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• How to Make Your College Essay Stand Out | Tips & Examples

How to Make Your College Essay Stand Out | Tips & Examples

Published on October 25, 2021 by Kirsten Courault . Revised on August 14, 2023.

While admissions officers are interested in hearing about your experiences , they’re also interested in how you present them. An exceptionally written essay will stand out from the crowd, meaning that admissions officers will spend more time reading it.

To write a standout essay, you can use literary devices to pull the reader in and catch their attention. Literary devices often complement each other and can be woven together to craft an original, vivid, and creative personal essay. However, don’t overdo it; focus on using just a few devices well, rather than trying to use as many as possible.

Table of contents

Essay structure devices, storytelling devices, imagery devices, tone devices, sentence-level devices, other interesting articles, frequently asked questions about college application essays.

You can frame your essay with symbolism or extended metaphors, which both work well in a montage or narrative essay structure .

Symbolism is the use of tangible objects to represent ideas. In your college essay, you can use one major symbol that represents your essay’s theme. Throughout your essay, you can also intentionally place related minor symbols to communicate ideas without explicitly stating them. The key is to use original, meaningful symbols that are not cliché.

For example, if your essay’s theme is “family,” your symbol could be a well-worn beloved Lord of the Rings Monopoly game set. Rather than directly saying, “The Lord of the Rings Monopoly game has brought my family happiness,” share stories with this game to demonstrate your family’s closeness, joy, and loyalty.

Supporting symbols:

• Story 1: Chipped and mismatching collectible Gandalf the Grey coffee mugs surround the Monopoly board during a lazy weekend
• Story 2: A folding card table supports our family’s mobile Monopoly game while the family plays at a campsite
• Story 3: An extended edition LOTR box set plays in the background during Thanksgiving feasts with extended family. We have a Monopoly competition after dinner.
• Story 4: Matching Frodo, Sam, Pippin, and Merry Halloween outfits are proudly worn by me and my family members. We always play a game of Monopoly the afternoon before going out together to our town’s annual Halloween carnival.

In the example below, a student depicts “The Monster,” an imaginary symbolic figure that represents the student’s jealousy.

Main idea: I have been on a quest to slay the Monster, the toxic envy that overtakes me when I compare myself to one of my friends.

Narrative: I remember first encountering the Monster in second grade when Laurel bobbed her hair. Everybody raved about how cute she looked. The Monster had plenty to say about how ugly, unpopular, and undesirable I was compared to Laurel. After that day, the Monster never seemed to leave my side.

Extended metaphor

A metaphor directly compares two unrelated objects, giving deeper meaning and multi-dimensional imagery. Since metaphors create a new reality between two objects, use them sparingly throughout your essay to avoid overwhelming the reader with too many comparisons.

You can also use an extended metaphor, which builds upon a simple metaphor throughout the essay with other literary devices and more in-depth descriptions.

To brainstorm your extended metaphor, you should first identify feelings or values associated with your story and then brainstorm images associated with these feelings.

Keep the following in mind when crafting your extended metaphor:

• Keep the comparison simple.
• Use a few other literary devices such as imagery or anecdotes to enrich your extended metaphor.
• Avoid making cliché comparisons.
• Don’t exaggerate or make an unrealistic comparison.

In the example below, a student uses the extended metaphor of a museum to explore the theme of identity. Each anecdote is framed as an “exhibit” that tells us something about her life.

• The Sight Exhibit: Flashback illustrating how racial discrimination led to my identity as a writer
• The Sound Exhibit: Snapshots of musical memories, identity as a musical theater lover
• The Smell Exhibit: Scents of my family’s Thanksgiving meal, identity as a daughter, granddaughter, and member of the Arimoto family
• The Touch Exhibit: Feel of warm water washing away academic and extracurricular worries while washing dishes, identity as a level-headed honors student
• The Taste Exhibit: Taste of salty sweat while bike training with a friend, identity as an athlete

In the next example, a student uses the river as an extended metaphor for his educational journey. The different parts of the river’s course represent different challenges he has overcome.

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Here are the most effective literary devices to enrich your storytelling in college essays.

Into the midst of things, in medias res

In medias res , Latin for “into the midst of things,” is a device that involves starting in the middle of the action. Then, important details are added to fill in the story. Similar to the beginning of an action or thriller movie, in medias res immediately drops the reader into a scene, allowing them to discern the story through sensory imagery.

Unlike a linear chronological narrative, flashbacks can be used to transport your reader from the present moment to a key past event to give a clearer understanding of your current personality, values, and goals.

Dialogue is a conversation between two or more people. Using dialogue in your essay can sometimes create suspense, transport readers into a scene, or highlight an important message. However, it should be used sparingly and strategically to avoid an anti-climatic or redundant moment.

Famous quotes should be avoided since they are overused, but using quotes from important people in your life can be original, personal, and powerful. But make sure the quote adds value to your essay.

You can use both figurative and literal imagery throughout your essay to paint a clearer, richer image in your reader’s mind.

Similes , like metaphors, compare two unrelated objects but use the words “as” or “like.”

In a metaphor, the two objects are considered the same, but in a simile, the word “like” or “as” creates some distance between the objects.

Five senses

Illustrate your five senses with descriptive language to help your readers quickly imagine your story in a vivid, visceral way. Sensory language also helps to convey your interest and knowledge of a topic.

Personification

Personification uses human characteristics and behaviors to describe inanimate objects, animals, or ideas. This can help show your emotional connection to something in an original and poetic way.

Here are a few tone devices to help improve your essay’s authenticity and voice .

Colloquialisms

While most slang is too informal for college essays, regional colloquialisms can sometimes improve your essay’s authenticity when used strategically, enhancing your ability to connect with admissions officers and adding a memorable element.

However, you should ensure that they don’t seem shoehorned in or otherwise affect the flow, clarity, or professionalism of your essay. If applying to schools outside your region of origin (or if you’re applying as an international student ), be sure the colloquialism is one that will be widely understood.

Hyperbole is dramatic exaggeration to express the intensity of your feelings about something. Use hyperbole sparingly to ensure the greatest impact and avoid sounding overly dramatic. Make sure to be original, avoiding overused comparisons.

Sentence-level devices are useful for dramatic effect or to highlight a point. But use them sparingly to avoid sounding robotic, redundant, or awkward.

To have the greatest impact, use these devices against the backdrop of varying sentence structures and at a critical or vulnerable moment in your essay, especially during reflection.

If you want to know more about academic writing , effective communication , or parts of speech , make sure to check out some of our other articles with explanations and examples.

Academic writing

• Writing process
• Transition words
• Passive voice
• Paraphrasing

 Communication

• How to end an email
• Ms, mrs, miss
• How to start an email
• I hope this email finds you well
• Hope you are doing well

 Parts of speech

• Personal pronouns
• Conjunctions

A standout college essay has several key ingredients:

• A unique, personally meaningful topic
• A memorable introduction with vivid imagery or an intriguing hook
• Specific stories and language that show instead of telling
• Vulnerability that’s authentic but not aimed at soliciting sympathy
• Clear writing in an appropriate style and tone
• A conclusion that offers deep insight or a creative ending

Your college essay accounts for about 25% of your application’s weight. It may be the deciding factor in whether you’re accepted, especially for competitive schools where most applicants have exceptional grades, test scores, and extracurricular track records.

Though admissions officers are interested in hearing your story, they’re also interested in how you tell it. An exceptionally written essay will differentiate you from other applicants, meaning that admissions officers will spend more time reading it.

You can use literary devices to catch your reader’s attention and enrich your storytelling; however, focus on using just a few devices well, rather than trying to use as many as possible.

You can use humor in a college essay , but carefully consider its purpose and use it wisely. An effective use of humor involves unexpected, keen observations of the everyday, or speaks to a deeper theme. Humor shouldn’t be the main focus of the essay, but rather a tool to improve your storytelling.

Get a second opinion from a teacher, counselor, or essay coach on whether your essay’s humor is appropriate.

Avoid swearing in a college essay , since admissions officers’ opinions of profanity will vary. In some cases, it might be okay to use a vulgar word, such as in dialogue or quotes that make an important point in your essay. However, it’s safest to try to make the same point without swearing.

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How to Write a Stand-Out College Essay

This article was written based on the information and opinions presented by Pascale Bradley in a CollegeVine livestream. You can watch the full livestream for more info.

What’s Covered:

Introduction to college admission essays, make your college admission essays stand out, choose a compelling topic.

College admission essays comprise approximately 20% to 25% of the evaluation criteria for college applications. This is especially true when applying to top-tier institutions with large pools of applicants who are equally competitive with respect to their academic performance, standardized test scores, and extracurricular involvement. Most schools require applicants to submit a Common Application essay and their own school-specific supplemental short responses and essays. However, they also require applicants to respond to different types and quantities of topics, and you need to confirm which essays are required for each school. 

Essays are the most significant personal component of the application process. They serve an integral role in humanizing you and helping colleges understand who you are, how you came to be, what you value, and how you respond to different challenges and situations. This information is critical because it helps admissions officers determine what you can contribute to their respective school, which is important because you need to demonstrate why a college should want you to attend and not just why you want to go to that college. 

Essays will range from 100 to 700 words in length. Short responses may range between one or two words to several sentences. You may also have the opportunity to submit a multi-page document or a portfolio of your work for a particular program or for admission in general.

When it comes to writing college admission essays, most applicants feel pressured to write about something that others will perceive as exceptionally interesting and impressive, such as a national award or a niche hobby. Applicants may feel unsure and insecure about not being talented, accomplished, or interesting enough, and the events and experiences in their daily life may feel too mundane or clichéd to write about. These pressures and insecurities stem from applicants internalizing the incessant messaging that they need to be exceptional and unique in order to distinguish themselves from other applicants and be attractive to schools. 

Most applicants have not accomplished anything of regional, national, or international significance. Even for the few who have such accomplishments, the accolades in and of themselves are not sufficient to craft a compelling essay. 

What actually makes a compelling essay is not what you choose to write about but how you write about whichever topic you choose. The essay will stand out because of your voice, your perspective, and your way of experiencing the world. You will not be penalized for what you have not experienced or achieved, as admissions officers understand that not everyone has access to the same set of opportunities and that geographic location, socioeconomic status, family connections, and many other factors constrain and determine what you are able to do in high school. 

Once you divorce yourself from the misconception that your essay needs to be about something dramatic, life-altering, or incredibly exciting, you can start to home in on the content of your life that is worth writing about. Moments from and aspects of your everyday life—a book that was particularly meaningful to you, a relationship that you cherish, a memory of time spent with loved ones, a time when you were humiliated—are the seeds of great essays because they are the vehicles by which you can reveal something significant about who you are and how you think.

Your essay can be about anything you want, so long as it is appropriate for a general audience, satisfies the prompt to which you are responding, and shows the admissions officers something important about you that they could not find anywhere else in your application. Topics and content to avoid include any statements that could be construed as racist, sexist, classist, homophobic, xenophobic, or otherwise prejudiced against any particular group of people. You should also avoid the use of unsupported facts, obscene language, illicit activities, violence, or graphic subjects. 

If you are considering writing about something that could be considered controversial, you need to recognize and prepare for the reality that your reader may completely disagree with you and may finish reading your essay doubting your character. Although there is a slight chance that you could write a really strong essay about one of these topics, you run a great risk that is unnecessary and will likely not prove worthwhile. 

For more information about how to write strong college admission essays, review our comprehensive articles on “ How to Write the Common Application Essays ” and “ 19 Stellar Common App Essay Examples ” to get inspired.

Related CollegeVine Blog Posts

Disclosure: This article contains affiliate links, meaning that when you make a purchase, I earn a small commission. For more information, see the site  Disclaimer .

9 tips for How to Write a College Essay That Stands Out

Are you wondering how you’ll manage to write a college essay that stands out from all the other admissions essays? How do you even start writing a standout college essay?

If you’re a high school senior staring at a list of prompts, facing the daunting task of writing an outstanding college essay, you might not know where to start.

After all, the college essay isn’t just another homework assignment. Your personal statement essay is a critical part of your college application.

Writing an impactful college essay is more than just a formality; it’s your opportunity to show colleges who you are beyond your academic achievements and test scores.

So how do you ensure that your essay captures the attention of admissions officers and leaves a lasting impression?

After all, admissions officers read so many college essays that they start to run together pretty quickly.

This guide provides straightforward advice on crafting an essay that stands out from the crowd and makes a strong impression.

These essential tips will ensure your essay highlights your unique character and perspectives.

With these pointers, you can tell your story in a way that resonates with admissions committees and helps them see you an an invaluable addition to their campus.

Whether you’re just getting started or fine-tuning your final draft, this post will help you craft a college admissions essay that stands out from the rest.

How to Write a College Essay that Stands Out

Here are nine clever college essay tips that will make your personal statement pop!

1. Start with a catchy opening

First, from the list of college essay prompts, choose a topic that has a personal meaning for you. An experience, a hobby, or a favorite thing could each be an excellent college admission essay topic.

The best way to grab the readers’ attention right from the start is by opening with an engaging hook. There’s no need to restate the prompt—just jump right into your story. 

Start with a bold statement:

• A strong first sentence will pique the reader’s interest immediately. This will set the tone for your essay.
• Use an anecdote :
• A brief (relevant) story from your life can be a powerful way to draw readers in.

Pose a thought-provoking question:

• Choose a question that reflects the central theme or dilemma of your essay to get the reader thinking.

Introduce a paradox:

• Present the reader with a contradiction to set the stage for your personal experiences.

Jump into the action :

• Starting your story in the middle of a pivotal moment can be a dynamic way to begin your essay.

The opening of your essay is your first opportunity to make an impression on the college admissions officers . The opening sentence should not only hook the reader but also introduce the main theme of your essay in a compelling way.

Whichever approach you choose, ensure the beginning sentence of your personal essay aligns with your essay’s overall tone and message, and most importantly, that it feels authentic to you.

If you’re having trouble crafting a strong hook, that’s okay. Write a draft of your essay and come back to revise the hook. A great introduction and first paragraph will grab the reader’s attention and help your college essay stand out from all the others!

2. Appeal to all five senses

Make your college essay stand out by using vivid descriptions and specific details about smells, sounds, textures, and tastes in your essay.

Appealing to the senses in writing is a powerful technique to create vivid and immersive experiences for the reader.

This approach, known as sensory detail or imagery, involves using descriptive language to evoke the five senses – sight, sound, smell, taste, and touch.

Here’s how you can effectively incorporate each of these senses into your writing:

• Use descriptive language to paint a picture in the reader’s mind.
• Describe colors, shapes, sizes, and contrasts.
• Include details about lighting, movements, or visual patterns.
• Include sounds to add dimension to the setting or action.
• Describe the volume, pitch, and tone of sounds.
• Use onomatopoeia (words that imitate sounds) for effect.
• Describe scents and aromas to evoke memories or emotions.
• Be specific about the source and quality of the smell.
• Describe flavors and the experience of tasting.
• Use adjectives to convey the quality of the taste (e.g., sweet, bitter, savory).
• Describe the texture and physical sensations.
• Include temperature, shape, and the sensation of touch.

Internal Sensations :

• Sometimes, writers also describe internal sensations like hunger, pain, or fatigue to evoke a physical response.

If you can make the reader feel, smell, or imagine what you’re writing about, you’ll have successfully written a compelling essay.

How to Choose a Unique College Essay Topic

3. pace yourself.

Pacing is a crucial element in storytelling, as it controls the rhythm and flow of the narrative, keeping readers engaged and eager to see what happens next.

Help the reader feel like they are in your story, waiting to find out what happens next. 

To write a college essay that stands out, make the reader feel invested in your story, so they are really curious about what will happen and they are rooting for you.

Here are some strategies to effectively pace your story:

Vary Sentence Structure and Paragraph Length :

• Use a mix of short, punchy sentences and longer, more descriptive ones.
• Short sentences can increase tension and pace, while longer ones can provide necessary details and background.

Control Information Release :

• Don’t reveal everything at once. Dole out information gradually to keep readers curious.

Balance Action with Reflection :

• While action scenes can quicken the pace and add excitement, moments of introspection are essential part of the best college essays.

Create Tension :

• Conflict is the driving force of a good story.
• Introduce one or more different types of conflicts (internal, external, interpersonal) to tell your story.

A well-paced college essay includes fluctuations in intensity and tempo, that align with the story of your personal growth.

4. Reference, but don’t restate

Remember, your admissions officer already knows about your high school grades, clubs, volunteer activities, sports, and musical talents.

So if you mention any extracurricular activities or your GPA in your college essay, be sure it’s particularly relevant to the story you’re telling.  

For example, it’s fine to note that the story you’re telling happened when you were volunteering at the animal shelter. It’s not okay to tell the reader (again) that you have volunteered there six hours a week for the past three years. 

You want to provide a glimpse into your achievements and experiences without merely repeating what’s already listed in your resume or letters of recommendation.

The best essays highlight unique qualities, deeper themes, and personal insight that aren’t mentioned in another part of your application.

Focus on Experiences, Not Titles :

• Rather than listing accomplishments or positions, delve into specific experiences and what they taught you.
• Describe a particular event, project, or challenge and reflect on its impact on your personal growth.

Use Stories to Illustrate Your Point :

• Narrate a story that highlights an achievement or skill.
• Stories are more engaging and memorable than mere lists of accomplishments.

Reflect on Your Achievements :

• Instead of just stating what you’ve done, discuss what you’ve learned from these experiences and how they’ve shaped your perspective, values, or goals.

Highlight Skills and Qualities :

• Use examples from your resume to demonstrate key qualities like leadership, teamwork, resilience, intellectual curiosity, or creativity.
• Show how these experiences have helped you develop these qualities.

Be Selective :

• Choose one or two significant achievements or experiences from your resume to discuss in your essay. Good college essays are concise and impactful.

Connect to Your Future Goals :

• Explain how your past experiences have prepared you for your future ambitions.
• Talking about your goals for later success can help admissions officers see the continuity and progression in your academic and career trajectory.

A great college essay provides insight into who you are and what matters to you. It shouldn’t be just another list of your accomplishments already covered in other areas of the admissions process.

5. Details for the win

Little details about you—your life, your feelings, your surroundings, your experiences—are what will make your college essay memorable. 

Specific details transform your essay from a generic narrative into a vivid, personal story that truly engages the admissions committee.

It’s a good idea to use details in your college application essays because they:

Create a Vivid Picture :

• Specific details help paint a clear and vivid picture in the reader’s mind. Instead of saying “I like science,” you could say, “I spent countless nights under the stars with my telescope, marveling at the mysteries of the Orion Nebula.”
• This level of detail helps the reader visualize and understand your experiences more deeply.

Demonstrate Authenticity :

• Details provide authenticity to your story.
• When you share specific moments, feelings, or thoughts, your essay becomes more believable and genuine.
• This helps build trust with your reader and makes your narrative more compelling.

Engage the Reader’s Emotions :

• A well-chosen detail can evoke emotions, making your essay more engaging and memorable.
• By describing how you felt during a significant moment or what exactly motivated you, you allow the reader to connect emotionally with your story.

Facilitate Personal Reflection :

• By reflecting on the details of your experiences, you can better articulate your learning and growth.
• This introspection can reveal deeper insights about your character and aspirations to the admissions committee.

In conclusion, the inclusion of specific, relevant details is a critical element in crafting a compelling and effective college essay.

These details bring your story to life, making it not just a narrative about events, but a reflection of your identity, journey, and potential.

6. Show, don’t tell

Colleges want to know that you have amazing personal traits that will make you a valuable, involved, engaged member of the campus community.

Your essay should demonstrate that you have the character traits the college is looking for.

Demonstrating these traits is not just about listing your qualities, but about showing them through your experiences, reflections, and the way you tell your story.

Fill your essays with details and examples that show the admissions counselor you are resourceful, resilient, positive, optimistic, curious, engaged, and empathetic, rather than outright claiming to be those things. 

Here are strategies for effectively demonstrating your character traits in your college essay:

Use Specific Anecdotes :

• Choose anecdotes from your life that clearly illustrate the character traits you want to highlight.
• For instance, if you want to show your leadership skills, describe a specific situation where you took charge, organized a team, or overcame a challenge.

Show Growth and Self-Reflection :

• Colleges look for students who are self-aware and capable of growth.
• Discuss a challenge you faced or a mistake you made, and then reflect on what you learned from that experience and how it shaped your character.

Discuss Your Passions and Interests :

• Often, your hobbies, interests, and passions can reflect your character traits.
• For instance, dedication to a sport or art can demonstrate discipline, while volunteer work can showcase empathy and community spirit.

Highlight Resilience and Adaptability :

• Share experiences that show how you’ve adapted to changes or bounced back from failures.
• Resilience is a highly valued trait, as it demonstrates your ability to handle challenges.

End with Reflection :

• Conclude your essay by reflecting on how your experiences and traits have prepared you for college and your future goals.
• This not only reinforces the traits you’ve discussed but also shows your forward-thinking mindset.

Providing concrete examples and personal stories that bring your character traits to life will make your essay both authentic and compelling.

7. Be yourself

The most memorable essays are those that are authentic and honest.

Admission officers are skilled at detecting insincerity. Share your true thoughts, feelings, and experiences.

Here are some tips on how to infuse your entire essay with authenticity and personal flair:

Reflect on Your Unique Experiences :

• Think about the experiences that have shaped you.
• What moments in your life have been pivotal?
• What is your unique take on the world?
• How do you see things differently?
• Reflecting on these will help you find a story that is uniquely yours.

Write in Your Voice :

• Your essay should sound like you.
• Avoid overly formal language if that’s not how you naturally write or speak.
• Don’t try to use fancy vocabulary words or stiff academic transitions. 
• Use a tone and vocabulary that are comfortable and natural for you.

Be Honest :

• Don’t exaggerate or lie about experiences to make your essay more impressive. Admissions officers value sincerity.
• Write about your real experiences and genuine interests.

Share Your Passions and Interests :

• What excites you?
• What do you spend your free time doing?
• Sharing these aspects of your life can help admissions officers get a better sense of who you are.

Discuss Your Learning and Growth :

• Talk about how you’ve grown from your experiences.
• Colleges aren’t just looking for accomplished students; they’re looking for individuals who are self-aware and capable of learning and evolving.

Seek Feedback, but Stay True to Your Story :

• While it’s beneficial to get feedback from teachers, counselors, or peers, ensure the final essay stays true to your authentic voice.
• Don’t let others’ suggestions overshadow your personal expression.

Avoid Trying to Impress at All Costs :

• Don’t focus solely on what you think the admissions committee wants to hear.
• Your authenticity is more appealing than a manufactured attempt to impress.

Remember, the goal of the college essay is to give admissions officers a glimpse of who you are beyond your grades and test scores. Your unique perspective, voice, and experiences are what will make your essay stand out.

How to Write an Amazing College Essay

8. Avoid clichés

Is it cliché to even say that?

Avoiding clichés in a college essay is important to ensure your essay is fresh, original, and genuinely reflective of who you are. However, using clichés is a common mistake.

Here are some strategies to help you steer clear of clichés and write an impactful essay:

Identify Common Clichés :

• Familiarize yourself with frequently used clichés in college essays.
• These often include overused themes like “the big game,” “community service trip to a foreign country,” or “overcoming a sports injury.”

Choose Unique Experiences :

• Focus on experiences that are unique to you.
• Even if the overall theme (like community service) might be common, your personal take or a specific aspect of it can be unique.

Reflect Deeply :

• Go beyond surface-level observations.
• Deep reflection on your experiences can unearth original insights or perspectives that steer clear of clichés.

Use Specific, Personal Details :

• Generic descriptions lead to clichés.
• Instead, use details that are unique to your specific experience. This makes your essay more authentic and engaging.

Avoid Overused Quotes and Phrases :

• Starting your essay with a quote from Gandhi, Martin Luther King Jr., or similar figures is a common trope.
• Express the idea in your own words instead.

Seek Constructive Feedback :

• Have your English teacher or someone else read your essay to point out any clichés you might have missed.
• Sometimes it takes a fresh set of eyes to catch overused expressions or ideas.

Embrace Vulnerability :

• Writing about your uncertainties, fears, and questions can often be more powerful than presenting only your achievements or a lesson learned.

Remember, clichés often stem from trying to say what you think others want to hear or relying on overused ideas.

By focusing on your genuine thoughts, feelings, and experiences, and presenting them in a fresh way, you can effectively avoid clichés in your college essay.

9. Keep a list of Potential Supplemental Essay topics

Many selective colleges require supplemental essays often ask specific questions that require thoughtful responses.

Coming up with ideas for supplemental essays in college applications can sometimes be more challenging than writing the main essay.

However, ideas that didn’t quite make the cut for your main college essay might turn out to be just right for a supplementary essay. 

Here are some ways to write outstanding supplemental essays:

Brainstorm Around the Prompt :

• For each supplemental essay prompt, spend some time brainstorming.
• Write down any and all ideas that come to mind, no matter how trivial they might seem initially.
• This process can help you uncover unique angles to approach the prompt.

Use Different Aspects of Your Identity :

• Consider aspects of your identity like your background, interests, hobbies, and aspirations that aren’t covered by your personal statement or Common App essay.

Reflect on Your Life Experiences :

• Think about moments in your life that have shaped who you are.
• These could be major life events, small but significant moments, or unique family, cultural, or community experiences.

Connect Your Interests to the College :

• Many supplements ask why you are interested in a particular college or program.
• Research the school thoroughly and think about how its specific resources, programs, clubs, or academic philosophy align with your interests and goals.
• Avoid generic responses.

Revisit Past Essays and Projects :

• Sometimes, your previous work can inspire new ideas. Look through old essays, projects, or journal entries for themes or stories you might expand on.

Talk to Family and Friends :

• Sometimes those close to us can offer insights into what makes us unique.
• Friends and family members might recall stories or characteristics that you haven’t considered.

Explore Your Future Goals :

• Think about what you want to achieve in the future – both at college and beyond.
• How do your aspirations tie into the prompt?

Consider Your Challenges and How You’ve Overcome Them :

• Reflect on obstacles you’ve faced and what you’ve learned from them.

Look for Patterns in Your Activities and Interests :

• Examine your extracurricular activities, hobbies, and volunteer experiences. Is there a common thread that ties them together?

High school seniors can feel completely overwhelmed the first time they realize how many types of essays they have to write as part of the college application process. So keeping a running list of potential main ideas for essays can really help.

Remember, the key to a successful supplemental essay is to provide new insights about yourself, not just restate what’s already in your application.

Each essay should add another dimension to your overall profile, helping admissions officers see the full picture of who you are and what you could offer as a college student at their campus.

Final thoughts on writing a college essay that stands out

In summary, writing a standout college essay boils down to being clear, authentic, and thoughtful as college applicants tell their own story.

While senior year can be extremely busy, and the writing process can be tedious, once you start writing the first draft of your Common Application Essay, you’ll be well on your way to crafting a memorable college essay!

In exploring various college essay topics, remember that a well-written essay can be approached in different ways. This is your unique opportunity to distill the essence of your high school years into a narrative that resonates with the college community.

Your essay should reflect your individuality and give insight into your character, beyond what grades, test scores, and the rest of your application can convey.

Focus on telling your story in a genuine way, using your own voice.

Catching and holding the reader’s attention are key to writing a college essay that stands out. Use detailed descriptions to tell a story that will engage the reader.

Remember to let your personality shine through while carefully avoiding any cliches.

Be sure to organize your thoughts coherently, and don’t shy away from showcasing your personal growth or lessons learned.

Remember to proofread and revise; a well-polished essay speaks volumes about your attention to detail. Writing a college essay that stands out will require a lot of revision and reflection, so allow time for the editing.

Ultimately, your goal is for your personal statement essay to give the admissions committee a compelling reason to see you as a valuable addition to their student body.

Keep your college admissions essay straightforward, honest, and reflective of who you are, and you’ll be on the right path to creating a thoughtful essay that stands out from those of other applicants and resonates with college admissions committees.

And before you know it, you’ll be on your way from high school student to college student! Good luck!

Graduate of Brown University, higher ed professional, and mom of three. Sharing everything I’ve learned about college with you.

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College Essays

In many ways, the most labor-intensive part of your college application process is the essay. It’s not just about forwarding transcripts or entering a list of extracurricular activities—you have to craft something personal and compelling to show the admissions committee who you are beyond your resume.

In this article, we’ll go over our 13 best tips for writing college essays. We’ll give tips for every step of the process including planning, writing, and editing your essay, as well as some quick and easy tips to boost any essays you already have written! With these college essay tips, you’ll be that much closer to the best admissions essay ever!

5 Tips for College Essay Planning

Doing a good job planning makes the college essay process that much easier. These five college essay tips will help you get started and pave the way for a great final product.

#1: Make a Plan of Attack for Your Essays

The first thing you’ll need to do is identify all the essays you’ll need to write and their deadlines. It may help you to make a spreadsheet with the essay guidelines for each school, the word count, the prompts, the due date, and any special instructions. This will help you figure out:

How many essays you’ll need to write, and how long those essays need to be.

Whether you can reuse any essays: In general, you can reuse essays for prompts that are about your life, broadly similar in theme, and have a similar word count. You probably can’t reuse essays that are very specific to the college, like “Why This College” essays .

Which essay you should write first: You’ll probably want to start first on the essay with the earliest application deadline. Alternatively, if you have plenty of time or the deadlines are close together, you could start with the longest essay (which will take the most time) or the essay that will be used for the most schools (like a Common Application essay). Do what you feel most comfortable with.

With all this information gathered, you’ll be able to make a plan of attack for your essays and make sure nothing gets lost in the application shuffle. (In fact, I actually advise keeping track of all necessary components of your application in a spreadsheet for the same reason).

#2: Start Early

You want to start writing way before the deadline. If possible, give yourself at least two months, and maybe even more time if you can. This will make sure that you have enough time to adequately plan your essay, draft it, and edit it.  

And, of course, the more essays you have to write, the earlier you should start!

#3: Choose the Right Topic

Choosing the right topic has two facets: first, choosing the right prompt (if there’s a choice) and second, choosing the right topic to write about for that prompt.

The Right Prompt

If there’s a choice of prompts, you may want to actually start by brainstorming the specific topic or thing in your life that you want to write about, and then reverse-engineer back to the most appropriate prompt. Most college essay prompts are pretty vague, so a broad range of topics and issues can be applied.

You can also use prompts to help you brainstorm if you’re having a hard time figuring out what to write about. Think about the prompt that seems most appealing to you at first. What intrigues you about it? What do you think you could communicate about yourself through that question?

Here’s some tailored guidance on some of the most common college essay prompt types . And if you’re writing a Common Application essay, here’s advice on how to choose the right Common App prompt for you .

The Right Topic

When you’re trying to choose something about your life to write about, consider the following:

What are you excited to write about? A good college essay can be about a wide variety of topics, but it should show that you’re passionate about something. This could be anything from a hobby you have to your favorite book or even your most beloved stuffed animal, just so long as you can make it memorable and positive. Also, your writing will be a lot better if you are writing about something you care about and are interested in!

Whatever you write about should be primarily about you. You should be the focal point. Even if you’re writing about someone who has influenced you, for example, you need to relate it back to yourself. What does this tell admission officers about you?

What makes you stand out? This should be something that goes beyond what’s in the rest of your application. Your test scores and GPA are already there. What really shows something unique about you?

Choose a topic you can be honest about . If you’re not being genuine, it will end up coming through in your writing. So don’t write about how much your membership in Youth Group meant to you if you only went to make your mom happy and you actually didn’t care that much.

In general, you should avoid topics that are overly controversial, like things that are politically charged, doing things that are illegal, or anything involving graphic descriptions of any bodily function. So if you’re going to write about recovering from hip surgery, probably leave out the gory details of you being constipated and your oozy scars.

Check out our 35 brainstorming techniques for college essays for even more help coming up with a topic!

If you’re really stumped, consider asking your friends and family what they think could be good topics. They may help you figure out something memorable and interesting. But also, don’t feel like you have to write about a topic just because someone else thinks it would be great. You need to be genuinely interested in what you’re writing about to write an engaging essay!

#4: Decide on Your Approach

In general, there are two main approaches you might take to write your essay. It might primarily take a narrative format, or it might take a thematic format.

In a narrative format, you’ll be relating a particular anecdote or experience and what it means to you. In a thematic format, you’ll present a particular theme—say, your love of parakeets or your secret talent for balancing books on your head—and expound on that theme in a descriptive way to reveal more about you and your personality.

Sometimes your approach will be determined by the prompt or topic that you choose. For example, if a prompt says to relate a particular event or anecdote, you’ll probably use a narrative approach. By contrast, if you want to write about how your favorite book changed your life, that will probably be a thematic essay.

#5: Write an Outline

Doing a little bit of outlining before you put fingertips to keyboard to write your essay is always a good idea. You don’t necessarily need to make a super-detailed plan before you starting writing, but a general idea of where you are going and the points you want to make will be very helpful when you start drafting. Otherwise, you may find yourself spending a lot of time staring at a blank Word document.

Yes, good, very detailed essay plan. 

4 Top College Essay Writing Tips

Here are four tips for writing college essays and making sure your work  stands out in a good way:

#6: Use Specific Details

The more details you use, the more your writing will come alive. Try to use words that are vivid and specific, instead of ones that are vague like “nice,” “good,” and so on. This will really flesh out the scene and help the reader picture what’s going on.

So take something like this:

One of my biggest accomplishments in life was teaching my little brother to ride a bicycle. I encouraged him to keep going when he fell down. Now he’s a great cyclist!

To something more like this:

One of my biggest accomplishments in life was teaching my eight-year-old brother to ride the racy red bicycle he got for his birthday. He wanted to give up when he took a tumble and skidded across the sidewalk. But while I bandaged up his knees with Batman band-aids, I convinced him to give it another try. I told him to think about how he would be able to bike all around the neighborhood exploring. Now I smile whenever I see him zooming down our street—wearing his helmet, of course!

See the difference? Wouldn’t you rather read the second one?

#7: Be Genuine

It’s important to get beyond the superficial in your personal statement. You should be writing about something that’s genuinely important or significant to you, so try to get beyond the surface. Instead of writing vague platitudes about how you really like the violin but it’s hard, really get at the meat: did you ever think about quitting? What’s frustrated you the most? What really keeps you going?

This means you shouldn’t try to write about things where it’s too painful to be honest. So if your parents got a divorce last year, it may be too raw to write about, which is perfectly fine. If, however, they got divorced when you were 5 and you can honestly reflect on how it changed your life, go for it.

Of course, you want to be honest in a reasonable and appropriate way. If you overshare, it will make it seem like you have bad judgment or don’t understand social norms—not good impressions to give the admissions committee. So probably don’t write about how much you despise your mother and think she is evil since she had an affair with your school librarian. It’s fine to feel how you feel, but there are some things that are a little too charged to write in your college essay.

#8: Be Unique, but Not Bizarre

You definitely want your writing to set you apart—but you want it to set you apart in a good way. This means you want high-quality writing about unique experiences and qualities you bring to the table that aren’t covered elsewhere in your application.

This does not mean you should get really avant-garde with your essay formatting. Don’t send in a piece of art instead of an essay, or make a video, or write a poem instead of an essay, unless those things are explicitly allowed.

Similarly, while your essay doesn’t have to be 100% deadly serious in tone, you should be careful with humor. This doesn’t mean absolutely no jokes or tongue-in-cheek moments or that your essay should read like an 18th-century book of sermons. But if your essay relies too much on humor, you’ve got a lot riding on whether or not the person reading your essay “gets” it. They may well be annoyed. So deploy humor carefully and selectively.

#9: Avoid Cliches and Platitudes

The more cliches you use in your writing, the more boring and less insightful your essay will be. Cliches are phrases that are so overused that they are essentially meaningless, and they are likely to make any reader roll their eyes. Phrases like “a dime a dozen,” “outside the box,” “cold as ice,” “dirt cheap,” “flash in the pan,” and so on are frequently deployed in conversation because they convey a common idea quickly. But you don’t want your essay to be common, so avoid cliches. Try to think about how you can communicate the same idea in a more specific and interesting way.

Here’s a list of over 600 cliches . But for the most part, you won’t need a list; you’ll know something is a cliche because you will have heard it a million times already.

You should also avoid platitudes or sweeping generalizations about life. These are statements that are so broad and far-reaching as to be both obvious and completely uninsightful.

So avoid making statements like “And that’s how I learned that hard work pays off,” or “There’s no ‘I’ in team.” You may think you sound sage or wise, but the truth is, platitudes are going to sound immature and poorly-formed to the reader. Similarly, don’t say things that sound like they could come from an inspirational quote account on Instagram. (See, ahem, “You miss 100% of the shots you never take,” “Shoot for the moon,” and so on.)

How do you avoid the platitude problem? Try to keep what you’re saying specific to you. So instead of saying “And that’s how I learned that hard work pays off,” try, “This experience helped me to realize that when I put concentrated effort into something that’s important to me, I can accomplish it even when there are roadblocks.” Keep the focus on what you can and will do in your own life.

Avoid  trite sayings like this one.

2 Tips for Editing Your College Essay

You may think that once you’ve gotten a draft done that you’re good to go. Not so! Editing is one of the most important parts of writing the best college essay possible, and here are two essential college essay tips for editing.

Tip #10: Ask for Help

It’s always wise to get another set of eyes on your college essays. In fact, several sets of eyes is even better! Other people can help you make sure your essay flows, you have enough detail, that everything is relevant, and that you sound as engaging and interesting as you really are! They can also help you catch typos and other minor errors—although you’ll want to double and triple-check for that yourself before submitting.

Here’s advice on how to ask for help with all parts of the college essay process , including editing.

Tip #11: Be Prepared to Cut a Lot

Brace yourself for cutting up your initial draft into tiny little ribbons and rearranging the remaining pieces Frankenstein-style. A first draft is really just a starting place to get your ideas down before you revamp the entire thing into a more streamlined, better organized, highly polished version. So you have to be ready to let go of pieces of your essay, no matter how much you love a particular turn of phrase or analogy. The ultimate goal is to turn the rough stone of your first draft into a polished and clear piece of writing—and that’s going to take a lot of chipping and sanding!

2 Final Tips for College Essay Success

Here are two quick but essential college essay tips you can implement easily.

Tip #12: Have a Standout First Sentence

One thing you can do to give any essay a boost is to make sure that your first sentence is attention-grabbing. If you can pique the interest of the admissions counselor right away, you’ll help keep their attention throughout your essay.

Here’s our guide to getting that perfect first sentence!

Tip #13: Triple-check for Typos and Errors

The most important quick thing you can do for your essay is to make sure there are no typos or grammatical errors. It will make your essay look sloppy and unfinished, and that’s the last thing you want! College admissions officers expect a polished product, and there’s nothing less polished than misspelled words and comma splices.

13 College Essay Tips: Key Takeaways for a Great College Essay

To recap, here’s our 13 tips for the best college essay ever:

College Essay Planning Tips:

• Create a plan of attack for all of your essays so you can keep track of everything.
• Start early—at least two months before the due date, if not more.
• Choose the right prompt and topic for you.
• Decide between a narrative or a thematic approach to the topic.
• Outline before you start writing!

College Essay Writing Tips:

• Use vivid, specific details.
• Be genuine—get beyond the superficial.
• Be unique, but not bizarre.
• Avoid cliches and platitudes; they are boring and unimaginative.

College Essay Editing Tips:

• Get other people to look at your essay.
• Be prepared to change, cut, and rearrange a lot!

Final Tips for College Essays:

• Make sure your first sentence is stellar.
• Triple check for typos and grammatical errors!

What’s Next?

You’ve read our tips for success—now see 10 college essay mistakes to avoid .

Looking for some college essay examples? See 133 essay examples and expert analysis here , along with 11 more places to find great college essay examples .  

Check out our complete guides to ApplyTexas essays , UC Personal Insight questions , and the Common Application essay !

Want to improve your SAT score by 160 points or your ACT score by 4 points?  We've written a guide for each test about the top 5 strategies you must be using to have a shot at improving your score. Download it for free now:

Ellen has extensive education mentorship experience and is deeply committed to helping students succeed in all areas of life. She received a BA from Harvard in Folklore and Mythology and is currently pursuing graduate studies at Columbia University.

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Tips for Writing an Effective Application Essay

How to Write an Effective Essay

Writing an essay for college admission gives you a chance to use your authentic voice and show your personality. It's an excellent opportunity to personalize your application beyond your academic credentials, and a well-written essay can have a positive influence come decision time.

Want to know how to draft an essay for your college application ? Here are some tips to keep in mind when writing.

Tips for Essay Writing

A typical college application essay, also known as a personal statement, is 400-600 words. Although that may seem short, writing about yourself can be challenging. It's not something you want to rush or put off at the last moment. Think of it as a critical piece of the application process. Follow these tips to write an impactful essay that can work in your favor.

1. Start Early.

Few people write well under pressure. Try to complete your first draft a few weeks before you have to turn it in. Many advisers recommend starting as early as the summer before your senior year in high school. That way, you have ample time to think about the prompt and craft the best personal statement possible.

You don't have to work on your essay every day, but you'll want to give yourself time to revise and edit. You may discover that you want to change your topic or think of a better way to frame it. Either way, the sooner you start, the better.

2. Understand the Prompt and Instructions.

Before you begin the writing process, take time to understand what the college wants from you. The worst thing you can do is skim through the instructions and submit a piece that doesn't even fit the bare minimum requirements or address the essay topic. Look at the prompt, consider the required word count, and note any unique details each school wants.

3. Create a Strong Opener.

Students seeking help for their application essays often have trouble getting things started. It's a challenging writing process. Finding the right words to start can be the hardest part.

Spending more time working on your opener is always a good idea. The opening sentence sets the stage for the rest of your piece. The introductory paragraph is what piques the interest of the reader, and it can immediately set your essay apart from the others.

4. Stay on Topic.

One of the most important things to remember is to keep to the essay topic. If you're applying to 10 or more colleges, it's easy to veer off course with so many application essays.

A common mistake many students make is trying to fit previously written essays into the mold of another college's requirements. This seems like a time-saving way to avoid writing new pieces entirely, but it often backfires. The result is usually a final piece that's generic, unfocused, or confusing. Always write a new essay for every application, no matter how long it takes.

5. Think About Your Response.

Don't try to guess what the admissions officials want to read. Your essay will be easier to write─and more exciting to read─if you’re genuinely enthusiastic about your subject. Here’s an example: If all your friends are writing application essays about covid-19, it may be a good idea to avoid that topic, unless during the pandemic you had a vivid, life-changing experience you're burning to share. Whatever topic you choose, avoid canned responses. Be creative.

6. Focus on You.

Essay prompts typically give you plenty of latitude, but panel members expect you to focus on a subject that is personal (although not overly intimate) and particular to you. Admissions counselors say the best essays help them learn something about the candidate that they would never know from reading the rest of the application.

7. Stay True to Your Voice.

Use your usual vocabulary. Avoid fancy language you wouldn't use in real life. Imagine yourself reading this essay aloud to a classroom full of people who have never met you. Keep a confident tone. Be wary of words and phrases that undercut that tone.

8. Be Specific and Factual.

Capitalize on real-life experiences. Your essay may give you the time and space to explain why a particular achievement meant so much to you. But resist the urge to exaggerate and embellish. Admissions counselors read thousands of essays each year. They can easily spot a fake.

9. Edit and Proofread.

When you finish the final draft, run it through the spell checker on your computer. Then don’t read your essay for a few days. You'll be more apt to spot typos and awkward grammar when you reread it. After that, ask a teacher, parent, or college student (preferably an English or communications major) to give it a quick read. While you're at it, double-check your word count.

Writing essays for college admission can be daunting, but it doesn't have to be. A well-crafted essay could be the deciding factor─in your favor. Keep these tips in mind, and you'll have no problem creating memorable pieces for every application.

What is the format of a college application essay?

Generally, essays for college admission follow a simple format that includes an opening paragraph, a lengthier body section, and a closing paragraph. You don't need to include a title, which will only take up extra space. Keep in mind that the exact format can vary from one college application to the next. Read the instructions and prompt for more guidance.

Most online applications will include a text box for your essay. If you're attaching it as a document, however, be sure to use a standard, 12-point font and use 1.5-spaced or double-spaced lines, unless the application specifies different font and spacing.

How do you start an essay?

The goal here is to use an attention grabber. Think of it as a way to reel the reader in and interest an admissions officer in what you have to say. There's no trick on how to start a college application essay. The best way you can approach this task is to flex your creative muscles and think outside the box.

You can start with openers such as relevant quotes, exciting anecdotes, or questions. Either way, the first sentence should be unique and intrigue the reader.

What should an essay include?

Every application essay you write should include details about yourself and past experiences. It's another opportunity to make yourself look like a fantastic applicant. Leverage your experiences. Tell a riveting story that fulfills the prompt.

What shouldn’t be included in an essay?

When writing a college application essay, it's usually best to avoid overly personal details and controversial topics. Although these topics might make for an intriguing essay, they can be tricky to express well. If you’re unsure if a topic is appropriate for your essay, check with your school counselor. An essay for college admission shouldn't include a list of achievements or academic accolades either. Your essay isn’t meant to be a rehashing of information the admissions panel can find elsewhere in your application.

How can you make your essay personal and interesting?

The best way to make your essay interesting is to write about something genuinely important to you. That could be an experience that changed your life or a valuable lesson that had an enormous impact on you. Whatever the case, speak from the heart, and be honest.

Is it OK to discuss mental health in an essay?

Mental health struggles can create challenges you must overcome during your education and could be an opportunity for you to show how you’ve handled challenges and overcome obstacles. If you’re considering writing your essay for college admission on this topic, consider talking to your school counselor or with an English teacher on how to frame the essay.

Related Articles

5 tips for writing a standout college admissions essay

The college admissions process is now more competitive than ever, and making your application stand out can feel like a daunting task — but your personal essay could be the key to helping you shine.

Most universities and colleges require you to submit a personal essay or statement as part of the first-year   application  process. Beyond looking at high school grades and test scores, admissions officers will review letters of recommendation and personal essays to get a sense of who you are — and where you want to go.

While all of this can sound difficult to navigate, writing memorable college essays will ultimately give you an opportunity to shine during the admissions process.

Here are five tips for writing impactful application essays that will set you apart from other candidates:

• Choose a prompt that works for you.
• Tell your story and share what you envision for your future.
• Have someone review your essay and make sure it flows.
• Take advantage of online resources.
• Keep track of admissions requirements and deadlines.

1. Choose a prompt that works in your favor.

Are you asking yourself, “What should I write my college essay about?” The Common Application, as well as some individual schools, will give you a list of prompts that are useful starting off points to help you tell your own story. While the Common Application prompts can change each year, some examples include:

• Reflect on a time when you questioned or challenged a belief or idea. What prompted your thinking? What was the outcome?
• Discuss an accomplishment, event or realization that sparked a period of personal growth and a new understanding of yourself or others.
• Reflect on something that someone has done for you that has made you happy or thankful in a surprising way. How has this gratitude affected or motivated you?
• The lessons we take from obstacles we encounter can be fundamental to later success. Recount a time when you faced a challenge, setback or failure. How did it affect you, and what did you learn from the experience?
• Share an essay on any topic of your choice. It can be one you've already written, one that responds to a different prompt, or one of your own design.

These prompts invite students to think about challenges they’ve overcome or experiences that have made them grateful. It’s an opportunity to write about growth, strength and what makes a candidate who they are.

The advice that I give to students is to think of this as your interview. We would love to meet and interview all of our applicants, but we are unable to do so. This is your opportunity to tell us about you — the person outside of your grades and GPA.

 Paula LaMannaCincinnati Regional Admissions Coordinator

The   University of Cincinnati  also asks college-specific questions like, “Why did you apply to each of the academic programs listed on your application?”

2. Tell your story — and let them know where you’re going.

The college admissions essay is all about you. Before you start to write your essay, admissions experts advise that you do a reflection exercise with yourself. Ask yourself questions like,  “What do I have to offer the world? What are my quirks? What makes me stand out? Who am I at my core? What do I want out of my college experience at this school?”

A couple specific points to remember:

• Don’t be repetitive.  Your essay shouldn’t just repeat what’s listed in your resume. It should highlight what makes you a fantastic candidate beyond grades, extracurricular activities and test scores.
• Stay specific.  You can’t fit your entire life story into a 650-word essay, so try not to be too broad. Hone your essay in on a specific topic, life story or lesson you’ve learned.

3. Edit. Then edit again.

Once you’ve written your essay, take a couple days to step away from it. Reread it with fresh eyes to see if it flows, makes sense and uses clear language. You should aim to   write in your own voice — not in a formal academic tone. Ask a trusted teacher, tutor or counselor to review and edit your piece. While your essay should be written in your own style, an editor can help you expertly craft a final version free of spelling and grammar errors.

4. Take advantage of resources.

You don’t have to go through the application essay process alone. Universities and nonprofits offer a wide range of online admission resources, including:

• UC’s  Frequently Asked Questions - High School Students
• U.S. News:  How to write your story
• The Common App  Solutions Center for First-Year Applicants

5. Confirm your requirements and deadlines.

Stay organized.  Treat the application process like a test run for college courses — you’ll have plenty of deadlines to meet for assignments and tests in your first semesters during college. Admissions officers recommend keeping a spreadsheet or document detailing the universities you’re applying to, each  university’s requirements and deadlines , and a checklist of what you’ve completed.

• College bound
• Applying to College
• College Prep

Katherine Martinelli

Updated Oct 23, 2017

7 Ways to Make Your College Application Essay Stand Out

• Apply to College
• Application Process

There’s so much that goes into a college application, combining years of hard work that lead up to the final moment when you hit “send.”

Grades and test scores are important components, but numbers only tell a portion of your story. What colleges really want to know — and what sets you apart from the crowd of other applicants — is who you are and what makes you tick. Your best opportunity to go beyond the letters and numbers on your high school transcript is through the application essay , or personal statement, which is precisely that: your invitation t o let your personality shine. For admissions officers comparing students with similar scores and extracurricular activities, a compelling essay that brings an applicant to life can lift that student to the top of the pile. 

To make your college essay stand out, consider these expert tips.

1. Choose a Thoughtful Title

College essays are not typically required to have a title, but crafting one can be a powerful tool to make your essay stand out right away — which is why Benjamin Caldarelli, co-founder of Princeton College Consulting , recommends adding one. He says a strong, simple title is perfectly effective, though you may be able to make a positive impact with a well-chosen cultural reference. “Using a variation on the title of a well-known book or movie is an example,” he says. A winning title he saw recently was “Mindful Middle Class Indian.” It was a play on the popular book-turned-movie Crazy Rich Asians .

Even with a more straightforward title, Caldarelli says it’s important to pique the interest of the reader. Another effective title he noticed was “The Cheesecake.” It’s simple, relatable and leaves you to wonder what that dessert has to do with college. The essay turned out to be a creative and unusual approach the applicant used to demonstrate their perseverance by making a fancy, labor-intensive cake, and Caldarelli says the title was the perfect setup.

You need to start with the meaty part right off the bat. Phyllis Zimbler Miller

2. Jump Right In

Just as people often judge whether to read a book based on its first sentence or two, the college essay should waste no time in grabbing a reader’s attention. “Frequently, first paragraphs are weak, as if the writer is winding up to write the meaty part of the essay. You need to start with the meaty part right off the bat,” says Phyllis Zimbler Miller , author of How to Succeed in High School and Prep for College . Her recommendation? Write your first draft and then chop off the first paragraph to see how it reads. Chances are that’s a good place to start strong.

Lindsey Conger, an independent college counselor at MoonPrep.com , agrees that the first paragraph is crucial and suggests starting with an anecdote, particularly one in which you can draw the reader into the action. “I recommend that you throw your reader right into the middle of the story,” she says.  

3. Don’t Be Afraid to Use Humor

Moments of levity can be a welcome relief for admissions associates who are knee-deep in earnest essays. To pull them in, Brian Galvin, chief academic officer for Varsity Tutors , recommends using humor or a semi-sensational statement. His example of an intriguing line? “When I was three, I was abducted by aliens. My life has never been the same.” That’s an essay you want to continue reading, right? And a couple of lines is the perfect amount of humor — after all, your essay isn’t meant to be, and shouldn’t be, a standup routine. Instead, it is designed to present the fullest, truest and most compelling version of yourself. If you choose a humorous opening line, Galvin suggests transitioning into a particular passion or interest. This alien opener might “transition to a student’s deep interest in astrophysics or aerospace engineering,” he says.

4. Use Specific Examples

It can be tempting to use the essay to showcase all of your positive attributes, but remember, it shouldn’t feel like a résumé. For a successful college essay, keep your focus narrow and then use strong examples to illustrate your points. “Don’t just tell us that you are empathetic; tell us about a time you volunteered at a nursing home and spent hours talking with a particular resident. Tell us how you felt and the impact the conversation had on you and the resident. Those types of stories will stick out much more to the admission officer reading your essay,” advises Conger.

5. Channel Your Most Unusual Passions

Chances are, if you’ve chosen to write about something you’re genuinely passionate about, your excitement will shine through and will distinguish your essay from those that sound robotic. And the more unusual that interest is, the better — whether it’s skydiving or cosplay, think about the things you love that set you apart. 

To make a particular interest really stand out in the context of a college essay, discuss how it aligns with your educational objectives. You might explain what skills you’ve mastered from a hobby that will be meaningful in your future career, or perhaps point to a specific experience that highlights your individual growth and personal development.

6. Be Vulnerable and Authentic

If you want your college essay to leave an impression, don’t be afraid to open up and show genuine emotion. “Being very vulnerable and sharing a painful or intense experience honestly can make for compelling essay material,” says Galvin. Just be mindful of the fine line between sharing difficult experiences and painting yourself as a victim. “It’s OK to talk about the challenges you’ve faced in life, but if you do that, also talk about how you grew as a result and worked to overcome the challenge,” says Louise Grant, associate director of admissions for Husson University . 

You don’t need to have experienced personal tragedy to have material for a memorable college essay. Acknowledging a mistake you made and reflecting on it honestly and with maturity can display emotional depth and vulnerability too.

7. Draw Connections

It’s pretty easy to just talk about yourself, but to bring your essay to the next level, try to connect it to the world at large. “What often elevates an essay is that the writer is able to place their own story and insights in a larger historical, cultural, philosophical or intellectual context. Ask the question: What is an important and authentic context for my story? Whether it is an idea that frames the entire essay or just finds its way in through telling details, it often separates good from great,” says Caldarelli. In a well-known example , one student framed her essay within the context of shopping at Costco while deftly bringing in physics concepts and literary references and demonstrating her own personal growth.

These suggestions are your guide to writing a college essay that stands out — in a good way. Equally important is that your essay not stand out for the wrong reasons — because of poor grammar, careless typos, divisive or offensive statements or straying far from the topic or word count. To avoid these pitfalls, be sure to proofread your essay several times and then have it reviewed by an extra set of eyes (or two) before hitting send. 

Following the above do’s — and don’ts — will help you compose an essay that communicates the best of you, guaranteeing that it will be compelling and utterly original. 

Interviews for this article were conducted in 2019.

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Tips and Tricks How to Write a Standout College Application Essay

The college application essay is your opportunity to show admissions officers who you are and why you're a good fit for their school. A well-written essay can make the difference between getting accepted and being rejected, so it's important to put in the effort to make your essay stand out. In this blog, we'll provide some tips and tricks for improving your college application essay.

Choose a strong topic

The first step in writing a great college application essay is to choose a strong topic. This can be anything that is meaningful to you, such as a personal experience, a challenge you've faced, or a passion that you have. The key is to choose a topic that is unique and interesting, and that showcases your strengths and personality.

To choose a strong topic, brainstorm a list of potential ideas and then narrow it down to the one that is the most compelling. You can also talk to friends, family, and teachers to get their input and feedback on your ideas.

Write a clear and compelling thesis

Once you've chosen a strong topic for your college application essay, you'll need to write a clear and compelling thesis. This is the main argument or point that you're trying to make in your essay, and it should be concise and focused.

To write a strong thesis, think about what you want to say in your essay and then condense it into a single sentence or two. You should also make sure that your thesis is specific and focused, so that it's clear to the reader what your essay is about.

Use specific examples and details

To make your college application essay more interesting and engaging, you should use specific examples and details. This means including specific stories, experiences, and examples that illustrate your points and make your essay come alive.

To add specific examples and details to your essay, think about your topic and what you want to say, and then try to come up with specific examples that support your thesis. You can also include quotes, statistics, and other evidence to make your essay more compelling and convincing.

Use a strong conclusion

The conclusion of your college application essay is your last chance to make an impression on the reader, so it's important to make it strong. In your conclusion, you should summarize your main points and restate your thesis, but you should also try to leave the reader with something to think about.

To write a strong conclusion, think about what you want to say in your essay and then condense it into a single paragraph. You should also try to end with a memorable quote, a call to action, or a thought-provoking question, to leave the reader with a lasting impression.

By following these tips and tricks, you can improve your college application essay and increase your chances of getting accepted to your dream school. With a strong topic, a clear thesis, specific examples and details, and a strong conclusion, you can write an essay that stands out and showcases your strengths and abilities.

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The Key to a Standout College Essay

Sophia Minhas

College admissions creative designer and lead admissions expert, table of contents, college essay, overall takeaways.

Stay up-to-date on the latest research and college admissions trends with our blog team.

College essays range from structured to creative. Sometimes, they leave you scratching your head, wondering what on earth oranges have to do with you eligibility for college (I’m looking at you, University of Chicago). And they still expect you to write a truly standout college essay that answers everything? With all the pressure and confusion, it can be hard to appreciate the humor of riddles and off-the-wall essay prompts. Who do they think we are, Indiana Jones? Just tell me what you need to know!

Does that sound familiar? Are you finding yourself stumped, sitting in front of a blank document… or mess of words that leaves you uninspired?

Empowerly Knows Your Struggle

Guess what… here are some of the common questions we get from students and families just like you:

• What’s the secret ingredient for a good college essay?
• What characteristics are colleges looking for?  
• How do I write a college essay?
• How do I make myself a competitive applicant, or present myself best in my college essays?
• What should I write about to get accepted to my dream school?  
• What is the key to a great college essay?  

Basically, you aren’t alone in this struggle. Empowerly has a unique approach to essays that will help your student write the best possible sample to submit with their college application every year, even if you get thrown a curveball.

The Honeycomb

Here is our framework to will help you find your footing as you face a variety of different prompts. We call it “The Essay Honeycomb,” and it maps out different styles of essay and short-answer prompts along a continuum of structured to creative (or open-ended-ness).

Wondering how this translates to a standout college essay? If you are looking for content tips on exactly how to craft that standout essay that college admissions officers will be excited about, remember this: you are the thesis . Write from the heart, do your best to be specific with details, and convey your personal maturity and drive to learn.  

That sounds well and good, but how do I actually start? You can use the Essay Honeycomb to help you decode what kind of information the question is looking for. Obviously, the more structured prompts will be more clear about the requirements you ought to write about to be successful. 

But here’s the secret: even creative prompts want similar information! It’s just a more roundabout, fun way of asking you to demonstrate and defend why you’re a great scholar and deserve a place on their campus this year. 

Real prompt examples of the essay honeycomb in action:

Please briefly elaborate on one of your extracurricular activities or work experiences that was particularly meaningful to you. (about 150 words).

Keep it simple. Choose a major activity – one that you did not focus on in the Common Application major essay and write about it. Keep it to one paragraph and focus on what it is, how long you have done it, why it is important to you, and what it means to you. The last two elements of this response are the most important and usually neglected. They just want to know which of your activities in your activity list is the most important to you if you had to choose one.

Virtually all of Stanford’s undergraduates live on campus. Write a note to your future roommate that reveals something about you or that will help your roommate — and us — know you better. (250 word limit)

As an individual you possess all kinds of habits, hobbies, and personal approaches to social interaction. Topics and range from social justice beliefs to furniture arrangement preferences. Put another way, when your roommate looks back at the housing experience, what information would serve as a defining explanation of your relationship? It would be useful to include aspects of student life/culture/traditions that you would like to experience together or that would contribute to your dynamic.

See what I mean? Each essay question or short answer field is an opportunity to flex. So get out there and strut your stuff. Other students may get flustered or overthink those “weird” essay questions, but now, you’ll know exactly what to do.

Interested in touching base with one of our admissions experts before you send in the final thing? Book a consult today and let us know what kind of help you’re looking for, and we’ll match you to a counselor and program to meet your individual needs. We’re here to help you spread your wings and fly into a future that works for YOU!

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Writing a Standout College Admissions Essay

The average personal statement length required by colleges is generally around 500 words. Doesn't sound like a big deal, right?

But if you find that putting together your college application essay is one of the most brutal parts of the entire process, you're not alone. This is a super common place to find yourself stuck!

If you feel yourself starting to sweat at this point in the process, don't worry! We've put together an easy to follow process with some helpful hints to get you started.

Remember: your essay will be used by admissions departments to get a better sense of who you are and who you hope to become after completing higher ed. Your GPA and resume represent what you've done; your essay demonstrates your personality and your goals.

With that in mind, let's break down exactly how to do this step-by-step.

Step 1: Choose a Topic

It might seem silly, but this is the stage most of us get stuck at. Lost before we even get started!

If you are fortunate enough to have a school that has offered a clear prompt, you're already ahead in the game. Feel free to skip down to step 2!

If, on the other hand, the school has given you dealer's choice on your essay, it's time to get kickstarted on some good old fashioned brainstorming.

First, common app has prompts available if you're using their site to submit multiple applications. If instead you're submitting directly to the school of your choice, you can start by looking up some college application essay examples . These will help you think of general topics and see what has worked for others in the past.

Don't forget: these examples are for inspiration only. Any copying of someone else's essay is a surefire way to get your application in the rejection pile.

Once you've spent some time looking at personal narrative examples , get out a sheet of paper and start a list of your own ideas. As you're thinking, ask yourself these questions:

• What significant events in your life would you like to share with the admissions committee?
• What image are you trying to portray?
• What moment in your life offers a glimpse of your personality and style?

Set a timer for 5–10 minutes and just let your pen fly. No idea is off-limits at this point.

Once you've brainstormed some ideas, it's time to narrow things down. Ideally, choose a topic where you can not only share a big personal moment but how that experience has shaped you and prepared you for the college experience.

Instead of listing the 12 times you finished first in the track meet, tell about the one time you finished dead last because you tripped over every hurdle. This "failure" shows how you persevere and keep trying no matter what.

Step 2: Create an Outline

A college application essay format isn't always an exact science. After learning how to craft a basic, 5-paragraph essay for years (thesis statement, supporting arguments, conclusion), it's time to step out of that mold a bit.

Depending on the type of essay you have chosen, there can be variations in how you format your essay . Your individual style and voice might determine the need for a slightly different plan of attack for your outline.

Regardless of your topic, the general rule of thumb is to include these three essential ingredients:

1. An engaging introduction

• What is your hook?
• Why should anyone care?
• How will you capture your reader's attention?

2. A story with details

• How can you show (not tell) what happened?
• Which details are most important (and interesting)?
• Which specifics help demonstrate who you are?

3. A conclusion with intention

• How can you tie this all up with a nice connection to your life?
• What is the overall deeper meaning you are trying to convey?

While you may be tempted to dive right in and start writing, creating an outline is an essential step in this process. Plotting your introduction, your story details, and your conclusion will help guarantee a more fluid, clear, organized, and purposeful essay. Taking the time to outline pays off in the end when you don't have to revise an essay that lacks substance and organization.

Step 3: Write the Essay

Once you have outlined your essay to ensure all of the pieces are in place, it's time to create a draft. At this point, you have the freedom to write as much as you want. Don't worry about limitations too much; just focus on getting the message out. However, keep in mind that revisions will need to be made and your word count will need to be appropriate eventually.

What's an appropriate word count for a college essay? Generally, 350-500 words will suffice.

A 500-word essay is long enough to offer insights about who you are but short enough to keep your reader's interest. Of course, if the college gives you a limit, be sure to stick with whatever they ask.

After you have completed your first draft, you need to make sure to chop out any extraneous information and make your essay precise, engaging, and clear. Don't drone on and on if things can be told succinctly and appropriately. You will probably have to write and revise a few drafts until you find one that seems to be the right fit for you.

Step 4: Edit Your Work

You've finished your draft and are pretty happy with what you have. Time to send it off, right? Not quite!

You want this essay to be as well-written as possible. There is plenty of editing to be done.

You are the first proofreader . Do everything in your power to make this piece amazing:

• Use spell-check
• Run it through an online grammar check
• Read it aloud to see if the flow is natural

Then ask others to look over your essay. Teachers, parents, and friends can all be a great help in making sure your essay flows well and doesn't have any errors.

Once you've completed all four of the above steps, your essay is ready to be submitted!

Brainstorming, outlining, writing, and editing are all crucial steps to crafting your perfect college application essay. By following these steps, you can be sure that your essay will catch the attention of the admissions committee for all of the right reasons. And with hard work and a little luck, you'll soon be writing more essays...at the college of your choice!

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Your personal statement is arguably the most important part of your college application. Follow these guidelines for an exceptional admissions essay.

How to write a standout college application essay

by Daniella Dautrich | Mar 19, 2018 | College Prep , Essays & Research Papers

As a parent, you’ve likely spent years preparing your teen for college—academically, emotionally, and spiritually. If you followed these tips for writing a college application essay , you’ve already planned ahead by encouraging excellent communication skills.

By now, your teen has probably narrowed down her list of college choices, and she’s ready to start writing. If she wonders how a mere handful of paragraphs can properly introduce all her thoughtful, ambitious, diligent, and enthusiastic qualities, it’s time for her to think like a novelist.  In other words, don’t tell your readers— show them!

1. Write a Strong Thesis Statement.

A thesis statement in the first paragraph keeps an essay on track . Page limits will not allow high school students to include every childhood dream and future goal in their college admission essays. To avoid rambling, write a few introductory sentences to set the overall tone. Then follow with a thesis statement that answers the admission counselor’s question: Why should I keep reading?

Study the application carefully as you write your thesis statement:

• Does the admission staff want to see an essay about “Why You Are a Perfect Fit for Our College” or “How You Will Contribute to Our Campus Community”? Develop your answer with three to six key points .
• Now, write a thesis statement that includes all of these points (or, as my professor called them, “divisions of proof”). Each paragraph in your essay will build on one of these points , drawing from your life experiences for concrete examples.

2. Write in the Active Voice.

After you develop a thesis statement and write a solid draft, go back and edit for active instead of passive voice . To find instances of passive writing, look for the red flags commonly known as “to be” words ( is, am, are, was, were, be, being, been ).

An essay in the passive voice sends subtle signals to an admissions counselor: This student follows and responds instead of taking the initiative to lead. You don’t want to send a message like that!

Consider the following statements :

• Passive: I was asked to join the drama team for my youth group during my sophomore year.
• Active: As a member of my youth group drama team, I volunteered to coordinate the elementary school outreach in the spring of my sophomore year.
• Passive: I have been commended by my teachers for my attention to detail in labs and my ability to motivate other students. 
• Active: I always take the time to double-check details during labs, whether or not the teachers are watching, and I make a special effort to encourage lab partners who lack self-confidence in the sciences. 

Using active voice also makes it easier to add more compelling details to a sentence. This lends an air of greater maturity to your writing.

3. Paint Captivating Word Pictures.

A novelist does much more than simply ask readers to imagine a boy on a sailing ship or a girl in a small town. She helps us feel the runaway slave’s quickening heartbeat in a wild storm. She helps us hear the red-headed girl’s piercing song in the Main Street parade. Your job as a college applicant is no different. You must envision yourself living, breathing, and studying at your college of choice. Then, you must help the admissions staff see the same picture.

Write a vivid college application essay by avoiding conditional statements (“if/when this happens, I would/could/might do that”). Use a strong future tense instead:

• Weak: If accepted to your fall program, I would be a valuable asset to your school .
• Strong: At XYZ University, I will dedicate myself to carrying on a tradition of innovation and scholarship. Grateful for this opportunity, I will stand as a proud member of the 2018 freshman class.

4. Tell a Story.

Author Richard Paul Evans offers this wisdom:

The most important story we will ever write in life is our own—not with ink, but with our daily choices .

In your college application essay, you have an exciting opportunity to demonstrate more than just writing skills. You can show an admissions staff that your life story is something they will want to invest in and become part of. What are you waiting for? Find a quiet spot and start writing!

Daniella Dautrich is a WriteShop   alumna and a graduate of Hillsdale College. She and her husband fill their home with books on writing, literature, and computer science. They are the parents of a sweet little daughter.

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How to write a college application essay that stands out from the crowd

Getting into college can feel daunting to any high school student. They are asked to compete with thousands of peers for coveted spots in a freshman class, including many with similar grade point averages, test scores and activities listed on their applications.

What’s one way to stand out in a crowd of qualified students?

Experts say well-crafted application essays can get an admissions officer to take notice and propel an applicant to the top of the heap. Whether it’s about a life-changing event or a moment as simple as fishing, a compelling essay can reflect a student’s voice and mindset, or provide a glimpse into his or her life that a transcript alone may not convey.

“This is really where they can shine,” said Kelly Peterfriend, supervisor of counseling with the Northern Highland Regional High School district. “This is a chance for the student to speak to who they are and what they believe and what they’re passionate about.”

With most early action and early decision college applications due Nov. 1 or Nov. 15, it’s crunch time for students who should be drafting their essays. NorthJersey.com and the USA TODAY Network New Jersey asked experts to provide tips on how to write a great college essay, from brainstorming ideas to proofreading the final product. 

Big moments, small moments

Some colleges ask for a personal statement, and others provide a choice of topics, or prompts, for a student to write about. The Common Application, which students can use for more than 700 colleges, gives a choice of seven essay prompts this year that include recounting a challenge, setback or failure and what was learned from the experience; a time when the student questioned or challenged a belief or idea; and a problem the student would like to solve.

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Applicants can write about ways they made an impact in their community or overcame obstacles in life, experts said. But the essay does not have to center around a major event.

“It can be small moments told in an interesting or novel way — something that tells about their character,” said Deborah Shames, a college counselor in Upper Saddle River. “Sometimes the smallest moments make the best essays.”

Experts advise students to steer clear of overused themes, like winning a big game with seconds on the clock. “It’s a great story, but admissions reps are reading so many essays," so the theme or story must be different enough to capture their attention, Peterfriend said.

Students should instead aim to write a story that is uncommon, or told from a unique perspective — one that delivers a bigger message or reveals information about the student.

“It’s different writing than they’re used to,” Peterfriend said. “It’s personal and it is for a specific audience, and thousands of kids are trying to reach your same audience, so you need to be different.”

For students writing about why they want to attend a certain college or study a certain major, Shames cautions to be specific and cite examples about what they want to do at that college and how they plan to take advantage of the college’s offerings.

“It shouldn’t read like a template,” Shames said. “You should never be able to substitute the name of the college.”

Revise, revise

When it comes to the writing process, Peterfriend encourages students to “just write and get it out” and then revise the essay or cut down later. If they decide they don’t like the topic, they should scrap it and find another.

Students should write and revise multiple drafts. They should show the essay to a trusted adult, such as a teacher, counselor or parent, to proofread and offer feedback. The person reading the essay should make sure the student’s point is coming across and that the topic resonates.

But they should not attempt to change the student's voice. 

“Admissions officers can spot from a mile away if your parent wrote that essay,” said Mary Sue Youn, a Ridgewood-based college admissions consultant for the company College Coach. “The student’s voice is the one that has to clearly come across in that piece.”  

Unforgettable essays

Youn can still recall in detail certain essays that crossed her desk more than a decade ago when she was an admissions officer at Barnard College in Manhattan and Whittier College in California.

“There are times when I would read a student essay and really fall in love with them and want to advocate for them in committee,” she said. “It can be something that makes the student stand out.”

She recalled one essay a student wrote about trying to start an old junky car that she’d received from her grandfather. She described the steps she took to try to find and fix the source of the problem while weaving in details about herself.

The engaging, well-written essay showed the student’s tenacity in handling a problem, Youn said.

“A great essay has the combination of two main points: storytelling and an experience where the student is trying to put the reader in their shoes,” she said.

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For Peterfriend, one essay that stood out came from a student who taught skiing to a disabled and nonverbal child. He wrote about how they communicated, and how he felt when he got to see the child ski down his first slope. He wrote that he didn’t realize how much joy he could receive by helping someone else. The story reflected compassion and self-growth.

Shames recalled one unforgettable essay in which a student, asked to write a page from his future autobiography, wrote about fishing with his future child — as he had with his own father and grandfather.

“It was beautifully written,” Shames said. “It stuck with me. Here’s a kid who has compassion and respect for his father and wants to create a legacy for this child. That probably floats over to how the student acts in business and life.”

Experts caution that while a great essay can be a “tipping point” to get a student noticed in a field of qualified applicants, an essay alone won’t be enough to get into college. The student must have the academic record to back it up.

“You can have the most amazing essay in the world,” Shames said. “[It won’t matter] if the college isn’t confident that you can come there and be successful given your academic history.”

Help Your Students Write Standout College Essays

• August 4, 2023

There’s a lot of advice out there when it comes to writing the college essay. We’ve read and heard it all—and if you’re working with high school juniors or seniors, you’ve probably heard it too!

Make sure your students write standout college essays!

Gimmicks Don’t Produce Effective College Essays

Be careful about what you believe. Many folks share templates for writing standout college essays. (Don’t be fooled. Essay writing is not a fill-in-the-blank task; essay templates are not helpful.)

Others promise that if your students answer a bunch of specific questions, they’ll be guaranteed great essays. (Questions can help your students think through ideas, but there’s no magic formula. Writing takes time and exploration. No one can do it for your students.)

There are countless books on the market filled with sample college essays that apparently got students just like yours admitted into the nation’s most selective schools. (This type of claim is out of context; even the most amazing essay never got a student into college on its own!)

Some people might tell you there are only a few types of college admission essays; if your students master those, they’ll be golden. (That’s too simplistic.)

Trust us—there’s only one type of essay admission officers want to read. And that’s your student’s story written in their own words and in their own voice. Beware of the gimmicks and promises surrounding the college admission essay. We hope you’ll ignore them because there really are no shortcuts.

Our Process Is Our Magic

At Wow, our process is our magic for standout college essays. The Wow Method is simple, effective and has clear instructions to help students succeed, every time.

We help our students build on their strengths.

Participate in our free Pro Chats , read our book or sign up for our professional training , you will learn how your students can write essays that demonstrate their best qualities. We guide pros like you through our 10-step process as you write your own college essay during our premier training program, the College Essay Experience .

“CEE was an eye-opening experience,” said IEC Cyndy McDonald, of Cyndy McDonald & Associates in Visalia, California. “The Wow process is foundational—a building block. It helped me understand what I was doing, how, and why.”

In College Essay Community, you can connect with your colleagues (and Wow) to find college essay solutions, get the best resources, engage, discuss, and learn.

“The Community is a place for people who are serious about essay coaching. Wow and the Community are in my college essay tool kit,” says Community Member Barbara Rifkind, an IEC of Arise Advising in NYC.

We believe that this is the best way to learn how to help your students write any number of effective college essays.

When we work with our students, we create a custom schedule for every student to help them plan ahead of time; this makes the writing process calmer and more efficient. Each of our coaches are trained fully in the Wow Method , so they have experience with a process that works (without gimmicks or shortcuts!).

Take the example of Sophie.

Sophie was not the kind of student who typically needs help. She taught herself BC Calculus when it wasn’t offered at her high school. She tutored classmates in advanced chemistry and physics. When it was time to apply to college, Sophie did the research and picked her own schools. Along the way, she signed up for a webinar Kim presented and read our book cover to cover.

Imagine her surprise when she sat down to write her essays and still felt stumped! Effective essays could only strengthen her application, and she felt like the ones she was writing didn’t represent her strengths. Fortunately, Sophie was insightful enough to know she needed help this time. That’s when she called and asked to work with a Wow coach.

We got her back on track, guiding her through our process with a plan, simple instructions and a schedule to tackle all of the writing tasks for four highly selective schools. Her mom was delighted, too. “You are truly a magician!” she said. “Her essays are amazing.”

If you are trained in the Wow Method , you can improve how you work with your students, too.

Wow Can Help You Take the Stress out of Your College Essay Coaching Process

Most of our students apply to four or more schools, so we’re used to helping students manage a dozen or more essays. Our scheduling and writing processes were developed with this in mind. Writing so many essays may seem insurmountable at first for your students, but, if you are trained in the Wow Method, essay coaching can become much more manageable.

The training reinforces the importance of a process that is automated to a large degree. The more the communication—assignments, emails, whatnot—associated with each step are automated, the more efficient a coach can be.

There are no gimmicks here—just an effective process that has helped thousands of students write effective college essays and hundreds of high school counselors, teachers and IECs improve their coaching practices.

Learn About The Wow Method

The Wow Method is broken up into 10 steps. The first six steps are all about generating content, exploring the story and why it’s meaningful. This phase will likely take up the majority of time any student (high school or professional) will spend on writing any given essay.

Once a student is set on content, they will move on to the next two steps, which focus on structure. They might still revise some of their content, but in general, this phase is about restructuring the existing content. Students go from the top of their essay to the bottom, reorganizing and reworking until they have a cohesive piece. Exploring content before moving on to structure makes revision easier, instead of trying to focus on both content and structure at the same time. Young writers often make this mistake, making their essay harder than it needs to be.

During the final two steps, our students polish their essays and make them shine. At this point in the process, the essay is almost finished. Here, students tie up any loose ends, make the essay more engaging to read and iron out any minor typos or grammatical errors that may have cropped up along the way. Saving this stage for the end means they don’t have to worry about awkward sentences while still generating content. Oftentimes, those sentences don’t even make it into any final draft, so why worry about them earlier in the process?

By the end of the ten steps, Wow students have an effective college essay that’s ready to be submitted. Pro students will have an effective essay after modeling our process with a coach as their guide. If you learn our process, you will see how each individual step takes a manageable amount of time and effort, making the college essay writing process easier to wrap your head around.

Let’s Break Down Wow’s Ten Steps

Now that you’ve read about the Wow Method’s general structure, we’ll go through what each step actually looks like. Before students and pros start writing, they’ll meet with a trained Wow coach to discuss how and when they’ll complete upcoming steps. Along the way, the coach will help students understand what each step requires in more detail.

Step 1: Understand the Prompt

In this step, you’ll see how we parse a prompt and help our students answer a number of questions. To start, we ask, which prompt are you responding to? Common App personal statement #5 ? Georgia Tech’s Why Us? We ask students to write down the prompt word-for-word so they have it as a resource. Then, they must consider: What is the prompt trying to find out about you? Parsing the prompt is an essential first step before any writing, or even pre-writing, can effectively be completed.

Finally, we ask students to answer two related questions: What do readers already know about you, and what else do you want them to know? We tell them that readers already know a lot about them, both from their transcript and from the rest of their application. The college essay is a space to share something new, something readers wouldn’t be able to glean just from knowing what sports they’re involved in or what their SAT score is. At this point, we advise students to not worry about trying to figure out exactly what they’ll be writing about—They just need to list some personal characteristics they’d like readers to know, and stay positive!

Step 2: Brainstorm Ideas

Before students decide what to write about, they should explore several ideas. Depending on which essay they are writing, they could approach this task in different ways: 

If working on a Common Application essay, they might want to consider several different options from the choices offered (a background story, a time when they experienced failure, a time when they challenged a belief, etc.), or they might have several ideas in one area (e.g., several background stories, several problems they have solved.) 

If responding to a prompt other than the Common Application, they need to keep an open mind and consider various stories that could effectively show readers something meaningful about themselves.

By the end of this step, they’ll have a few different ideas that could effectively answer the selected prompt. Then, they will choose their essay topic. They can write about almost anything, as long as the topic feels genuine, fits the prompt, showcases a characteristic and allows the student to demonstrate reflection.

Step 3: Focus on Theme

The theme of a college essay includes two parts: 1) What happened? and 2) Why does it matter?

In this step, students will answer these two questions for the essay topic that they chose in Step 2. All effective college essays have a clear theme: What happened? (a specific story) and Why does it matter? (the characteristic their story highlights). A theme will help guide any student throughout the rest of the writing process.

Step 4: Free Write for Details

Free writing is an underutilized exercise by many first-time writers. In this step, a student will quickly write down as much as they can recall about the story at the center of their essay. We tell our students to be specific and use all of their senses, but don’t worry about sounding polished or even making sense. If it’s easier, don’t use complete sentences. The important thing here is capturing details.

Step 5: Write Draft 1

Now that a student has chosen a topic and identified their theme, it’s time to start writing their  essay! They don’t need to worry about perfection, word limits or structure. For now, a student just needs to get their story down on paper. We remind them that details will help them tell their story. At the same time, they should keep their theme and prompt in mind. This will be the first of several drafts, which will gradually develop into a strong and polished essay. It’s a mistake to try to shortcut the process by focusing on structure and polish too early. We encourage students to write over the word limit in this draft. Generating plenty of content will make it easier to revise and polish later in the process.

Step 6: Review Prompt and Theme

As students move through the content phase of the essay toward the structure phase, it can be helpful to explore the essay’s topic from a few different angles. In this step, they will write outside the essay, instead of trying to revise their first draft directly. They will also write new potential openings for their essay and consider how different starting points would affect the essay’s structure.

Step 7: Write Draft 2

Students have now entered the structure phase of the Wow Method. From this point forward, they may revise some aspects of their essay, though a majority of the work will be to restructure the content they already have to make their essay more cohesive and effective.

To begin Step 7, they’ll review the essay and past exercises, highlighting phrases and sections that truly shine—great details, examples of their writing voice and elements that help answer the prompt and express their theme. They will also take notes on what they want to improve and change, before moving on to their second draft.

Even if they choose to keep large sections of their first draft, they should retype every word. It may seem easier to just copy and paste, but retyping will force any student to slow down and only use the best of their first draft, while making necessary changes. They might also want to use one of their openings from Step 6, or try out a new ending.

Step 8: Review Content and Structure

This step is all about reviewing the draft that the student just wrote. We advise them to go through the essay and make notes on what they like about the new draft and what still needs to be clarified. It can also be helpful to look back at their work from Steps 5 and 6 as they consider what changes did and did not work. Their Wow coach will do the same and will give them specific feedback on their draft.

Step 9: Write Draft 3

A student is now ready to retype their essay once more from start to finish, keeping their second draft close by as a reference. With an eye on their notes and their coach’s comments, it’s time to craft this new draft by keeping what worked in Drafts 1 and 2 and revising as needed.

Along with content and structure, they should be paying just as much attention to clarity and style. We encourage them to make every word count.  A student can polish their writing a little bit, but they should not try to sound like anyone else. Instead, we suggest they keep asking:  Why am I telling this story?  What do I want admissions counselors to learn about me that they wouldn’t know from the rest of my application?

Step 10: Final Review and Proofread

A student’s main goal for this step is to finish cleaning up their essay, with an eye toward grammar, spelling and clarity. That said, perfection is not the goal. Over-editing can actually take away from the essay’s effectiveness. Their essay already has a clear theme, evocative content and a well-honed structure. Key for all Wow students: Trust the process. Learn more a bout Wow , and how we can help you improve your college essay coaching practice.

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How To Write A Research Paper

Find Sources For A Research Paper

How to Find Sources For a Research Paper | A Guide

10 min read

Published on: Mar 26, 2024

Last updated on: Mar 25, 2024

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Research papers are an essential part of academic life, but one of the most challenging aspects can be finding credible sources to support your arguments. 

With the vast amount of information available online, it's easy to feel overwhelmed. However, by following some simple steps, you can streamline the process of finding reliable sources for your research paper . 

In this guide, we'll break down the process into easy-to-follow steps to help you find the best sources for your paper.

On This Page On This Page -->

Step 1: Define Your Topic and Research Questions

Before you venture into your quest for sources, it's essential to have a clear understanding of your research topic and the specific questions you aim to address. Define the scope of your paper and identify keywords and key concepts that will guide your search for relevant sources.

Step 2: Utilize Academic Databases

Academic databases are treasure troves of scholarly articles, research papers, and academic journals covering a wide range of subjects. Institutions often provide access to these databases through their libraries. Some popular academic databases include:

• IEEE Xplore
• Google Scholar

These databases allow you to search for peer-reviewed articles and academic papers related to your topic. 

Use advanced search features to narrow down your results based on publication date, author, and keywords .

Academic Resources Classified by Discipline

Here's a breakdown of prominent databases categorized by academic discipline:

Step 3: Explore Library Catalogs

Your university or local library's catalog is another valuable resource for finding sources. Library catalogs contain books, periodicals, and other materials that may not be available online. 

Use the catalog's search function to locate relevant books, journals, and other materials that can contribute to your research.

Step 4: Consult Bibliographies and References

When you find a relevant source, take note of its bibliography or make a list of sources for the research paper. These lists often contain citations to other works that may be useful for your research. 

By exploring the references cited in a particular source, you can uncover additional resources and expand your understanding of the topic.

Step 5: Boolean Operators for Effective Searches

Boolean operators are words or symbols used to refine search queries by defining the relationships between search terms. The three primary operators include "AND," which narrows searches by requiring all terms to be present; "OR," which broadens searches by including either term or both; and "NOT," which excludes specific terms to refine results further. 

Most databases provide advanced search features for seamless application of Boolean logic.

Step 6: Consider Primary Sources 

Depending on your research topic, primary sources such as interviews, surveys, archival documents, and original data sets can provide valuable insights and support for your arguments. 

Primary sources offer firsthand accounts and original perspectives on historical events, social phenomena, and scientific discoveries.

Step 7: Evaluate the Credibility of Sources

Not all sources are created equal, and it's crucial to evaluate the credibility and reliability of the information you encounter. 

Consider the author's credentials, the publication venue, and whether the source is peer-reviewed. Look for evidence of bias or conflicts of interest that may undermine the source's credibility.

Step 8: Keep Track of Your Sources

As you gather sources for your research paper, maintain a systematic record of the materials you consult.  Keep track of bibliographic information, including author names, publication dates, titles, and page numbers . This information will be invaluable when citing your sources and creating a bibliography or works cited page.

Other Online Sources

In addition to academic databases and library catalogs, exploring popular online sources can provide valuable insights and perspectives on your research topic.  Here are some types of online sources you can consider:

Websites hosted by reputable organizations, institutions, and experts (such as the New York Times) can offer valuable information and analysis on a wide range of topics. Look for websites belonging to universities, research institutions, government agencies, and established non-profit organizations.

Crowdsourced Encyclopedias like Wikipedia

While Wikipedia can provide a broad overview of a topic and lead you to other sources, it's essential to verify the information found there with more authoritative sources. 

Use Wikipedia as a starting point for your research, but rely on peer-reviewed journal articles and academic sources for in-depth analysis and evidence.

Tips for Assessing the Credibility of Online Sources

When using online sources, it's important to exercise caution and critically evaluate the credibility and reliability of the information you find. Here are some tips for assessing the credibility of online sources:

• Check the Domain Extension: Look for websites with domain extensions that indicate credibility. URLs ending in .edu are educational resources, while URLs ending in .gov are government-related resources. These sites often provide reliable and authoritative information.
• Look for DOIs (Digital Object Identifiers): DOIs are unique alphanumeric strings assigned to scholarly articles and indicate that the article has been published in a peer-reviewed, scientific journal. Finding a DOI can help you assess the scholarly rigor of the source.
• Evaluate the Authorship and Credentials: Consider the qualifications and expertise of the author or organization behind the website or blog. Look for information about the author's credentials, affiliations, and expertise in the subject matter.
• Consider the Currency and Relevance: Assess how up-to-date the information is and whether it aligns with the scope and focus of your research. Look for recent publications and timely analyses that reflect current trends and developments in the field.

Wrapping it up!

Finding sources for your research paper may seem like a challenge, but by following these steps, you can locate credible sources to support your arguments and enhance the quality of your paper. 

By approaching the research process systematically and critically evaluating the information you encounter, you can produce a well-researched and compelling research paper.

If you are struggling with finding credible sources or have time constraints, do not hesitate to seek writing help for your research papers . CollegeEssay.org has professional writers ready to assist you. 

Connect with our essay writing service now and receive expert guidance and support to elevate your research paper to the next level.

Cathy A. (Law)

For more than five years now, Cathy has been one of our most hardworking authors on the platform. With a Masters degree in mass communication, she knows the ins and outs of professional writing. Clients often leave her glowing reviews for being an amazing writer who takes her work very seriously.

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Should college essays touch on race? Some feel the affirmative action ruling leaves them no choice

When the supreme court ended affirmative action, it left the college essay as one of few places where race can play a role in admissions decisions.

Max Decker, a senior at Lincoln High School, sits for a portrait in the school library where he often worked on writing his college essays, in Portland, Ore., Wednesday, March 20, 2024.

Amanda Loman / AP

Like many students, Max Decker of Portland, Oregon, had drafted a college essay on one topic, only to change direction after the Supreme Court ruling in June.

Decker initially wrote about his love for video games. In a childhood surrounded by constant change, navigating his parents’ divorce, the games he took from place to place on his Nintendo DS were a source of comfort.

But the essay he submitted to colleges focused on the community he found through Word is Bond, a leadership group for young Black men in Portland.

As the only biracial, Jewish kid with divorced parents in a predominantly white, Christian community, Decker wrote he felt like the odd one out. On a trip with Word is Bond to Capitol Hill, he and friends who looked just like him shook hands with lawmakers. The experience, he wrote, changed how he saw himself.

“It’s because I’m different that I provide something precious to the world, not the other way around,” wrote Decker, whose top college choice is Tulane, in New Orleans, because of the region’s diversity.

This year’s senior class is the first in decades to navigate college admissions without affirmative action . The Supreme Court upheld the practice in decisions going back to the 1970s, but this court’s conservative supermajority found it is unconstitutional for colleges to give students extra weight because of their race alone.

Still, the decision left room for race to play an indirect role: Chief Justice John Roberts wrote universities can still consider how an applicant’s life was shaped by their race, “so long as that discussion is concretely tied to a quality of character or unique ability.”

Scores of colleges responded with new essay prompts asking about students’ backgrounds.

FILE - Demonstrators protest outside of the Supreme Court in Washington, in this June 29, 2023 file photo, after the Supreme Court struck down affirmative action in college admissions, saying race cannot be a factor.

Jose Luis Magana / AP

Writing about feeling more comfortable with being Black

When Darrian Merritt started writing his essay, his first instinct was to write about events that led to him going to live with his grandmother as a child. Those were painful memories, but he thought they might play well at schools like Yale, Stanford and Vanderbilt.

“I feel like the admissions committee might expect a sob story or a tragic story,” said Merritt, a senior in Cleveland. “I wrestled with that a lot.”

Eventually he abandoned the idea and aimed for an essay that would stand out for its positivity.

Merritt wrote about a summer camp where he started to feel more comfortable in his own skin. He described embracing his personality and defying his tendency to please others. But the essay also reflects on his feelings of not being “Black enough” and getting made fun of for listening to “white people music.”

Related: Oregon colleges, universities weigh potential outcomes of US Supreme Court decision on affirmative action

Essay about how to embrace natural hair

When Hillary Amofa started writing her college essay, she told the story she thought admissions offices wanted to hear. About being the daughter of immigrants from Ghana and growing up in a small apartment in Chicago. About hardship and struggle.

Then she deleted it all.

“I would just find myself kind of trauma-dumping,” said the 18-year-old senior at Lincoln Park High School in Chicago. “And I’m just like, this doesn’t really say anything about me as a person.”

Amofa was just starting to think about her essay when the court issued its decision, and it left her with a wave of questions. Could she still write about her race? Could she be penalized for it? She wanted to tell colleges about her heritage but she didn’t want to be defined by it.

In English class, Amofa and her classmates read sample essays that all seemed to focus on some trauma or hardship. It left her with the impression she had to write about her life’s hardest moments to show how far she’d come. But she and some classmates wondered if their lives had been hard enough to catch the attention of admissions offices.

Hillary Amofa, laughs as she participates in a team building game with members of the Lincoln Park High School step team after school Friday, March 8, 2024, in Chicago. When she started writing her college essay, Amofa told the story she thought admissions offices wanted to hear. She wrote about being the daughter of immigrants from Ghana, about growing up in a small apartment in Chicago. She described hardship and struggle. Then she deleted it all. "I would just find myself kind of trauma-dumping," said the 18 year-old senior, "And I'm just like, this doesn't really say anything about me as a person."

Charles Rex Arbogast / AP

Amofa used to think affirmative action was only a factor at schools like Harvard and Yale. After the court’s ruling, she was surprised to find that race was taken into account even at public universities she was applying to.

Now, without affirmative action, she wondered if mostly white schools will become even whiter.

It’s been on her mind as she chooses between Indiana University and the University of Dayton, both of which have relatively few Black students. When she was one of the only Black students in her grade school, she could fall back on her family and Ghanaian friends at church. At college, she worries about loneliness.

“That’s what I’m nervous about,” she said. “Going and just feeling so isolated, even though I’m constantly around people.”

Related: Some Oregon universities, politicians disappointed in Supreme Court decision on affirmative action

The first drafts of her essay didn’t tell colleges about who she is now, she said.

Her final essay describes how she came to embrace her natural hair. She wrote about going to a mostly white grade school where classmates made jokes about her afro.

Over time, she ignored their insults and found beauty in the styles worn by women in her life. She now runs a business doing braids and other hairstyles in her neighborhood.

“Criticism will persist,” she wrote “but it loses its power when you know there’s a crown on your head!”

Ma reported from Portland, Oregon.

The Associated Press’ education coverage receives financial support from multiple private foundations. AP is solely responsible for all content. Find AP’s standards for working with philanthropies, a list of supporters and funded coverage areas at AP.org .

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Sob stories? Trauma dumps? Black kids worry about writing college essays after affirmative action ban

When the Supreme Court ended affirmative action in higher education, it left the college essay as one of few places where race can play a role in admissions decisions.

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CHICAGO (AP) — When she started writing her college essay, Hillary Amofa told the story she thought admissions offices wanted to hear. About being the daughter of immigrants from Ghana and growing up in a small apartment in Chicago. About hardship and struggle.

Then she deleted it all.

“I would just find myself kind of trauma-dumping,” said the 18-year-old senior at Lincoln Park High School in Chicago. “And I’m just like, this doesn’t really say anything about me as a person.”

When the Supreme Court ended affirmative action in higher education , it left the college essay as one of few places where race can play a role in admissions decisions. For many students of color, instantly more was riding on the already high-stakes writing assignment. Some say they felt pressure to exploit their hardships as they competed for a spot on campus.

Amofa was just starting to think about her essay when the court issued its decision, and it left her with a wave of questions. Could she still write about her race? Could she be penalized for it? She wanted to tell colleges about her heritage but she didn’t want to be defined by it.

In English class, Amofa and her classmates read sample essays that all seemed to focus on some trauma or hardship. It left her with the impression she had to write about her life’s hardest moments to show how far she’d come. But she and some of her classmates wondered if their lives had been hard enough to catch the attention of admissions offices.

“For a lot of students, there’s a feeling of, like, having to go through something so horrible to feel worthy of going to school, which is kind of sad,” said Amofa, the daughter of a hospital technician and an Uber driver.

This year’s senior class is the first in decades to navigate college admissions without affirmative action. The Supreme Court upheld the practice in decisions going back to the 1970s, but this court’s conservative supermajority found it is unconstitutional for colleges to give students extra weight because of their race alone.

Still, the decision left room for race to play an indirect role: Chief Justice John Roberts wrote universities can still consider how an applicant’s life was shaped by their race, “so long as that discussion is concretely tied to a quality of character or unique ability.”

“A benefit to a student who overcame racial discrimination, for example, must be tied to that student’s courage and determination,” he wrote.

Scores of colleges responded with new essay prompts asking about students’ backgrounds. Brown University asked applicants how “an aspect of your growing up has inspired or challenged you.” Rice University asked students how their perspectives were shaped by their “background, experiences, upbringing, and/or racial identity.”

Wondering if schools ‘expect a sob story’

When Darrian Merritt started writing his essay, he knew the stakes were higher than ever because of the court’s decision. His first instinct was to write about events that led to him going to live with his grandmother as a child.

Those were painful memories, but he thought they might play well at schools like Yale, Stanford and Vanderbilt.

“I feel like the admissions committee might expect a sob story or a tragic story,” said Merritt, a senior in Cleveland. “And if you don’t provide that, then maybe they’re not going to feel like you went through enough to deserve having a spot at the university. I wrestled with that a lot.”

He wrote drafts focusing on his childhood, but it never amounted to more than a collection of memories. Eventually he abandoned the idea and aimed for an essay that would stand out for its positivity.

Merritt wrote about a summer camp where he started to feel more comfortable in his own skin. He described embracing his personality and defying his tendency to please others. The essay had humor — it centered on a water gun fight where he had victory in sight but, in a comedic twist, slipped and fell. But the essay also reflects on his feelings of not being “Black enough” and getting made fun of for listening to “white people music.”

“I was like, ‘OK, I’m going to write this for me, and we’re just going to see how it goes,’” he said. “It just felt real, and it felt like an honest story.”

The essay describes a breakthrough as he learned “to take ownership of myself and my future by sharing my true personality with the people I encounter. … I realized that the first chapter of my own story had just been written.”

A ruling prompts pivots on essay topics

Like many students, Max Decker of Portland, Oregon, had drafted a college essay on one topic, only to change direction after the Supreme Court ruling in June.

Decker initially wrote about his love for video games. In a childhood surrounded by constant change, navigating his parents’ divorce, the games he took from place to place on his Nintendo DS were a source of comfort.

But the essay he submitted to colleges focused on the community he found through Word is Bond, a leadership group for young Black men in Portland.

As the only biracial, Jewish kid with divorced parents in a predominantly white, Christian community, Decker wrote he constantly felt like the odd one out. On a trip with Word is Bond to Capitol Hill, he and friends who looked just like him shook hands with lawmakers. The experience, he wrote, changed how he saw himself.

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“It’s because I’m different that I provide something precious to the world, not the other way around,” he wrote.

As a first-generation college student, Decker thought about the subtle ways his peers seemed to know more about navigating the admissions process. They made sure to get into advanced classes at the start of high school, and they knew how to secure glowing letters of recommendation.

If writing about race would give him a slight edge and show admissions officers a fuller picture of his achievements, he wanted to take that small advantage.

His first memory about race, Decker said, was when he went to get a haircut in elementary school and the barber made rude comments about his curly hair. Until recently, the insecurity that moment created led him to keep his hair buzzed short.

Through Word is Bond, Decker said he found a space to explore his identity as a Black man. It was one of the first times he was surrounded by Black peers and saw Black role models. It filled him with a sense of pride in his identity. No more buzzcut.

The pressure to write about race involved a tradeoff with other important things in his life, Decker said. That included his passion for journalism, like the piece he wrote on efforts to revive a once-thriving Black neighborhood in Portland. In the end, he squeezed in 100 characters about his journalism under the application’s activities section.

“My final essay, it felt true to myself. But the difference between that and my other essay was the fact that it wasn’t the truth that I necessarily wanted to share,” said Decker, whose top college choice is Tulane, in New Orleans, because of the region’s diversity. “It felt like I just had to limit the truth I was sharing to what I feel like the world is expecting of me.”

Spelling out the impact of race

Before the Supreme Court ruling, it seemed a given to Imani Laird that colleges would consider the ways that race had touched her life. But now, she felt like she had to spell it out.

As she started her essay, she reflected on how she had faced bias or felt overlooked as a Black student in predominantly white spaces.

There was the year in math class when the teacher kept calling her by the name of another Black student. There were the comments that she’d have an easier time getting into college because she was Black.

“I didn’t have it easier because of my race,” said Laird, a senior at Newton South High School in the Boston suburbs who was accepted at Wellesley and Howard University , and is waiting to hear from several Ivy League colleges. “I had stuff I had to overcome.”

In her final essays, she wrote about her grandfather, who served in the military but was denied access to GI Bill benefits because of his race.

She described how discrimination fueled her ambition to excel and pursue a career in public policy.

“So, I never settled for mediocrity,” she wrote. “Regardless of the subject, my goal in class was not just to participate but to excel. Beyond academics, I wanted to excel while remembering what started this motivation in the first place.”

Will schools lose racial diversity?

Amofa used to think affirmative action was only a factor at schools like Harvard and Yale. After the court’s ruling, she was surprised to find that race was taken into account even at some public universities she was applying to.

Now, without affirmative action, she wondered if mostly white schools will become even whiter.

It’s been on her mind as she chooses between Indiana University and the University of Dayton, both of which have relatively few Black students. When she was one of the only Black students in her grade school, she could fall back on her family and Ghanaian friends at church. At college, she worries about loneliness.

“That’s what I’m nervous about,” she said. “Going and just feeling so isolated, even though I’m constantly around people.”

The first drafts of her essay focused on growing up in a low-income family, sharing a bedroom with her brother and grandmother. But it didn’t tell colleges about who she is now, she said.

Her final essay tells how she came to embrace her natural hair. She wrote about going to a mostly white grade school where classmates made jokes about her afro. When her grandmother sent her back with braids or cornrows, they made fun of those too.

Over time, she ignored their insults and found beauty in the styles worn by women in her life. She now runs a business doing braids and other hairstyles in her neighborhood.

“I stopped seeing myself through the lens of the European traditional beauty standards and started seeing myself through the lens that I created,” Amofa wrote.

“Criticism will persist, but it loses its power when you know there’s a crown on your head!”

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