you have nothing left to change. And don’t forget: all these steps, from conceiving of an idea to revising your draft, can benefit from the support of a college essay tutor, so if you need the extra help, please get in touch!