A strong college essay is primarily anecdotal Your mission is to present crystal clear snapshots from your life and to paint vivid pictures of your experiences through words The underlying purpose of this essay is to unveil the deeper dimensions of who you are going beyond the perfunctory ID: 377948
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Slide1
The College EssaySlide2
A strong college essay is primarily anecdotal. Your mission is to present crystal clear snapshots from your life and to paint vivid pictures of your experiences through words.
The underlying purpose of this essay is to unveil the deeper dimensions of who you are, going beyond the perfunctory facts from your transcript and application. Slide3
This is not a stale, formulaic five paragraph essay with a thesis at the end of the introduction. This is a creative opportunity to recapture those indelible moments that have shaped you into the person you are today.
The thesis is implicit. By the end of your essay, the reader should have a clearer sense of who you are, what you have achieved, what you have learned, what you have overcome, or what you value. Slide4
Lame Sauce
During my junior year, I was fortunate enough to be given the unique opportunity to perform over 50 hours of volunteer work at the hospital. I sought out the internship because of my interest in becoming a doctor, and I believed the hospital would allow me to broaden my knowledge about medicine. The experience has been extremely rewarding because I feel that I am truly making a difference in the lives of the children that I work with.Slide5
Awesome Sauce
I make the world’s worst chocolate chip pancakes. Seriously, I really do. My mom loves homemade pancakes, so I tried to surprise her with a batch for breakfast on her birthday last year. What a disaster. I thought I followed the directions perfectly, but for some reason, all the pancakes had lumpy raw dough in the middle of them. They were disgusting. I was too embarrassed to serve them to my mom. I threw them away and offered to take her to breakfast instead. It’s a good thing Gus’s Deli doesn’t serve breakfast, or I probably would have been fired from my part-time job. I’m terrible with pancakes, but I can make the best corned beef on rye you’ve ever tasted.Slide6
Even
MORE Awesome Sauce Wrestling:
It
ain't
Wimbledon. When's the last time, clad in a neon green singlet, you fought a sweaty gorilla with hundreds watching? Welcome to my world.
Without
question, my toughest opponent has always been me. Prior to freshman matches, I sweated out a monsoon, convinced that taking a shot would end in face-to-mat failure.
But
over time, my expanding net of self-confidence captured the butterflies, quelling the doubt
-inducing
voice demanding attention. Now I stride onto the mat with a wry smile, embracing that I am out there solo and the show must go on. That's fine. Let them stare. No one's taking me down -- except the elevator. Slide7
Tips from the readers…
Don’t try to impress the admissions board. Be honest.Own your story; pick the tale that will have the most vivid and interesting details (the story only you can tell).Don’t repeat information from the rest of your application.
Sound like you (instead of your parents, teachers, or tutors).Slide8
Avoid cliché statements…
“Sports taught me the value of teamwork and commitment”“My trip to another country broadened my horizons”“Community service taught me the value of helping people”
“My leadership position proves I work well with others”Slide9
Employ engaging techniques…
Autobiographical Writing Techniques:
Focus on
showing
not
telling
(
Remember: The thesis is implicit
!)
Concrete Details
Set
the scene: Explain the WHERE the WHEN the HOW and the WHY
Sensory Details
Paint
a picture: Describe the SIGHTS the SMELLS the SOUNDS etc.
Interior Monologue
Let
the reader into your head to reveal your innermost
thoughts and feelings
(
Think the narrator of
The Wonder Years
)
Dialogue
If
there are other characters in your story, let them speak when appropriate
Terminal Emphasis
Short, concise statements that stand alone as an entire paragraph
E.g
.: “
The crowd stopped and stared
.” or “
The silence was deafening
.”
(
Though I recommend making your sentences less cliché than mine
)
Slide10
“Ninety percent of the applications I read contain what I call
McEssays…They are technically correct in that they are organized and have the correct sentence structure and spelling, but they are boring. Sort of like a Big Mac.” --Parke
Muth
, Office of Undergraduate Admission, U of V