Transform Your College Essay – 7 Steps to Eye-Catching Essays that Get You Into Your Dream College
Creating a captivating college essay that sets your application into the “Yes! Accepted” pile is harder than one might think – give yourself some grace!
As a former high school English teacher, I understand the multitude of high school papers assigned for analyzing characters in books or explaining rhetorical devices, but when it comes to writing about yourself, you probably have little practice. Many seniors feel lost and frustrated with college essays and struggle to improve their writing with the pressure of getting accepted into college.
How many of you, seniors, have written a successful narrative essay or personal story? How many of you have studied the writing technique needed to create a captivating, genuine Common App Essay? Most likely, very few students, by the time they reach senior year, can confidently say they know exactly how to write a college essay.
I understand the gap between the skill level and academic experience seniors have now and the skills needed to write an outstanding Common App essay – which is why my team and I help students learn writing skills, so that they learn, apply, write, and succeed.
If you have written a draft or two of your college Common App essay and you feel it’s drab, dull, and dry, here are seven effective tips to spruce up your essay and help you stand out among the crowd and get into college.
7 Steps to Master the Art of Stand-Out Essays
- Create a magical opening line.
- Demonstrate your core values and best personality traits.
- Use specific terms to show your knowledge of a subject.
- Show, don’t tell – set a visible scene for your common app.
- Stay humble yet showcase your accomplishments.
- Add greater depth to your main ideas. Include the ‘so what’!
- Include a memorable final line connection to an important moment earlier in the essay.
If you take the time to master each of these steps in your college essay, I guarantee your writing will improve, showcasing the best of your personality, strengths, and values and increasing your chances of acceptance!
Remember, the most important thing is to take action: start writing, edit, get feedback, and re-write. If possible, your kind, smart friends, teachers, tutors, or a parent can help catch little errors and create a beautiful masterpiece in your college essay. Give this project the time and commitment it deserves.
If you feel you have reached a brick wall and need extra help then by all means, reach out to the Total Writing team. We help motivated teens write killer essays and the parents do not have to lift a pen!
Until next time, happy writing! 😁
