“Be yourself. Everybody is already taken.”
College essays
Every time I tell someone that I am an Academic Coach, they ask if I help with essays and personal statements. And while the short answer is yes, there are some qualifiers to it.
Grammar and style
Firstly, if you are looking for someone to proofread or stylistically improve your college application essay/statement, you don’t need a coach – you need a writing tutor. The good news is that with the advance of technology, we have not only spell-checkers and suggested sentence constructions but also sophisticated apps that can help you with style, vocabulary, grammar, and advanced punctuation. My favorite is Grammarly. It comes with a free version that easily meets my day-to-day needs. You can switch between formal and informal styles in the paid version, aim for an informative or humorous tone, and adjust to a more or less technical audience. I have been using it continuously for several years already.
What about content?
Now, onto the more sticky question of content. And this is where an experienced academic coach becomes invaluable. After all, you want to convince the college admissions committees that you are an exceptional candidate for their programs. So, what should you write?
Many applicants miss how important it is to find their authentic voice and express it. Admissions committees want to see your unique self and find out the topics about which you are passionate. They will be less impressed with your aspirations to solve world hunger someday and much more impressed about how you organized a couple of your friends to mow the front yard of your elderly neighbor. It shows care, a sense of civic duty, leadership, initiative, and the ability to organize.
While you are sorting out what you wish to include in your college application personal statement, here are a few things to consider.
Personal Experience.
Personal stories about your experience are valued more than general philosophical statements. Include specifics – what, when, and how you accomplished something. There are no small or big things. Do not dismiss your accomplishments. Whether you helped an older person at the store, babysat siblings, tutored a classmate, or participated in a sports competition – it’s all about your passion and the energy and skills that you put into it. Give details and make that story personal.
Own who you are
There is no hierarchy in the experiences. Don’t fall into the trap of thinking that other candidates have accomplished more or grander feats. It is not the what so much but the passion, initiative, and creativity with which you do things and write about it.
If you like to play soccer rather than protest social injustices on the other side of the globe, so be it. Own it with passion and zeal. Tell the admissions committee members how you rounded up the little kids in your neighborhood and taught them a few soccer tricks. Include the time when you helped your soccer team coach or offered to referee games for younger players. Did you always show up? That shows commitment and perseverance. Were you kind to your teammates even when they made mistakes? That is a sign of a great team player.
Be always positive
While bringing up hardships and misfortunes can elicit sympathy from others, overcoming those and the ability to keep a productive and positive attitude is what brings about respect. You want to be respected and admired, right?
Also, we tend to be self-critical creatures. We frequently overlook what we do right in favor of beating ourselves over what we did wrong. For your college essay/statement, take the time to recognize your strengths and present them clearly. If you made mistakes – reflect on the lessons you learned from them. If you suffered through setbacks, focus on how you recovered. It shows resilience and strength of character.
More versus less
We all know that it looks uninspiring to have an essay statement of only one paragraph. A little less known fact, however, is that it is equally bad to have too long of an essay. If you have many accomplishments, prioritize. Select your top accomplishments and include only them. Including a weaker paragraph next to a very strong one doesn’t make the whole essay stronger. It is the opposite. Weaker statements take away from the overall strength of your essay.
This brings me to my last point.
Confidence and self-respect
If you don’t feel confident and do not have much respect for your accomplishments, then people reading your statement will feel the same. Few are consciously aware of it, but all of us are sensitive to the undertone of other people’s speech and writings. So, when it comes to your writing – the best approach is to ignore that you are writing an essay to be submitted to Admissions and to imagine you are writing it to a peer or a family member or anyone around whom you feel comfortable and confident expressing yourself. Tell yourself that your goal is not to get accepted at any rate but to find out which university or college is best for you. You want to go to a place that aligns with your values and your strengths. The realization of this fact shifts the power away from Admissions back to where it belongs – you! You are in power and control of your path, and, ultimately, you will decide where to go and what to do with your life.