Writing About COVID-19 in a College Admissions Essay
Many college applicants will be tempted to write about the coronavirus in their admissions essays this fall. It is common knowledge to most students that their admissions essays should be about experiences and people that are important to them. And, for better or for worse, the pandemic has created memorable experiences for many. Furthermore, many college applications — including the Common Application and Coalition Application — are introducing optional COVID-19 prompts for 2020–2021 applications. What is the best way to approach COVID-19 in an admissions essay? Here are five guidelines for writing about the coronavirus in a college application.
1. Limit writing about COVID-19 to designated spaces.
Many college admissions consultants are advising students against writing about COVID-19 in their admissions essays. Their reasoning is simple: everyone else will be doing the same thing. Students who make their pandemic experiences at the center of their essays are in danger of writing stories that anyone can tell. Mark Sklarow, CEO of the Independent Educational Consultants Association, said in an interview with Insider, “Please don’t write an essay about the coronavirus. Can you imagine a poor admissions director reading 2000 personal essays and they’re all going to be on the coronavirus? Whatever you were going to write about two months ago, stick with that.”
If you must write about COVID-19, strongly consider limiting yourself to answering designated prompts on the subject. The Common App has explicitly stated that they want students to answer COVID-19 questions only once while using the rest of the application as they would have before to share their interests and perspectives beyond COVID-19. Many other applications are also providing coronavirus-specific prompts with the purpose of addressing the individual struggles and triumphs of students. Students should make use of these spaces and commit the rest of their application to writing about experiences unrelated to COVID-19.
2. Do answer optional prompts that are specifically about COVID-19.
Although students are not encouraged to make their applications solely about COVID-19, it is advisable to answer any coronavirus-specific prompts an application provides — even if they are optional. The new COVID-19 prompt is another opportunity for students to reveal something about themselves to admission officers. In particular, it gives students the chance to contextualize their experience under these difficult circumstances. A carefully crafted response to an optional coronavirus prompt can strengthen an application.
However, if you feel that you have not been affected by the pandemic, you should consider not responding to optional COVID-19 prompts. Mindlessly filling space may only damage an already strong application. Every part of an application — including a coronavirus-specific prompt — should work towards painting the applicant in a compelling light. There is no point in writing just for the sake of filling space.
3. When writing about COVID-19, make unique connections and use unconventional language.
A stand-out essay describes an uncommon topic, makes uncommon connections, or uses uncommon language. COVID-19 has affected everyone — this makes COVID-19 a common topic. Therefore, an essay about the coronavirus should make uncommon connections and use uncommon language.
You should think about the values you can connect to your pandemic experience. Ideally, these values will be unexpected in the context of the pandemic. Brainstorming values other applicants are likely to invoke may help with determining more unique connections. For example, many applicants will write about family in relation to COVID-19. Therefore, an essay about family is unlikely to stand out, unless it’s connected to another, more surprising value.
An admissions essay about COVID-19 does not significantly differ from an admissions essay about anything else. Like all admissions essays, it should demonstrate an applicant’s capacity to coherently support ideas with logical arguments and showcase them in a distinctively positive light.
Students who are struggling with English — or simply want to elevate their essays — may consider an online admissions editing service. Many editing companies employ professional admissions editors who can take an essay to the next level. Such online services not only correct errors in grammar and mechanics but also elevate an essay in terms of vocabulary, style, and flow.
As always, students should focus on telling genuine, personal stories that emphasize their unique abilities and potential.
