background preloader

College Essays: Examples and Tips

Facebook Twitter

Cookies are Not Accepted - New York Times. Crafting an Unforgettable College Essay. How To Write A College Essay. Listen: writing well is hard.

How To Write A College Essay

It is hard for a lot of different reasons. Sometimes it is hard because you don't know your audience and have to guess. Sometimes it is hard because you have a lot of stories tripping over each other to get onto the page. Sometimes it is hard because, no matter how smoothly you try to form your sentences, they invariably tumble out of you, all stiff and angular like a box of bent pipes.

But being able to write well is important. While (hopefully) no lives are riding on your college application essays, this is a great time to revisit some of the rules of writing well. George Orwell's Politics and the English Language is my personal guide to thinking about writing. Read this essay. Now, in this essay Orwell took issue primarily with contemporary political propaganda.

In our time it is broadly true that political writing is bad writing. Orthodoxy runs deep. Do not do this. Vs. Specificity, clarity, and brevity are your keys. Essays That Worked (Class of 2018) Your essays are some of the most important pieces of your application.

Essays That Worked (Class of 2018)

A well-crafted essay will convey to the admissions committee why Hopkins could be a good fit for you, and how you might contribute to the campus community. Below, read selected examples of essays that “worked”, as nominated by our admissions committee. These selections represent just a few examples of essays we found impressive and helpful during the past admissions cycle. These entries are distinct and unique to the individual writer; however, each of them assisted the admissions reader in learning more about the student beyond the transcripts and lists of activities.

We hope these essays inspire you as you prepare to compose your own personal statements. Outgrowing the Garage—Elijah The air is tainted with unnatural fumes of grease, wood, and burnt electrical tape. Sure, outside of my garage I love wildlife and hiking, history, and weird foods. String Theory—Joanna Temper—Morley Dissonance—Leila Hometown—Quan. 126 College Essay Examples for 12 Schools + Expert Analysis. The personal statement might just be the hardest part of your college application.

126 College Essay Examples for 12 Schools + Expert Analysis

Mostly this is because it has the least guidance and is the most open-ended. One way to understand what colleges are looking for when they ask you to write an essay is to check out the essays of students that already got in - college essays that worked. After all, they must be among the most successful of this weird literary genre. In this article, I’ll go through general guidelines for what makes great college essays great. I've also compiled an enormous list of 100+ actual sample college essays from 12 different schools. What Excellent College Essays Have in Common Even though in many ways these sample college essays are very different from each other, they do share some traits you should try to emulate as you write your own essay.

Visible Signs of Planning Building out from a narrow, concrete focus. Knowing how to tell a story. Stellar Execution A killer first sentence. A lively, individual voice. The very worst college application essays. College Essay - Sample Application Essay 1. Read the following application essay.

College Essay - Sample Application Essay 1

See if you can figure out this essay's strengths and weaknesses. Then keep reading to see our critique. The Essay From the time I was able to realize what a university was, all I heard from my mother's side of the family was about the University of Michigan and the great heritage it has. Many a Saturday afternoon my grandfather would devote to me, by sitting me down in front of the television and reminiscing about the University of Michigan while halftime occurred during a Michigan Wolverines football game. In Springfield High School, non-academic clubs such as the Future Physicians and the Pylon, both of which I have belonged to for two years, give me an opportunity to see both the business world and the medical world.

Currently I hold a job at Maas Brothers. In the community I am active in my church Youth Group. The past three years of my life have given me greater visions of my future. The Critique The Introduction The Body. Common Application Essays  ·  Tufts Admissions.