Personal Statements

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Making Sure Your Essay Matters

Making Sure Your Essay Matters

Essay Hell’s Writing Survival Kit

Over the past couple weeks I’ve talked about tips for writing your college essay for each of the Common Application prompts. If you haven’t seen the posts, here they are:

How To Write Your Essay For Common Application Prompt #1

How To Write Your Essay For Common Application Prompt #2

How To Write Your Essay For Common Application Prompt #3

How To Write Your Essay For Common Application Prompt #4

How To Write Your Essay For Common Application Prompt #5

And while these tips can help anyone get started, writing the college essay is a tough gig. Students have to identify that one moment they feel says something of significance about them knowing that at least part of the decision being made on whether or not they are being admitted is riding on what they have to say and how they say it. To stand out in a crowded field of competitive applicants they often think that their topic has to be so over the top and out of this world but, as I tell my students all the time, what they really need to do is find a creative way to talk about everyday experiences that say something about their personality, character, drive, motivation, etc.

Let’s be honest here. It’s just not an easy thing to do.

And that’s why I’m relying on someone I both trust and respect to shed some additional light on how to make your college essay matter. Janine Robinson is the creator of one of my favorite websites, Essay Hell. She’s a journalist and English teacher who just gets it when it comes to writing college essays. Her philosophy is to treat the essay like a personal statement, keeping it specific, personal and conversational.

In the introduction to her new writing guide, Essay Hell’s Writing Survival Kit, she says the following:

“The best personal statements use what are called “slice-of-life” essays, which explore and share one part of a student’s life experience rather than trying to cover everything. The writing style is called “narrative” because it uses real-life stories to illuminate the writer’s personality, talents, skills, experience and character. The structure is less formal, the tone is lighter and the voice is familiar.”

And I couldn’t agree more. I tell my students all the time that the best approach they can take with their essay is to find a quality about themselves that can be showcased through a story. Not just any story, but rather a personal one that is enlightening and truly speaks to who they are as individuals.

Don’t just say you’re a problem-solver, use a specific example to show how you solved a problem.

Don’t just say you’re a caring person, show how you have gone out of your way to put others first.

From there, they need to be able to explain to the reader why this story and why this quality about them matters. This requires some reflection and analysis and can take some time to flesh out. But the result, a demonstration of deeper, more complex thinking, is what colleges are after.

If you’re struggling to get your essay off the ground, I highly recommend you check out Janine’s website, Essay Hell. She shares some great tips and advice and I promise the time you spend will be well worth it.

If you would like some assistance with your college search, contact me today for a free 60-minute consultation.

Here’s what other families like yours are saying about how Dobler College Consulting made a difference for them.

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Eric Aug 03, 2015 , , , , , , , , , No Comments
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How To Make Your College Essay Matter

College essays southington ct college consultantNow that summer is here, I have all of my students working on their essays. We start now so that they don’t have to try to work through what is one of the more difficult writing assignments during the beginning of their senior year. In fact, if done right, they should all be done with their essays by mid-August.

Of course, it’s rarely easy to do it right and it does require some time and thought.

If you’re struggling with how to get your essay started, here’s a few things to consider:

1. Your essay is a personal statement, not an academic paper.

Don’t try to impress the reader with an over-the-top vocabulary. Savvy admission counselors who read hundreds of essays each year know what teenagers’ voices sound like. Yes, it’s okay to spruce up your language a bit, but don’t go into a PhD dissertation-worthy dialogue. It will come across as phony and that’s the last thing you want.

2. A strong essay will show how you connected to something and what you learned from it.

And sometimes these moments can be rather ordinary. One of the best essays I read last year was about scooping ice-cream and dealing with a temperamental soft-serve ice-cream machine and how it taught this student about working hard, discovering new ways to do things differently and the value of teamwork. The student was accepted early-decision to Brown and her essay was deemed to be rather heavenly.

3. Seek help.

If you’re stuck and just can’t come up with any ideas that get you excited, ask your friends or parents how they would describe you to someone. What adjectives would they use? What would they say about you? How would they characterize you and your best attributes or traits? Sometimes other people see things in us that we don’t see ourselves and it is these ideas that can open up your perspective on what to write about.

4. Don’t be afraid of talking about a failure.

Sometimes, we learn the greatest life lessons after having failed at something. Remember, it’s about how you learned from the failure, not the failure itself (see #2 again if this point does not sink in) that matters.

Ultimately, you want your essay to compliment the rest of your application and show that you are more than just a combination of grades and test scores. You want an admission counselor to learn something about you that they haven’t learned elsewhere when reviewing your transcript, test scores and activities. You want them to put down your essay and say, “I really like this kid. There’s a lot here and he or she would be an awesome addition to our college.”

So put in the time and effort to make sure that happens.

If you would like some assistance with your college search or financial aid process, contact me today for a free 60-minute consultation.

Here’s what other families like yours are saying about how Dobler College Consulting made a difference for them.

 

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Eric Jun 23, 2014 , , , , , , No Comments

College Counseling Tip Of The Day – Your college essay needs to shine

Your essay is your chance to put YOU into the admissions equation, to get beyond the numbers and demonstrate who you really are as a person. Be willing to devote the time and effort that is necessary so that your essay makes a difference in your applications. Summer between junior and senior year should be all about your essay.

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Eric Jan 24, 2014 , , , , , , No Comments
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How To Write Your Essay For Common App Prompts #1 And #2

Dobler College ConsultingLast week I introduced you to the new Common App essay prompts. If you missed the post, here it is.

At the end of the post, I said I would share some tips on how to approach each of the prompts. Without further ado, let’s talk about prompts #1 and #2 and in my next post we’ll talk about prompts #3, #4 and #5.

Prompt #1: Some students have a background or story that is so central to their identity that they believe their application would be incomplete without it. If this sounds like you, then please share your story.

This is what I call a “big-picture” prompt because it’s about you and your identity.  It’s a topic that you can completely whiff on if you don’t pay attention to the keywords. First, whatever background or story you are going to share has to be CENTRAL TO YOUR IDENTITY. This means the story needs to be something big, something that has shaped you as a person, something that sits at the very core of who you are.

The second set of keywords, YOUR APPLICATION WOULD BE INCOMPLETE WITHOUT IT, is just as important. This means that, without telling this story, colleges aren’t going to understand the full picture of who you are and why they should admit you.

So, write down the prompt and then start making notes on everything that makes you who you are. What are your VIPS and how did they come to be that way? Has anything happened in your life – again, big-picture ideas here only – that an admission counselor should take into consideration? Remember, you’re trying to let them in on something about you that will help them say “Yes!” to your application.

Prompt #2: Recount an incident or time when you experienced failure. How did it affect you, and what lessons did you learn?

This prompt is all about making lemonade out of lemons.  So let’s keep keywords in mind here as well. First, AN INCIDENT OR TIME WHEN YOU EXPERIENCED FAILURE. Here, you’re being asked to talk about a time that you took a risk or tried something and failed at it. However, it’s the second set of keywords HOW DID IT AFFECT YOU and WHAT LESSONS DID YOU LEARN that form the foundation of what you are going to try to do with this prompt.

Because what you’re not going to do is go on and on about the failure itself. In fact, you should briefly introduce the failure and then spend the bulk of your essay talking about how it affected you and what you learned from it.

I like this topic because who hasn’t failed at something in their lives?

Just don’t dwell on the failure itself. Instead, focus on how something positive came out of it. Again, you’re asking an admission counselor to say “Yes!” to your application and an essay that is focused on a negative outcome isn’t necessarily going to help your cause.

Next week I’ll talk about essay prompts #3, #4 and #5. Stay tuned…

Want some help navigating the college admissions journey? Give me a call now at 203.525.4096 or email me at eric@doblercollegeconsulting.com to schedule a FREE 60-minute consultation to discuss your college counseling needs.

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Eric Jul 21, 2013 , , , , , No Comments
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The New Common App Essay Prompts

Dobler College ConsultingIn case you haven’t heard already, the Common App has revamped their essay prompts. Gone are the six prompts that have been around forever and, in their place, are five new ones. Moving forward, the prompts will be rotated and changed so that each year, there will be new options.

First, let me introduce you to the new prompts. Then I’ll tell you why I don’t think they’re anything you should be stressing over:

Topic #1: Some students have a background or story that is so central to their identity that they believe their application would be incomplete without it. If this sounds like you, then please share your story.

Topic #2: Recount an incident or time when you experienced failure. How did it affect you, and what lessons did you learn?

Topic #3: Reflect on a time when you challenged a belief or idea. What prompted you to act? Would you make the same decision again?

Topic #4: Describe a place or environment where you are perfectly content. What do you do or experience there, and why is it meaningful to you?

Topic #5: Discuss an accomplishment or event, formal or informal, that marked your transition from childhood to adulthood within your culture, community, or family.

As you read through these prompts, you can see that each one asks for a specific moment, situation, place, event or story that reveals something important about the applicant. Please note the emphasis on the word, “important.”

I didn’t say incredible. I didn’t say amazing. And I definitely didn’t say Earth-shattering.

Because let’s be honest – at 16 and 17 years old, very few people have had incredible, amazing and Earth-shattering experiences in their lives. So take the pressure off yourself to write something that has never been written before. Instead, focus on a story you can tell that helps an admission counselor learn something new about you.

And while you may not be able to come up with something for each essay prompt, I’m sure you can come up with a story that relates to at least one of them.

So, take a deep breath, relax and think about the things you’ve done in your life. The places you’ve visited. The experiences you’ve had – both good and bad. Start writing down some notes on how each of them might apply to the prompts above. Don’t worry about whether the ideas are stinkers or the seeds of a truly great essay right now. Just brainstorm and get some ideas on paper. Talk to your parents, friends and relatives. Let them help you brainstorm – chances are, they may think of something really interesting about you that you, yourself, didn’t think of immediately.

Writing is a process that involves steps and time. If you take the time to go through the steps, the finished product will be so much better for it!

Next week, I’m going to share some tips on how to approach each prompt. Stay tuned…

Want some help navigating the college admissions journey? Give me a call now at 203.525.4096 or email me at eric@doblercollegeconsulting.com to schedule a FREE 60-minute consultation to discuss your college counseling needs.

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Eric Jul 16, 2013 , , , , , , , No Comments