Now what about that essay?

Now that the Common App is open, the "essay" is looming on the horizon. Sometimes also referred to as the personal statement, a student can either answer a prescribed prompt or write freely about anything choose. Doesn't sound too hard, right? In 650 words or less, tell a compelling story that will help make your application stand out among thousands of others. Piece of cake....okay, maybe not if you're the one trying to write the essay.

However, if tackled correctly, and with plenty of lead time, the essay or personal statement does not have to cause the stress it so often does. This post addresses the free write option because personally, I find it to be the best choices for most students. While some students have a response that fits well with one of the prescribed prompts, the free write offers a level of freedom that can often work in a student's favor. Students can write about anything they choose and many times this will allow for the most authentic representation of a part of the student's life that an application can't necessarily highlight.

I have read essays about mozzarella, basketball sneakers, and chemistry classes, just to name a few. These were vignettes about moments in time that allowed students to display personality, voice, and originality. The realness of the essay is what will help it to pop when being read in committee. Trust me, after reading hundreds of essays about the same topics, an interesting read about something quite ordinary can be very refreshing.

Too often students try to force the essay. In an attempt to make themselves sound (insert adjective here), students will espouse all their virtues in three or four well developed paragraphs but in the end, the essay often reads bland or takes on the quality of reading a resume. More importantly it lacks that all important voice.

I advise the students I work with to sit and jot down some things about themselves and their lives that they enjoy or find interesting or unique. Maybe it's a love of pizza that has developed into a hobby of sorts (the quest to find that perfect slice) or maybe it's that loose floorboard in their room that somehow creaks when least expected. But whatever a student chooses to write about should be theirs and theirs alone. Students remember, no one can write your essay for you. Aside from the academic dishonesty and fraudulent nature, any admissions counselor worth their salt will see right through an essay from a high school student that sounds as though Ralph Waldo Emerson himself had sat down with pen in hand. Parents, this is a time to step back and let your child develop a thought or an idea or share a story about something spectacular (or even better, something ordinary) they did.

A good essay will not be written in one sitting. It will need revisions, editing, and proofreading, and then more revisions, editing, and proofreading before it is ready to be sent off. This process takes patience and commitment. Rising seniors, start now, and rising juniors, it's never too early to start thinking. The free write option is always a choice, year after year. Use some of the quiet moments of summer to start gathering your thoughts and sketching some ideas. And don't forget, be yourself. You're pretty impressive, just the way you are. #yougotthis #commonappessay #beyourself