Getting into the college of your choice is a major milestone. Each year, hundreds of thousands of students embark on the task of completing a college application. The competition is fierce; therefore, it’s essential to distinguish yourself from the other applicants especially those who may have a similar transcript. How do you do that? You can stand out from the crowd by writing an exceptional college essay.

The fact is, the admissions team spends most of its time reviewing the essay portion of the college application. They look at the essay as a sort of test to see if you can convey your ideas and experiences in a coherent and organized manner. At the same time, they’ll be evaluating your knowledge of basic writing skills such as grammar and spelling. And perhaps most importantly, they will view the college essay as an introduction to your unique personality. Based on what you write, the admissions team will decide if you will be a valuable asset to their community. It stands to reason, therefore, that your writing be as outstanding as possible.

But before you begin writing your college essay, you should come up with a plan. This is called pre-writing.

Pre-Writing

The very first thing to do is to let your thoughts run wild. In other words, brainstorm. This should not be a pressured activity – don’t worry about writing in complete sentences or even concern yourself with spelling. The point is to get concepts down on paper that you’ll eventually turn into the body of your essay.

Try and come up with topics that reveal who you are. If you have grades that weren’t so hot for one semester or even a year (while the rest were good) maybe you’d like to talk a little bit about what happened to you that year that affected your work. If you had bad grades throughout, your time will be better spent on something more personal, something about your family, a role model who influenced your field of intended study, your ethnicity or heritage. Anything that elevates you in their eyes as an applicant who will do them proud out in the world.

• Write out the topic for your essay (use just a few words).
• Come up with three distinct words or phrases that relate to your topic (these should be specific and in support of your topic)
• Now play devil’s advocate and come up with three words or phrases that argue against your topic.

Create an Outline

The next step is to create an outline. Think of an outline as a blueprint for your college essay. Your job now is to sum up the paragraphs that will act as the body of your essay. At this point, if you feel compelled to write a few good sentences, do so. It may save you time later on.

• Review your brainstorming notes and reread your main topic. Create a sentence that expresses this concept (this is your introductory sentence, also called a “thesis”).
• For each of the words that support your topic, come up with a first sentence and supporting points (these are called topic sentences).
• Do the same for the words or phrases that argue against your topic.

Once you’ve done this, you’ll have the bones of your essay. It’s now time to connect them and flesh out the writing. Remember, you’ll also be adding a concluding paragraph that will wrap up your points and offer your final take on the topic. Most writers find that it helps if you wait until you’ve written the first draft before you begin on the concluding paragraph. Often it is easier to sum up the entire essay once it is actually down on paper.

THE FIRST DRAFT

Relax. A first draft is just that – a draft. No one has to read this version except you. Your task now is to add to your outline and actually write a version of the essay.

• Refer to your introductory sentence and add a few sentences that further explain its meaning.
• Reread your topic sentences (both for and against your subject). Use these as the beginning of separate paragraphs. Write supporting sentences to explain your points. To do this, provide specific examples, statistics, or other details.
• Now is when you should think about your concluding paragraph. Reread your draft and write a sentence that sums up your overall message. Add two or three supporting sentences.

Revising and Editing

Once you’ve finished your first draft, put it down and walk away. After some time has passed, go back and reread it with fresh eyes. Chances are you’ll have an easier time spotting the problem areas if you’ve left it alone for a little while. Keep in mind that even the most seasoned editors write multiple drafts of their work. Revising and editing is all part of the essay writing process.

After you’ve reread the draft, ask yourself the following questions:

• Does the essay accomplish what it sets out to do? In other words, do your topic sentences relate to the thesis?
• Do your supporting sentences truly support your argument? Are they complete sentences?
• Are you leaving out any critical information in support of your thesis?
• Did you include transitions so that paragraphs flow smoothly?
• Are any sentences out of order or unnecessary?
• Overall, does your essay have an obvious beginning, middle, and end?

Once you’ve addressed these “housekeeping” elements, it’s time to think about the emotional content of your work. Remember, a college essay is your first opportunity to present yourself to the admissions team. In turn, you want to be sure you’ve creating a something the reader will remember.

Here are some easy edits that will punch up your prose and make sure you’re essay is as memorable as it can be.

• Try to vary the sentence structure whenever possible. Subtle surprises are sure to hook your reader and hold their attention until the essay’s conclusion.
• Have you included enough specifics as you can? Detailed descriptions of people, places, and ideas will make your writing more colorful and engaging.
• GOLDEN RULE: If any sentence is confusing, rewrite it! You don’t want to run the risk of your reader putting down your college essay because they do not understand what you are saying.
• Spell check your work at least three times! If you aren’t the world’s greatest speller, ask someone to help you.
• Finally, ask someone else to read your essay and also read your essay out loud. You’ll be surprised how often errors will pop out at you when you hear them spoken.

Tips

There are many ways to create a stellar, original essay. The task may seem daunting at first, but once you get started, you may actually find yourself enjoying the process. Here are some final tips that should help if you’re having trouble getting your creative juices flowing.

• Begin your college essay with an attention-grabber. For example, an interesting fact or clever anecdote, a surprising statistic, a famous quote, or even lines of dialog.

• Add some humor to your college essay. Obviously, it isn’t appropriate to include anything that is off-color or that could be considered distasteful, but a careful dose of humor is usually refreshing and much appreciated by the reader.

• Make sure that you aren’t automatically writing what you think the admissions officer wants to hear. You want your college essay to stand out in a crowd, so a surprise may be just the thing you need to ensure a fixed impression.

Above all, try to enjoy writing your college essay. A sure fire sign that you’ve created a top-notch essay is if you enjoy reading it through – even for the fourth or fifth time! And don’t be afraid to ask your friends or family to read and comment on your work. The college team will be reading with an objective point of view, so it may be wise to get as many opinions as possible before you sign off on your college essay.

If you know in your heart of hearts that you did all you could to create a knockout college essay, you’ll feel a tremendous sense of relief – and hope – when you send the application through the mail. Congratulations are in order!