Top 3 Things to Know about the “Why This College” Essay
So you’ve followed our advice and written a stellar college essay, and now you’ve gotten to the supplementals. The most popular prompt you’ll have to answer is: “Why do you want to attend our college?”
We feel compelled to start by making a point that’s often neglected: the supplemental essays are much more straightforward than the main college essay. If you’ve been reading our blog, you’ll know that there’s no formula for writing a great college essay; you need to do a lot of soul searching to come up with something to distinguish yourself, and eventually you’ll hit on a promising idea.
The “Why this College” essay is the opposite. It’s clear and straightforward, and we’re confident we can give you instructions on how to approach it. If you follow these three tips, you’ll be well on the way to writing a great response, regardless of where you want to go to college.
Don’t respond with generalities about the school
This is the most common mistake students make in writing the “Why did you choose our school” essay. They say that Princeton is one of the nation’s top-ranking schools, or that NYU will allow them to live in New York City, or that UCLA has great weather. An alternative framing is to say that when they first set foot on a certain campus, it “felt right” and they knew they had to attend.
Why is this a mistake? First, because most students do it, so you’ll sound just like everyone else. Second, because you’re not demonstrating that you’ve done any work in responding to the prompt - and the only conclusion they’ll draw from this is that you don’t really want to attend their school.
Instead, research the school online
If you do want to attend a certain school, you need to do the work and spend some time discovering what you like about it. If you can attend a campus visit, that’s great, but you absolutely don’t need to. You can find out everything you need to know by spending a few hours Googling the specific school and the major you’re interested in. You’ll be amazed at what you can find! Schools often provide intricate descriptions of their programs and course offerings, and you can sometimes track down sample syllabi for classes as well. They also list detailed information about student organizations and extracurricular activities. Do a broad sweep and note down everything that appeals to you. A bonus is that this can help you narrow down your college list by figuring out if you actually do want to go to a given school.
Then come up with a plan on how you’ll take advantage of the school’s offerings
It’s not enough simply to list what you like about the school in your “Why Us” essay. You need to demonstrate how you’ll take advantage of the school’s offerings if you’re admitted. So don’t tell the school what’s so great about them; instead, tell them how you plan to take advantage of their offerings. We often advise students to imagine they’ve been admitted and come up with their next steps on how they plan to approach the next four years. If they come up with a serious proposal, they’ll sound like they legitimately want to attend the school they’re applying to.
The main college essay requires you to look back on your past and think deeply about your experience; the “Why this college” essay requires you to do some independent research and explain why and how a certain school connects to your future. In our experience, students find the first one extremely challenging, and the second relatively easy - as long as they’re willing to put in the work.