College Application Essays: Thinking Outside the Box
Harvard University Baker Library at Harvard Business School (HBS). Photograph by Ryan Young, Presidio Education® Founder & CEO, 2018.
Writing strong college application essays can be very nerve-wracking for high school students. How can you articulate to college admissions that you are the right student for their school? How can you explain why you struggled in a few high school classes? How can you prove in an essay who you really are without even visiting college campuses? Colleges gravitate towards transparent, creative and motivated individuals. Scores and grades are not everything. College essays are wonderful ways to prove depth of character and why you deserve an opportunity. Below are just a few tips on how we guide students to write successful college application essays.
Start Early and Revise
Avoiding procrastination with writing college application essays cannot be underestimated. The value of revision is immense. If you start early and continuously revise, you will see wonderful growth with your college essays because you would have given yourself sufficient time to reflect. Every grammatical and analytical detail is crucial because each detail may be the one difference that gives your essays that much needed edge. In an increasingly competitive admissions process, colleges have a very large pool of outstanding applicants. The quality of your writing must be exceptional in every aspect. This is why we urgently recommend students find qualified individuals to review essay drafts to provide intense critical feedback. Students need their drafts reviewed for content, style, flow, emotion, articulation and creativity. Undoubtedly, college essays are the most important essays that high school students will write.
Stanford University Cecil H. Green Library. Photograph by Presidio Education® Yunju Chen, Director of Product Management, 2018.
Why Specifically that College?
Students often make the mistake of writing generic college essays without considering specificity or creativity. Other times, students write essays addressing who they are and what they want to study in college. However, very few students actually write about why they specifically want to attend the college they apply to. How can your responses show that you have legitimate reasons why you are applying to their school and not simply because of their school’s name or ranking? Before starting college essays, we strongly recommend students complete thorough homework on potential colleges to accurately evaluate college departments, faculties, campus resources and even published work from undergraduate students. This will immensely help high school students know which colleges may be the best fit. Prove to these colleges specifically why you want to go to their school and they will listen!
Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) Department of Materials Science and Engineering Laboratory. Photograph by Presidio Education® Yunju Chen, Director of Product Management, 2018.
Meaningful and Transparent Responses
Focusing so much on what you are good at can actually take away from college admissions understanding the real you. While this should go without saying that boasting on college essays is a huge academic no-no, as colleges will neither want arrogant nor condescending students, colleges truly value essays that show transparency. For example, when students can tell a meaningful story when they learned from a really bad mistake, this will show much more than just a mistake. This shows honesty, integrity and the courage to admit fault or weakness. Who are you really? What makes you vulnerable? What profoundly moves you? What challenges have you struggled to overcome? Although we encourage you to be transparent, we caution neither to submit rehearsed nor exaggerated responses to garner empathy. College admissions evaluators read a plethora of essays. They can tell when you are not being genuine, so remain true!
Tufts University Jumbo the Mascot upper campus. Photograph by Ryan Young, Presidio Education® Founder & CEO, 2018.
Be Creative and Inspiring!
What are your biggest dreams? What are you passionate about? What inspires you to take bold chances that no one else dares? Regardless if you are undecided with college majors, or have no idea about careers, do not be afraid to share your most fantastic goals! Colleges do not want to train robots. On the contrary, higher education is about fostering students to open up a wonderful range of possibilities. Colleges want motivated and creative students who continuously try to think outside the box. What will you contribute to their school and communities? Are you going to isolate yourself or get involved with school clubs? How can you reduce campus food waste? What can you do about local homelessness? How can you help impoverished children gain academic opportunities? How can you create sustainable solutions for your communities? How can you be that innovative student to change the game for us all?
Our team regularly volunteers in communities as part of our Corporate Social Responsibility initiatives. Helping impoverished students create beautiful art projects at the Hong Kong Sheng Kung Hui Kowloon City Children and Youth Integrated Service Centre in Kowloon City, Hong Kong. From left to right: Wayne Man, Math & Social Science Teacher; Kenley Lou, Social Science and College Intern Coordinator; and Isaac Ng, College Intern, Sustainability Data Analytics. Photograph by Ryan Young, Presidio Education® Founder & CEO, 2018.
Do Grades and Scores Define You?
Many high school students focus really hard on earning top grades and test scores. But is that really how you want colleges to define you? Are grades and scores all you are made of? Undeniably, academic grades and test scores are important for college admissions, but on application essays, you are given an opportunity to show that you are much more than just numbers. College essays reveal who you are as a human being. What extracurricular activities do you consistently participate in? Did you join clubs or teams to bulk up your academic portfolio? Or did you join because you genuinely enjoy them and want to make positive impacts within your communities? What volunteer service programs do you participate in or create? On paper, high grades and test scores show you studied hard. But college essays allow you to show the depths of your character.
University of Southern California (USC) Cromwell Field. Photograph by Presidio Education® Yunju Chen, Director of Product Management, 2018.
Want Feedback on Your College Essays?
Our faculty provides rigorous critical feedback on college application essay drafts. While we are definitely here to support you as best we can, please be prepared for brutal honesty. We will push you to develop original essays with plenty of revision! For information on Education Consultation, the Common Application, or training, simply complete our online Private Class Registration Form to get started. Good luck high school seniors!
