Hello, faithful “College Corner” readers! My next three editions of this column will pertain to a fun, yet stressful topic I received a few questions about: writing a college essay. While the idea of writing a paper that your future seemingly rests upon can be scary, I wanted to preface my upcoming posts by sharing my own experience.
I remember asking last year’s seniors so many questions about the CommonApp essay. I had no idea how many I had to write or what to write about or where to upload it. But to sum up their answers, CommonApp exists to make the application process easier by providing a single portal to upload your information into (so you’re not sending the same paper to ten colleges through ten different websites). With this ease in applying also comes the overarching college essay. This paper is designed to follow one of the seven CommonApp prompts, which you will then upload into the general CommonApp personal essay section so all your colleges can see it. But I promise it’s not as intimidating as it seems.
As a junior when I first began to learn about this essay, Ms. Yeganagi provided a few exercises to help get my ideas flowing. I made lists of qualities that made me stand out, things that were important to me, experiences that shaped my life. So, in my first attempt at writing, I decided to discuss my journey with dance. I cranked out my two-page story… and it’s safe to say it was not a good draft. I received so many edits and there was no clear line of reasoning, I was just talking.
But instead of fixing this issue, I put it off for two months. It wasn’t until the summer that I completely changed the prompt I wanted to respond to and found a new topic: the start of my struggles with anxiety and how my mom helped me through it. It took me a bit longer to write this one because I wanted it to make sense and convey a unique part of my life while still tying it back to my faith in Jesus. Eventually, I finished my essay at the end of June, and I began to reread it. I cut out the unnecessary parts and refined the strengths within it. I also got three different people to edit it and give me extensive feedback: Ciara Whimbush (our amazing EIC), Ms. Zavala (our amazing adviser), and Jasmina Buranich (our amazing former EIC). In obtaining various opinions, editing styles, and advice, my paper was shaped in the best way possible. And it was also special — I truly dove deep into my life and my gratitude for my mom.
Now, not to brag, but this essay helped me get into all of the colleges I’ve applied to thus far, and it was because I made it distinctive and personal to me. I didn’t try to impress the readers or give myself an ego boost, but I let those words speak to who I am: someone who does struggle with anxiety, but also someone who loves Jesus and her mom.
So, if I had to give any advice on the essay-writing process, it would be this:
- Take your time. Don’t rush through the process. You won’t produce good work if you don’t slow down and think about what you’re writing (but also don’t procrastinate!).
- Choose a topic that is special to you! Make it something you’re passionate about, something that shows who you are.
- Get feedback from multiple people — teachers, your friends, your parents. It really will help
- Give yourself grace! Even if you have to scrap the whole thing and restart, that’s okay. You’ve never written a college essay before, so it might take some time.
