Strategies to Starting a Perfect College Essay
I know right about now you might be busy tanning in the warm sand at the beach or heading off to the next big, blockbuster film this summer. School hasn’t crossed your mind in over a month and it really does feel amazing to just relax after the long semester. Summer is a wonderful season and please, continue to enjoy it. But, for just a few hours this summer, you might want to start thinking about your college application plan. I’m not saying you have to rush into this process. You have pools to swim at and Pokémon to catch (I see you Pokémon Go trainers). However, I am definitely suggesting that you begin considering your application and more importantly, your application essays.
The essay is what sets you apart from the rest of the applicant crowd. It is of vital importance in the application process and is your chance to convey everything you are in less than 500 words.
When I was writing my UC Application essays, I determined some important strategies that allowed for a professional, but conversational personal statement. Here are a few excellent strategies to begin the process and start crafting a perfect application essay.
1.Frontload
Number 1. Do not wait until the last minute. Essays, especially personal statements, will require a lot of time and effort.
Writing a personal statement essay demands a balance between professionalism and colloquialism.
You need to establish your voice, while maintaining a high level of grammar and language, but more on that later. Anyway, back to frontloading. Frontloading is basically the opposite of procrastinating. Not surprisingly, between the two, procrastinating is just a tiny bit easier than frontloading. Believe me, you will need to make time to determine every last detail about your paper. You will hopefully be able to pass it on to teachers, counselors, friends, and family who will read and give feedback. You will need time to hash out every single detail of the event you’re discussing. You will also need time to edit and trim your paper so it’s less than 500 words. The point is you are going to need time to complete your essay in the best way possible and that will start by frontloading.
2. Research the college you want to go to and read through the essay prompts
Most colleges will release information regarding their essay prompts months before the application is due. This summer, be on the lookout for any information regarding the colleges you want to attend and read up.
Check out different websites, blog posts, essay prompts from the past year, and anything else you can get your hands on.
This is an amazing opportunity to learn more about the colleges you want to attend, while gaining some knowledge and experience in field of application essays. If you want to see eight very common and standard essay topics, check out what the UC system has in store for 2016–17.
http://admission.universityofcalifornia.edu/how-to-apply/personal-questions/index.html
3. Ponder major events in your life
At first glance, this concept might seem extremely terrifying. Being asked to remember and analyze major tragedies in your life is a very alarming proposition. But remember, major events in your life do not have to resonate tragedy.
But remember, major events in your life do not have to resonate tragedy. These events could include: greatest accomplishment, leadership, times where you showed the most courage, or found a creative solution to a problem.
Here’s the trick, though. You need to be writing all of these down when you start brainstorming. Anything that comes to mind throughout the summer regarding past events in your lifetime, write them down! You are going to want a detailed record of those events written in a notebook. So, that when the time comes, you have an amazingly, detailed account of your biggest life stories. This is important, not only for deciding on your specific essay topic, but it will also allow you to get back into the habit of writing.
4. Have a brainstorming day with a friend
This strategy is very important and should not be overlooked. Once you have sorted out some major life events, you need to talk through your ideas with a different person. I am suggesting you discuss and share with your best friend. One day, back when I was in high school and just beginning this process, my best friend and I shared stories back and forth about events that had happened in our lives thus far. Now, to be honest, I already knew every single, little detail from his life, but just having the opportunity to talk through those life events is going to make a world of difference when it comes time to write all of the smallest details down. As I mentioned before, personal statement essays are about a perfect harmony between personalization and professionalism.
You are going to have to talk about the event itself and how the event has shaped you as a whole.
It’s pretty tough to sort out at first glance, but meeting with a friend to talk through your ideas and those specific moments is key to your success in starting to write your personalized essay.
5. Take everything ONE step at a time
Writing is similar to the scientific method, which I’m pretty sure in most high schools, it was abundantly clear that they found this concept of critical importance. The reason that the scientific method is vital to understanding is because it applies to many other aspects of education, not just science experiments. You are going to need to brainstorm, craft a hypothesis, begin writing (experiment with what works and what doesn’t), edit, and finally, analyze your results. These 5 steps are going to be crucial to taking everything one step at a time. Never look forward in the process. One of my favorite professors once told me, “writing is an experiment where nothing is certain.” This is one of my favorite quotes of all time because it has taught me to take things slow and just keep writing. What would Dory do? She would “keep writing, just keep writing”. Just get all of your ideas on paper, and then start the editing process (there will be more specific strategies to this step soon, so be on the lookout!)
Remember, use these strategies to just begin thinking about your essays. Don’t rush this process.
You are going to need time and you are going to need to allow yourself to open your mind and begin thinking about important life events differently than you ever have before.
Matt is a UCLA College Mentor at the Mentr App ready to help high schoolers with college advice. Matt is an English major who specializes in admissions essays, interviews plus anything and everything UCLA. He can be found at http://mentr.io/matt-ucla.html
