What are application essays?
Application essays are the only opportunity in your entire application process to have a dialogue with the admissions office, a chance for you to be more than just a collection of numbers. The term "personal statement" literally means a personal declaration.
The purpose of a personal essay is to highlight your personality and maximize the representation of your "individuality."
College applications mostly consist of cold, hard data: GPA, SAT or ACT scores, TOEFL scores, AP scores, IB scores, etc. Most students are willing to invest time, energy, and money into improving these metrics.
However, with enough effort, anyone can improve these numbers. Precisely because these metrics are improvable, students tend to emphasize or repeat them in their application essays. But when admissions officers are faced with two applications with extremely similar statistics, what determines their final decision?
The aspects of the application essay that lean more towards the personal—these unique elements—are the essence of the essay.
Prepare Early
Writing essays requires careful planning. First, you need to know how many essays you are required to write. Generally, there are main essays and supplemental essays.
Main essays are longer and can often be used for multiple schools, such as the 600-word Common App essay and the 1000-word UC App essays. Supplemental essays, also known as supplementary questions, are typically short, ranging from just a few words to around 300 words.
Once you have confirmed the number of essays, create a writing schedule and strictly adhere to it to complete your tasks. It is recommended to write the main essays first, followed by the supplemental ones, as completing the main essays may naturally inspire content for the shorter supplements.
Brainstorming
You shouldn't just start writing immediately; you need a brainstorming session to clarify your thoughts. After completing questionnaires and researching your target schools, take a blank sheet of paper and list all possible keywords that could serve as themes for your essays.
When writing your first draft, remember: do not stop. Set a timer for thirty minutes and write down whatever comes to mind, recording your most authentic thoughts without any distractions.
Finally, keep one crucial point in mind: please save all your drafts! Yes, all of them. Some ideas might not seem useful now, but that doesn't mean they won't be valuable later. As you complete several drafts, your thinking will become increasingly clear.
The First Step of Your Essay
The first sentence is extremely important in an essay. As the saying goes, "A good beginning is half the battle." A former UCLA admissions officer once said that admissions officers spend only about 5 to 10 minutes on each essay.
Therefore, the quality of your opening directly determines how long an admissions officer will spend on your essay. If the opening is unique, novel, or even unusual, it will spark great interest and curiosity in the admissions officer, making them eager to continue reading.
So, what constitutes a good opening? Here are a few classic examples released by Stanford University in 2008:
"I almost didn't survive September 11, 2001."
"I have old hands."
"I have been diving in Lake Michigan since I was three years old."
It is not difficult to notice that these examples share a common trait: they use narrative language to create an immersive experience for the reader.
Essay Writing Techniques
Writing an essay is akin to telling a story. What communication style can add enjoyment to the admissions officer's tedious workday and make it easy for them to read through your essay?
1) Details: The more details, the better.
Carefully describe one event rather than roughly listing several. A good story is more engaging and encourages the reader to continue.
2) Metaphors
Use metaphors frequently to make your essay more vivid.
3) Choice of Perspective
Sometimes changing the narrative perspective is a good approach. Describing your own experiences from a third-person point of view can be more interesting.
Submit Early
On the day of the application deadline, there may be significant "internet traffic jams." Therefore, we strongly advise everyone to definitely! definitely! definitely! finish writing and submit early. Do not wait until the last minute, as this could lead to irreversible consequences.
