Write A Great College Essay! Tips From An Admissions Counselor

Write A Great College Essay! Tips From An Admissions Counselor Let's go through the key steps that will help you turn a great topic into a great essay. You've decided on a topic, but now you need to turn that topic into an essay. To do so, you need to determine what specifically you're focusing on and how you'll structure your essay. If you just don't have an idea you're happy with, that's okay! She's also played piano for all four years of high school, although she's not particularly good. The essay questions can make a great jumping off point, but don't feel married to them. Most prompts are general enough that you can come up with an idea and then fit it to the question. As you try to think of answers for a prompt, imagine about what you would say if you were asked the question by a friend or during a get-to-know-you icebreaker. After all, admissions officers are basically just people who you want to get to know you. Share about a time when you questioned something that you believed to be true. Describe an example of your leadership experience in which you have positively influenced others, helped resolve disputes, or contributed to group efforts over time. Of course, concentrating on an anecdote isn't the only way to narrow your focus. Depending on your topic, it might make more sense to build your essay around an especially meaningful object, relationship, or idea. When deciding what part of your topic to focus on, try to find whatever it is about the topic that is most meaningful and unique to you. Once you've figured that part out, it will guide how you structure the essay. It's a trait that's definitely come in handy as a reporter for her school paper. In terms of important events, Eva's parents got divorced when she was three and she's been going back and forth between their houses for as long as she can remember, so that's a big part of her personal story. 650 words may seem like a lot, but you can fill it up very quickly. This means you either need to have a very specific topic from the beginning or find a specific aspect of a broader topic to focus on. As you go through your ideas, be discriminatingâ€"really think about how each topic could work as an essay. But don't be too hard on yourself; even if an idea may not work exactly the way you first thought, there may be another way to approach it. Sometimes you'll end up having a genius idea in the car on the way to school or while studying for your U.S. history test. Otherwise, try the brainstorming process again when you've had a break. Still, don't worry that every single detail has to be perfectly correct. Definitely don't make anything up, but if you remember a wall as green and it was really blue, your readers won't notice or care. Your essay should ultimately have a very narrow focus. The next step is to go through your ideas and determine which one will make for the strongest essay. You'll then begin thinking about how best to approach it. As for personal traits, Eva is really proud of her curiosityâ€"if she doesn't know something, she immediately looks it up, and often ends up discovering new topics she's interested in. Pay attention to what you're really excited about and look for ways to make those ideas work. Now you have a list of potential topics, but probably no idea where to start. The key to this type of structure is to create narrative tensionâ€"you want your reader to be wondering what happens next. Now that you've got the reader's attention, go back and explain anything they need to know about how you got into this situation. Don't feel compelled to fit everything inâ€"only include the background details that are necessary to either understand what happened or illuminate your feelings about the situation in some way.