The essay is often an obstacle for applicants. As the
competition for college admissions has increased and as students
have taken the process more seriously, "essay anxiety" has become
common. This is especially unfortunate since the essay is one
portion of the applications that the student controls completely.
You should consider the essay an opportunity rather than an
ordeal. It is a chance for you to provide for the admissions
board a dimension of your personality that cannot be elicited
from test scores, GPA, teacher recommendations, or lists of
activities.
Typically colleges offer a number of topics on which students
may write. These topics usually give a focus to the essay and
almost always encourage introspection. Even when you write about
a current event, the approach should be personal.
Each year certain topics are common to a large percentage of
the essays. Abortion is an example, as was the 2000 presidential
election with the controversial Florida recount. Terrorism and
the aftermath of 9-11 as well as corporate accounting practices
will most certainly be topics for years to come. It's fine to
choose one of these so long as the perspective is distinctive.
Admissions people don't care whether you think Kenneth Lay or
Jeffrey Skilling is more responsible for the Enron debacle.
Instead, they want to read why you think as you do, why it
matters to you, and why they should care about your opinion.
Dos and Don'ts:
- Don't be cynical, trite, pretentious, or
maudlin.
- Do be concise, specific, personal, and
honest. Surprise the reader and take chances to go beyond the
obvious.
- Don't repeat what is included in other
parts of the application by making the essay a second resume.
Go behind the details they already know. For example, you can
describe why membership in an activity was significant in your
growth.
- Do use wit and imagination, but don't try
to be funny if that's not your personality. Many essays
backfire when the writer stretched for humor but what came out
was plain silly.
- Do proofread and then ask someone else to
proofread for you. Careless mistakes will drive the admissions
board crazy.
