Process behind the admissions essay

Whether its your parents, grandparents, teachers or a coach, everyone will say, your college admission essay is one of the most important factors when applying to college. Personally, when I first started thinking about writing my essay, I was clueless. I kept asking myself, what do colleges want to learn about me within 650 words? But it is relief when you realize that you are able to talk about yourself. Unlike assignments for school where you are required to write a 3 page paper on How John Locke Contributed to the United States Government, your college admissions essay only has to do with you. Having this mindset, makes the process that much easier. There are many directions you could take your writing, often times students will pick a specific event to tell about, a person who has influenced you or a sports team. When writing your essay, you must keep in mind your audience. If you think of what it is like to be a college admission officer who has to read thousands of essays every year, they are a person just like you. It is not interesting to read a tasteless paper, they want to read something that grabs their attention and has a purpose behind it. How you use you language and identity sets the tone of your whole essay, and gives away your personality. Writing is not just about content, but it is about the representation of self. Something to consider while reading is maybe adding a hint of humor to add a sense of personality if it is appropriate within the subject. Having a simple line that can make someone laugh could possibly make your application stand out from all the others. Some college essay prompts will ask you to talk about a main point, this connects to the actual purpose of your writing because most colleges want you to answer their questions and see what you can you can bring to the school. Colleges want to hear your feedback and what you have to say on whatever it is they ask you to talk about, but it is important to wonder if there is a deeper meaning behind it. Challenging potential students can reveal their ability of interpretation and often times shed light to different ways of thinking and new ideas. One essay prompt example from The Common Application is, " 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? ". This prompt is obviously about a challenge you have had to face throughout your life, but it could also be about how you were feeling at the time and maybe that could be the subject of the essay. No matter what you end up having as your essay subject, it is important to always relate it back to this college and what it means to you.