How to Revise a College Essay
By the time you’ve made it to your junior or senior year, you’ve probably written and revised an essay or two — or a hundred. Maybe you’ve had a hard-to-please English teacher who wants more in-depth textual analysis, or a history teacher who never quite seems satisfied with the structure of your writing. But receiving and incorporating someone’s feedback on your work can feel very different when the subject matter is you. Revising a college essay is an art form all its own. We’ve got you covered.
The basics
You may be wondering about the basics. How many times should I revise my college essay? Who should I get to read my college essay? What does a good revision process look like? There are no hard and fast rules. If you’re like most students, writing application essays is something you’ve never done before, and it’s absolutely okay to ask for support. This is especially true when it comes to soliciting feedback on a draft. Just about every student can benefit from a reader or two who can look at their essay and offer specific comments, advice, and words of encouragement.
Getting feedback can feel hard
The ideal reader of your essay is someone who cares about your success and understands what makes a great college essay. This might be a guidance counselor, a teacher, friend, parent, college essay writing tutor, or some combination these. A fantastic reader will look at your essay and give you a sense of three things: what is working well, what could use some development/ clarification /editing, and how to move forward to make changes.
Even when someone offers well balanced and generous feedback, it can feel hard to hear that something you’ve written about yourself and your personal experience could benefit from changes. It’s wise to notice any frustration rather than to run from it. It’s also critical to remember that you can always disagree. Feedback should be a process of dialogue that helps you move forward, and with the right partner it can feel positive.
Incorporating feedback and listening for your own voice
Once you feel confident that an idea, suggestion, or piece of feedback you’ve received makes sense to you, you’ll need to ask a new question of yourself: how can I take this idea and bring it to the work I’ve already done. This might mean anything from changing the order or structure of your narrative to adding or deleting particular details to switching gears altogether to come back to something with more perspective later. Ideally, your college essay coach will guide you. Our single most important piece of advice is to be open to change. We would venture to say that no one’s first stab at a college essay is their best. This is a process that rewards flexibility and the willingness to put in effort.
You should expect to go through at least three and possibly many more versions of any college essay draft. Start early, look for a great college essay coach - whether that’s us or someone in your family or community - and keep at it. You’ll know you’ve reached your final version when you can hear your story loud and clear in your own voice, and those you trust can hear it, too.