How To Write a Great College Application Essay (Part 3 of 3)
This piece is the last in a three-part series.
Read Tips 1 and 2 here.
Read Tips 3, 4, and 5 here.
6. Pick the Draft that Works Better
When I work with high school seniors as a college essay coach, I advise them to not look at their two first drafts for the week after writing. Return to them with “fresh eyes.” Then ask yourself, “Which essay presents me and my personal brand more effectively?” (Read more about identifying your personal brand in Part 1 of this three-part series here; LINK COMING SOON.)
Students often have a tough time making that decision. If that’s the case for you, ask for the opinion of a trusted friend, guidance counselor, or teacher. Some parents can be objective during this stage, but others cannot. Mom and Dad might not be the best choice for this job right now. Share your essay with them after the third or fourth draft. At that point, your essay will feel more like just words on a page to you rather than your heart and soul in black and white.
Photo by Brad Neathery on Unsplash
7. Make Time to Revise
Elsewhere, I’ve written that it’s preferable to begin and finish your personal statement during the summer before your senior year. If you’re reading this blog piece before then, scheduling time to revise might not be necessary.
If you’re like most students, though, you’re writing the personal statement during the first half (or even third quarter) of senior year. The last year of high school is chock full of academic, extracurricular, and social activities. Schedule time to work on revising your college application essay every week.
(If you’re a procrastinator or just not great at time management, visit my Classes & Workshops page to attend one of my webinars on this subject. Or check out this recorded talk or this one on my YouTube channel for some helpful time management tips. Finally, I also offer executive function and time management coaching if you need personal attention.)
Photo by Estée Janssens on Unsplash
Add, delete, or re-order paragraphs before polishing sentences. Make sure that the story makes sense to someone who doesn’t know you. Try inserting dialogue at pivotal moments. Consider arranging paragraphs out of chronological order to draw attention to certain events.
Once the paragraph structure works, focus on sentence-level revisions. Steer clear of the thesaurus. Don't substitute words that you think “sound smart” for words you normally use. Use spell and grammar checks. Read your work out loud from a printed page to spot mechanical errors, awkward word choices, and infelicitous phrasing.
As a college essay coach, one of the questions parents first ask before hiring me is, “How long should this process take?” Every teenager is different, of course. But 95% of my students produce a polished personal statement and a couple of supplemental essays after ten, 55-minute sessions. If you’re working without a college essay coach, plan on putting in at least half that time on your own.
Nathaniel Hawthorne, by Matthew Brady. Photo in the public domain; located on Wikimedia Commons.
Final Thoughts
As you stare blankly at your computer screen, just remember this is supposed to be hard! The college application essay is unlike any other writing you’ve ever done in your life. “Easy reading is damn hard writing,” American author Nathaniel Hawthorne commented. Take comfort in knowing that you’re not alone. And once you're done, an amazing college experience lies at the end of this road!
