Emmet Rosenfeld is a high school teacher at T.C. Williams High School in Alexandria, Virginia who also works as a writing consultant who coaches high school seniors in crafting their admission essays. Today, Emmet shares key points to writing the admission essay that will get you to the college of your dreams.
How do you write the 650 words that can change your life?
It may seem an exaggeration but this is probably the question thousands of students ask when they start to work on the personal statement section of the Common Application.
The Common Application is a clearinghouse, a gateway that lets high school students apply to hundreds of colleges and universities online using school records, recommendations and a file of essays. The task of completing the requirements is daunting and it cannot be done in a single sitting. Emmet advises students to start early, gather their requirements over time and custom-tailor their applications to the schools selected. All these of course would include writing a personal statement.
For the school year 2016-2017, Common App offered several prompts to choose from, however about 400,000 hopefuls picked this one, "Some students have a background, identity, interest, or talent that is so meaningful they believe their application would be incomplete without it. If this sounds like you, then please share your story."
So how do you stand out from nearly half a million people, how would you make your 650 words count enough to get you into the college of your dreams? Simple, first don't be deceived by the numbers.
There are simple steps you can follow to write an essay that will wow admission offeicers to saying yes. Take your cue from the prompt: have a good story to tell, and just tell it well.
Be sure you have the correct grammar: spelling, verb tenses and subject-verb agreement.
Be clear and direct with your sentences. Say exactly what you mean to say.
Tell an actual story and limit abstractions.
Remember that you're telling a story. Be sure that each element is discussed in your paragraph.
Develop and address each idea properly and have real world examples.
Take advantage of dialogues in your story.
Give them the reason to admit you and be excited about it.
End it on a positive note.
Think of the process as a baseball game, you need to hit the ball and run to cover all the bases to be safe. You need to hit the idea pitched in the early part of the story so it will fly. You then run to each base to take your point across and then you complete the sprint by ending the story and leaving your readers feeling good. Good enough to give it a go.
