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Essays & Personal Statements

3 Steps to a Great Essay

1.  Prewriting:  Collect and organize potential ideas for your essay's focus. 

List Your Strengths: Make a list of your best traits. Focus on characteristics rather than accomplishments: instead of listing "Eagle Scout," list "responsible," instead of "basketball player," say "committed."  Save your accomplishments for your Academic Resume.  Ask parents, friends and teachers what they consider your best characteristics.

List the Evidence:  For each trait, list five or six experiences from your life that prove each of your strengths.
Reflect & Connect:  Are there threads that run through several of your strengths and experiences? Is your creativity the driving force behind your participating in the annual art show and your summer job teaching crafts at camp? Is your curiosity what made being a member of the Forensics team and traveling to another place so meaningful to you? Did you learn more than skills playing volleyball or volunteering at soccer camp?


2.  Drafting:   Similar to an essay for school, there are three parts: introduction, body, and conclusion.

Introduction: Grab the reader's attention before giving the reader a concise overview of your essay. Something unexpected or vivid like "My favorite science project was a complete disaster" will capture the evaluator's interest.
Body: Present the evidence supporting your main idea. Use narration and incident to show rather than tell. Avoid listing.
Conclusion: This can be brief, just a few sentences to sum up the meaning of the experiences you've described.


3.  Editing:  Check spelling and grammar. Read your essay aloud to see if it flows comfortably.

Once you have a draft that you're pleased with, let it rest for a few days. Come back to it to confirm you've made your point in a compelling and concise way.
Get Feedback: Have someone you respect read your essay and give you constructive criticism.  Ask the person to tell you what they think you are trying to convey. 
Edit Down: Your language should be simple, direct, and clear.  Make every word count, e.g., if you wrote "in society today," consider changing it to "now."
Proofread: Proofread, proofread, proofread. Careless spelling or grammatical errors, awkward language, or fuzzy logic will make your essay memorable-- in a bad way.

  • Adapted from Natavi Guides, Students Helping Students

    1. Leave yourself enough time to think about and write your essays. Definitely start before the fall of your senior year. Your first draft should not be your last.
    2. Look over your applications before you start to see if any essay topics are repeated; you may be able to minimize the number you have to write. With that said, recycle essays carefully to make sure they are appropriate and accurate. For example: Don't forget to change the college name in the essay from one college to the next.
    3. Stay on topic. Make sure to answer the question posed by each essay topic.
    4. Write about something that matters to you and that you care about. Be positive. Don't whine; when writing about a difficult experience, focus on what you've learned from it and how it has made you stronger/smarter/more interesting.
    5. Be honest and genuine in your essay. Don't try to write what admissions officers want to hear. Play up your achievements, but don't exaggerate.
    6. When writing about an experience or person, don't just describe it or them, focus on how your life was impacted in a significant way as a result.
    7. Sound like a person when you write. Big words and overly formal sentences can make your essay sound stiff and forced. Avoid cliche's; they take away from the genuine and honest nature of your essay.
    8. Have someone you trust, like your teachers, counselor, parent or relative read your essay and listen to their feedback.
    9. Read your essay as if you were the admissions officer. Ask yourself what it tells about you as a person. Does your personality and character come through?
    10. Proofread, proofread, proofread, and when you think it's perfect, proofread again. Don't rely on your computer's spellchecker.

  • Why do schools require essays? Sure, they want to know you can write, but what they really want to know is who you are, beyond all the grades, scores and activities. Schools want insight into your preferences, values, thought processes, creativity, sense of humor and depth of knowledge. Essays can make an average application shine, so start the process early. Have more than one person read your personal statement.

    Community colleges and most CSUs do not require an essay, but the UCs and selective private schools require several. You can usually get an idea of previous year's prompts on the individual school's website. In general, the questions don't change much from year to year and you can get a jump start before applications are even available.

    Here is a quick video to help you get started on your college essays as well as the activities section on your college applications.

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