It’s officially 1:00 AM. You’ve been staring at this blank notepad or computer screen for quite a few hours, hoping that the words will fall into place. It feels like the most important thing in your life; the fate of your college decision lies in your ability to create this literary masterpiece called the college essay. Relax-it’s nowhere near that critical.
I’m not minimizing the importance of the essay. It is important-if it weren’t, the college wouldn’t request it of you. In fact, unless you have an interview, it really is the only time the colleges get to hear about you from you. What I am suggesting is that you can make the essay your strongest asset, without making your life miserable.
Here are a few thoughts and suggestions:
Write about what’s important to you not what you think is important to them.
One of my former colleagues read applications for 22 years. By his own estimation, he thought he had read nearly 70,000 college essays over the course of his career. Not everyone has been in undergraduate admission for that long, but they know when it’s your work and when it isn’t. Trying to pull the wool over their eyes rarely works and it will jeopardize your admission.
