In 2023, nearly 7,057,980 students applied to colleges. Not everyone applies to college, and not every who applies actually gets in. However, whatever decision is made regarding college applications or other options sets the trajectory for your life. Not applying or following a different path can have huge effects regarding one’s future. A college graduate is 177 times more likely than a high school graduate to earn $4 million or more during his or her lifetime. A component I’m sure many students dislike about the college application process is writing a college essay. However, sometimes a college application essay can be more helpful than one may think.
When I was first assigned the college essay assignment, I was happy to write it. I was getting an assignment in class done, and also writing an essay I could apply to college with. I didn’t really expect too much else from it. I knew I’d be writing about myself and that kind of scared me. I didn’t want to seem full of myself while writing it. Additionally, I haven’t really had experience writing about myself either, so I was worried about that too.
I’m a Tallwood senior who has already written that essay. If you write it carefully and truthfully, not only will it aid you into getting into getting into a college but it will also help you reflect on and understand yourself. I wrote that essay about trying to find my girlfriends lost cat. I tried everything I could constantly, searching during the day and during the night. I made a poster, and right as I was about to print and put them up, Purrito just showed up on the doorstep. I tried everything I could, and it failed. I wrote about how this challenged my beliefs. Some words of advice I have for Tallwood Juniors is that you should pick a prompt you can write a good story about. Make it as personal as you can, and try to use a story that has a lot of impact. If you start the essay with a quote or dialogue to immediately submerse the reader into the story, that would be an ideal way to start the essay. Additionally, you want a title that will catch attention. If the title is boring and the introduction is boring, why would someone want to read it? You can start your essay with being in the middle of a scenario, and then cut that off and start the essay normally.
Not only do I think the college essays are important for college and for learning about yourself, but I think they also help a lot if you are an academy student. In your I-Search paper you will have to write a good amount about yourself, and you want that part to be powerful, subversive, and attention grabbing. If you use a tense situation and keep that feeling throughout the essay, you’ll be sure to write a good college essay. The experience earned from writing a college essay aided me greatly in writing my I-Search paper, and I think it will help you as well.
College essays aren’t the easiest and most stress free thing to write at all, you’re writing an essay that can greatly influence the start of your life after high school. However, if you worry about it too much you won’t get any results from it. Try to show that you genuinely reflected on what you wrote about. Or that whatever your writing about had a great impact on who you are. For example, I wrote about how my system of beliefs changed from one event. I’d say it’s best to write a personal essay that you explore yourself with. I wish you all luck and I hope you benefit from the advice I have given!
