A college essay is the heart of your tertiary education application process. It is the extra feature that sets you apart from other potential students with similar grades, scores, and capabilities. But what is it and how do you craft a winning college essay?
What is a College Essay?
Transitioning from high school to a tertiary institution is an important milestone for every student. Your teachers and guardians will advise you to put in the work to excel in your grades and co-curricular activities. This was enough to get you a college placement, until recently when college admissions became more complex.
Now, you must show who you are, your values, and why you’re a good choice for a college. Good grades and co-curricular activities will get you on the list of potential students, but you need an essay to show the admission board why they should pick you.
This essay is known as a college essay, personal statement, or college application essay.
Writing a college essay is a headache for most transitioning students. You must present your case concisely to fit a limited word count. Ideally, a college essay should be about 500-600 words. If you’re looking for tips on how to write a college essay, we prepared this post to help you.
College Essay Format
There is no one-format-fits-all for a college essay. Most admission boards are looking for a genuine essay that shows who you are, regardless of how you string your words. The bottom line is to ensure your essay hooks the reader, presents your story smoothly, and fits within the provided word count.
During this transition from high school, you may be tempted to use the standard format of an introduction, body paragraphs, and a conclusion. Please don’t. Instead, structure your essay as though you are in an interview with the admission board and you’re showing them who you are and what you bring to their college. Generally, a good college essay should have three parts. These include
The Hook
How do you make the admission representative read your essay among a pile of essays from other applicants? Hook them to your story from the start. Provide a vivid description of yourself, your surroundings, circumstances, or events that led you to share this story with the board. Create a scene in their mind, a good one to keep them hooked such that they want to read more about it.
The Life-Changing Occurrence
When we talk about life-changing experiences, most students think about challenges they have overcome or a misfortune they went through. While going through challenges and overcoming them is a good narrative, a life-changing experience doesn’t have to be negative. All in all, you need to develop a few paragraphs detailing how a certain occurrence changed your perspective in life. Make it interesting but remember to be concise to avoid exceeding the given word count.
The Transformative Change
The last part is how the life-changing experience transformed you into the person you are. This change has to resonate with your desire to pursue whatever course you wish to pursue in the college in question. For example, how did visiting a ranch in the countryside change you and inspire you to pursue agricultural economics or veterinary medicine? Share that transformative change in simple yet exciting words.
How To Write a Winning College Essay- Tips and Strategies
Do you want to write an essay that helps you secure placement in your favorite college? Follow these tips and strategies to craft a winning college essay:
- Be authentic: Please don’t fabricate a flowery story to impress the board. Instead, consider a topic that shows your true self.
- Use simple language: This is not the time to show your prowess in mastering big words. Use simple grammar to drive your point home and impress the reader.
- Hook the reader right away: The attention span of a reader is limited and you need an impressive introduction to hook them. Be creative to grab the reader’s attention.
- Show your emotions: Emotions are the heart of storytelling. Don’t be afraid to show emotions when talking about why you think this placement would mean the world to you.
- Proofread the draft severally: Grammar mistakes look bad for any essay. Please proofread your essay severally before sending it. It’s even better to ask someone else to proofread it for you.
- Leave an impression with the conclusion: Bring everything to a close with a kicker that leaves the reader thinking about your essay long after reading it.
College Essay Examples
Here is a great example of a winning college essay:
How I Discovered My True Calling Through Civic Education
Growing up, I always envisioned myself in a long white coat, a stethoscope around my neck ready to diagnose and heal patients of all kinds of ailments. My father, whose dream of pursuing medicine was cut short by his father’s early death, reinforced this dream. This was also the case with my teachers who felt the same, seeing my straight A report cards.
You can imagine my confusion when I discovered I was following someone else’s dream without giving thought to what I really wanted. But that’s the thing, most of our career choices are influenced by parents, guardians, teachers, and peers.
It all started when I volunteered with a local religious organization to offer civic education to my community members. I joined the initiative out of the sheer need to fulfill a community development service requirement. Little did I know that this was the experience that’s gonna change the trajectory of my future career.
The project involved a lot of activities but the one that piqued my interest was reading complex governance and leadership texts and rephrasing them into easy-to-understand materials. Standing in front of hundreds of community members, old and young, men and women, felt nervous at the beginning.
A few weeks into it, it became the most enjoyable part of the project. One particular moment that remains ingrained in my memory even today. I was delivering a presentation on the importance of voting in elections. As I spoke, I saw the faces of the people light up with every explanation and understanding.
Their newfound sense of being part and parcel of decision-makers in governance made me feel so fulfilled. I had always loved languages and was the most awarded student in linguistics and literature. However, this new spark ignited a certain enthusiasm in me that made me realize my true passion lies in communications.
When I shared the news with my parents and teachers, they were surprised, yet supportive. I began searching for the best colleges for communications and public relations which led me to New York University.
New York University (NYU) stands out as the best institution to nurture my ambitions. It has a robust curriculum and experienced faculty. Your real-life applications in communications and public relations are what I need to develop my skills.
I see myself taking full advantage of the opportunities at New York University. I’m also eager to contribute to the college community by sharing my unique perspectives and experiences.
My journey from an aspiring doctor all my life to a passionate communications specialist has been abrupt yet rewarding. I’m eternally grateful for the volunteering experience that opened my eyes and unlocked this passion.
The future looks meaningful and promising. I am confident that NYU is the institution that will help turn my vision into reality.
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