Complete guide to college application essays - The Princeton Review 2020

Introduction

Welcome to the Complete Guide to College Application Essays! Over the many years of our College Hopes and Worries Survey, students just like you have emphasized time and again that completing applications is one of the toughest parts of the college admissions process. But we know that it doesn’t have to be! We’ve spoken with essay readers and application reviewers and we’ve talked to the experts in our College Admissions Counseling department. We know that there are certain do’s and don’ts to this whole process, and we’ve taken the best advice and strategies surrounding them and distilled it into this book.

In the following chapters, you will find all of the skills you need to get started on your journey from the blank page to the finished essay and application, as well as practical exercises that are designed to get you writing and both actively working and proactively thinking about the road ahead. We use annotated samples to model specifically what works and what should be avoided in essays, and have even included some successful student essays. You’ll also find quotes from actual admissions departments that give you some insight into what your eventual readers may be looking for, as well as insider tips from our own experts about what’s served applicants in the past. And while there’s no substitute for one-on-one mentoring, we’ll give you all the tools you need to learn both how to edit your own work and to get the most out of friends and family who might volunteer to help you.

We also strongly encourage you to think of this book as a vital companion to our other admissions guides: The Best Colleges, Best Value Colleges, and our online listings if you’re still trying to narrow down your list of schools to apply to, Paying for College if you’re still sorting out what sorts of scholarships or loans might be available for you, and our Complete College Planner if you need help organizing the many deadlines on the road ahead. That said, if you’re already set on everything but your application—and that’s a good position to be in!—let’s move right along.

How to use this book

Just as every writer is different, so too is every reader. While we designed this book to be worked through from beginning to end, we were also faced with the difficult task of designing an essay-writing book that could apply to any student, regardless of whether they were in the home stretch of finalizing their application with one more readthrough or if they hadn’t yet written a single word. In short: feel free to skip ahead to whatever section you’re currently focusing your work on.

This advice also applies to those of you working through every page. If you run across a brainstorming exercise meant to generate topics or to help select prompts, and you’ve already done that, don’t feel obligated to complete them. That said, it can sometimes help to revisit your ideas with fresh eyes. If you’ve been stuck for a while, that may be a sign that you need to re-evaluate the choices you’ve made thus far in your essay. Remember, you’re not obligated to use any of the draft work that you complete in this book. You won’t be submitting this book along with your application. Just use what you need and leave yourself open to inspiration.

Each chapter begins with an introduction and is then broken into a series of lessons that are supported by engaging, interactive activities designed to do away with writer’s block and get you working on your application. We’ve also provided plenty of annotated examples that serve to model the sort of critical analysis you should be giving your own work, and quotes and tips that emphasize the often-overlooked and neglected essay-writing steps to remain aware of. At the end of each chapter, there’s a review activity that aims to allow you to assess your progress so that you can set your own pace. If you’re already mid-essay, you might begin using this book by glancing through these reviews to see where you might want to spend more time.

More specifically, here’s what you’ll find in each chapter:

Chapter 1: Identifying Your Audience focuses on the ways in which writing a college essay differs from the standard essays you may be used to writing.

Chapter 2: Finding Your Perfect Topic begins by looking at the most frequently used prompts—those found on the Common Application—and emphasizes the best practices for breaking down the various questions that will need to be answered. It then provides a series of brainstorming activities and tips for choosing appropriate topics with which to answer those questions.

Chapter 3: Developing Your Essay aims to get you producing the initial outline and thesis that will help to ensure that your essay stays on topic as you work on fleshing out each section and fully answering every question. It also walks through the purpose of each part of the college application essay, from introduction to conclusion and, in particular, the need for a captivating opening.

Chapter 4: Choosing Your Tone works on refining the core ideas of your essay to help your story stand out, with an emphasis on highlighting formal and informal writing, the importance of sensory details, and the potentially risky use of humor.

Chapter 5: Knowing Your Drafts gets deep into the editing process, focusing not only on the work you can do to improve your work and avoid common errors, but on how you can best utilize outside readers and make the most of external feedback.

Chapter 6: Finishing Your Application deals with what happens once you’ve finished the essay—namely, the process for submitting it, and how to potentially minimize the number of applications you’ll have to submit for your chosen schools. It also focuses on how to make sure that your essay isn’t the only thing that stands out in your application.

Chapter 7: Going the Extra Mile highlights some of the additional writing that you may be able to do for your application, whether it’s a short-response question, an optional resume, or a letter of recommendation.

At the end of the book, we’ve provided an appendix of additional good-sense grammar tips to keep in mind, as well as some successful student essays that you can use as motivation.

Good luck!

Speaking of tone, although we’re very serious about the time-tested strategies that you should be using as you work through the drafts of your essay, we’ve tried to keep things a little on the light side. The college application process is stressful enough already!

Now, only you know how much time you have before your submission due dates—and if you haven’t already written those down somewhere, you probably should. But please be considerate of yourself as you work toward those dates and through this book. Take breaks as needed, and don’t be hard on yourself outside of the constructive criticism you give your essay as you edit it. This is hard work, but line by line you’re going to get it done, and we’ll be here in your corner, cheering you on every word of the way.