5 guidelines for writing college admissions essays
I've written 71 drafts: I have some of my own tips.
After writing 71 drafts for 23 essays for 7 universities during my college application process, I have 5 tips for the next generation of high school students writing college admissions essays. Yes, I know that simply writing two months' worth of essays is not enough to qualify me to give this kind of advice. But I'd say I'm an ok writer, and you're reading this post anyway.
1
The first draft you write is never perfect. I am a perfectionist, and so this was hard for me to get over. No one sits down and writes a perfect essay on their first try.
The key is to write a crappy first draft—it takes the pressure off. Then you can wait for feedback from your parents, teachers, and/or college counselors. Crappy first drafts work and you shouldn't be afraid of them.
2
Remove 'popcorn' words: words that don't meaningfully contribute to your piece. You can almost always remove them without dramatically changing the meaning of the sentence. In college admissions essays, where the word limit is tight, you want to remove as many popcorn words as you can.[1] Common popcorn words include:
- way
- really
- very
- a lot
- just
- sort of
- kind of
- basically
- literally
Here's an example of two 'popcorn-y' sentences from one of my first essay drafts:
This year, I’ve gotten a whole lot better at planning out my schedule for these difficult exams. College is really different from high school because it’s way easier to procrastinate and fall very behind in college. (36 words)
Let's 'de-popcorn-ify'[2] those sentences:
This year, I’ve become better at planning my schedule for these difficult exams. It's easier to fall behind in college (versus high school) due to procrastination. (26 words)
Boom. Even though we had to restucture the sentences a little, we cut off 10 words. Every word matters—the Common App will cut you off at the word limit.
3
Have 2-3 people give feedback on your essays. I had my parents and my college counselor give me feedback, and that system worked quite well. Here's why:
Number of People Giving Feedback
- 0: You may completely miss grammar, punctuation, or spelling errors. Plus, you might write essays that make sense to you but don't make sense to anyone else. Not recommended.
- 1: That person may have to review a ton of your essays (depending on how many schools you're applying to). Plus, they may force their style of writing onto yours, which may not be good.
- 2-3: You get balanced feedback from multiple people. This is the sweet spot :)
- 4+: Everyone has different style suggestions, which can "stretch" your essay into too many directions. For example: 2 people may think an essay is good to go, while 1 person thinks Paragraph 4 needs major edits, and 1 person thinks the whole essay needs to be scrapped. This is a pain to deal with.
4
Make your essays easy to understand. Admissions officers (AOs) are smart, but they read a lot of essays. It doesn't matter if you write the most creative, insightful, or hilarious essay in the world if the admissions officer can't understand it.
Therefore, you should:
- Use clear, occasionally short sentences.
- Don't use complicated vocabulary (once or twice is okay).
- Answer the prompt. Don't write a tangentially related essay.
Let's look at Sarah, an exhausted AO who is still reading essays at 8pm on a Saturday. She still has two essays to review: one from Student A and one from Student B. Let's read the responses of both students to this prompt: "Why are you interested in the major you indicated as your first-choice major?"
Student A: I've chosen applied mathematics as my major due to its captivating proclivity for theoretical abstraction and practical implications. The intricate interplay of abstract algebra and real-world problem-solving tantalizes my intellectual curiosity. This passion was ignited when I encountered an enigmatic challenge at the crossroads of numerical analysis and differential equations, where my appreciation for the discipline deepened as I grappled with complex equations with aplomb.
Student B: I'm pursuing a major in applied mathematics because I've had a personal experience that underscored the real-world relevance of this field. During a summer internship, I worked on a project that involved optimizing supply chain logistics for a local business. I applied mathematical models to streamline their operations, and witnessing the tangible impact of my work convinced me that this major is the right path for me.
Sarah would look at Student A's essay and rightfully think it's terrible. Using bigger words does not make the essay better—and Student A doesn't explain their 'enigmatic challenge'. Student B's essay is far better.
5
The most important sentence in any of your essays is the last one. This is due to the recency effect, and it's why you want your last sentence to be memorable. This guy puts it best:
People don’t remember books, blogs, or articles. They remember sentences. That should be your goal: a collection of memorable sentences. One good line is infinitely more powerful than a few clumsy paragraphs. —Morgan Housel
Spend more time than you think is necessary on the last sentence of your essays. I couldn't come up with a memorable ending sentence for this article, so I guess I'm off to write more college admissions essays. Thanks for reading!