The screen is blank….and so is your mind. How are you supposed to convey your entire personality, activities, passions, life experiences thus far, and worthiness as an applicant, in <650 beautifully written words that an anonymous adult halfway across the country will read and judge? Oh, and did I mention that this piece of writing may have a major bearing on where you spend the next four years of your life (and much about your future after that)? Who wouldn’t be nervous! Yet this is something that most students who apply to college—including you, in all likelihood—must face down: the Common App Essay.
With every student I've ever worked with personally to craft the perfect Personal Statement, staring at that empty page (or Word doc, or Google doc) can send them into a frenzy of nerves and self-doubt. "What do 'they' want me to say?" they ask me, again and again, in our first few writing sessions. And look, I’ll give it to you straight: this IS an important question, given that your admissions reader will only spend a few minutes (at most) reading your essay. That means you MUST make a (postiive) impression, and convey the gist of who you are, in just a couple hundred seconds.
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What do colleges want to see in an admissions essay?
Let me tell you something that isn’t necessarily intuitive: admissions committees want a well-rounded CLASS, not a well-rounded applicant.
This is such a crucial insight that I’ll say it again: colleges want a well-rounded CLASS, not a well-rounded applicant.
Think about it: 60 students who are all fairly okay dancers and also so-so basketball players are NOT going to form a world-class performing arts department with exceptional student-run dance performances and also be able to compete seriously against the other universities' basketball teams.
Instead, these schools need EXCELLENT dancers and STANDOUT basektball players for their team, the kind who can win competitions for their alma mater. Top-notch teams and departments earn bragging rights for their university and encourage their alumni to donate big bucks. This is, of course, a very appealing prospect for colleges.
Thus, for the purposes of your application, it's better to be (and to frame yourself as) “fabulous” at one thing than as "fine" at several things.
And believe it or not, the people reading your application really WANT to like you. It would be no greater joy to the college admissions readers to determine that you are exactly the right fit for their school, ensuring that their acceptance pool has one more wowza student for next year’s freshman class. So, how do you convey that YOU are indeed that perfect fit?
How to show you're stand-out in your Common App essay
I promise: even if you’re not an all-star golf player or your state’s top saxophonist, even if you have won absolutely no awards proving how skilled or altruistic or smart you are—that’s ok. Because you still possess a whole rainbow of personal qualities that a college wants in its study body. The key to figuring out which qualities to play up is to ask yourself a few straightforward yet deep questions:
1) What are you PASSIONATE about?
As in: what helps you get out of bed in the morning because you’re so excited to do it? Is there an activity or interest that you'd feel lost without? How did you get into it? This doesn't have to be something that wins you blue ribbons or that you get school or volunteering credit for. I've seen very successful applicants write about developing the perfect lemon bar recipe while working at a bakery; about learning to embrace their inner "nerd" by getting good at ComiCon cosplay; about learning to play chess because it was intriguing, even if they never played to Bobby Fischer levels. Basically, if you truly love something, it will show on the page, and the college admissions advisors will know you have the capacity to be passionate about other activities at their school as well.
2) Where do you show INITIATIVE?
As in, where you do go above and beyond to find opportunities outside the classroom and school? If you claim to feel strongly towards volunteering, it means much more to an admissions reader that you started your own group or located a charity all on your own to work with rescued pigeons several days a week every summer, than it does that you participated in your school's pre-organized trip to the homeless shelter, or tutored second-graders in reading simply to check off your school’s community service requirement. Did you find a way to start competing in triathlons or pottery shows because your school doesn't offer those opportunities and you had to cultivate these interests yourself? This shows a take-charge, can-do attitude that colleges want on their campuses. It means you might be the future freshman who founds a backpacking club or starts an initiative to get the school cafeteria to serve healthier food.
3) What experience, person, or activity CHANGED YOU the most?
If there's someone or something that transformed you into the person you are, the admissions readers want to know! Did your relationship with your best friend teach you how to kindly disagree and stand up for yourself, and now you want to advocate for animal rights? Did coping with your learning disability teach you that you can overcome any obstacle, and now you want to be a learning specialist yourself? Did taking improv classes teach you how to deal with uncertainty in life, and that you can only control the things within your power and should let go of the rest? If anything contributed to your personal philosophy, write it down!
4) What makes you YOU?
More than anything, admissions officers want to understand your heart and soul, the colorful personality behind all the activities, grades, scores, and accomplishments—the special youness that they just can't get from a dry series of facts about you. Are you likable, positive, and curious? Are you a person they'd want to have a conversation with? What type of roommate would you be, and who might they match you with? And where do they see you participating in their campus community?
And you know how you can tell from an email if someone was annoyed or joking? They might use different punctuation or put certain words in all-caps for emphasis. Well, admissions officers can tell from the tone of your essay—your VOICE, if you will—if you take yourself too seriously, are kind, funny, compassionate, self-aware, snarky, etc. So more than any facts you write in your essay, make it sound like YOU.
Next steps
I hope this post has brought you a few steps further down to path to choosing or perfecting your Common App essay subject.
For some people, a little free advice (like this) is the only compass and map you may need to start writing. Others among you may still feel overwhelmed with the question of how to present yourself to admissions officers. Luckily, I spend countless hours helping seniors and parents do just that. I offer one-on-one essay brainstorming, editing, and polishing services, available in several different configurations to meet your needs:
Or, if you’re more of a self-studier but want more detailed written guidance than this post is able to provide (including lots of specific examples and follow-up questions to ask yourself), you can learn about my PDF guide to Acing the Personal Statement here.
