It is a question that every tortured student contemplating a competent college application essay hopelessly and idly wonders about - how important can the essay to be? A terrible essay is not going to get an otherwise qualified candidate rejected, or get an unqualified candidate in, now is it? While that kind of halfhearted thinking might make a lot of sense at first, things will become completely clear when you're peeping out of the window for the fat packet everyday. A great essay can turn a borderline "yes" into a complete "yes". Let's look at a few principles of the college essay writing process, and make a mental note of the state of mind you need to be in.
The rules of college essay writing, as simple as they are, might seem demented to a hapless coleege hopeful - they expect originality, creativity, honesty and spirit. Just these very words can work quite a bit of terror into any average teenager. And the 10 weeks they have over their summer vacation can turn into a building crescendo of unease and anxiety. However, things don't have to be this terrible. College essay writing needs to be about nothing special at all. Just think of how you and your fellow bandmates can just come up with a song off the cuff on a good day. The first draft doesn't have to be perfect; it just has to be whatever you feel might belong in there. If you have the basic skeleton of an essay to work with, the rest of it becomes pretty simple tweaking and polishing. Let's start with a list of things you need to keep in mind to get in the good with the admissions officer.
Do you see what it is about a celebrity that makes theminteresting? They have personality - there is something that they seem to represent. Character or personality is something that comes out of you. People who speak to you are supposed to come away with a definite feeling of who you are. This is what you need to bring out in your essay. What most impresses an admissions officer is to really hear it from the heart; you can't have someone else write it for you, because they know what the voice of the teenager sounds like. And while you're trying to impress your admissions officer, make sure that you don't actually try to impress them.
Yes that's a bit of zen that goes into anything creative. You do want to impress your audience; you are not trying to pander to them; you're supposed to try to impress them with qualities that are universally admired. You're not supposed to do anything that tries to impress them on a personal level.
Obviously, successful college essay writing is a skill that many high school graduates possess; this thought should take the mystery out of it. Some of the best and most appreciated essays that colleges receive aren't usually about anything super great. It doesn't have to be about your faith or about how concerned about the environment you are. In short, an application essay needs to be simply about the kind of thing that you actually think of from day to day, the kind of thing you actually find interesting enough to think about everyday. That's what defines you, and that's what they look for. Often, an essay about a mindless trip to Las Vegas you embarked on with your friends could make a better essay than one that goes on about something goody-goody like getting a seat up on the subway for those who need it.
The most important thing here is to not repeat yourself, however. Whenever there is something about your debating skills or your talents in art on your application, make sure that you say something different on the essay. In the end, your real opinions and your feelings come through just as long as they aren't controversial ones. And make sure that your supplemental answers are just about perfect.