"The essay is one piece of many in an application. It's more information for us about the student's personal qualities, motivation, interests, and talents. We ask very specific questions, and generally, if students answer those questions, we'll learn what we're trying to learn about them. One of the mistakes students make is that they don't answer the question we ask. They have some essays they wrote for some other school, and they try to fit that into one of our questions. That tends not to work because then we're not learning what we're trying to learn about them.
And some students try to be what they think we want rather than who they are. They think we're looking for a certain type of student, so they're trying to be that. Here's an example. One of the essay questions – it's a short essay – asks students. "Tell us about something you do for fun." What we want to learn is how students balance their lives. We don't want students who are just working all the time. But some students are afraid. They think it's a trick question, and they're actually afraid to answer and tell us that they like to goof off and hang out at the mall or play video games or whatever it is they like to do. They think that they can't project that image onto us, so they tell us how they love to clean bedpans in the local senior center, that kind of thing. And that is not what we're looking for. We want to actually learn how they achieve balance and have fun."
Stuart Schmill
Dean of admissions, MIT
Essays are essential for college application and the right reasons. Admissions offices typically rely on essays to distinguish between many students who have strong grades and test scores. In addition, colleges ask students for a personal essay to learn more about them in the context of each student's background, positive traits they would bring to the campus, and examples of the students demonstrating those qualities.
While assessing the quality of your essays, the college admissions officer look at three things -
Do you understand the question?
Before you start crafting your essay, you must decipher precisely what the prompt requires you to address. Understanding the question or prompt is paramount to a good essay. You need to understand the point of the prompt and what it aims at getting to know.
Here are some tips for deciphering the questions and prompts better -
Highlight keywords within the questions and prompts
Pay attention to connecting words and what they ask (For example - and/or)
Formulate sub-questions to answer the main question
Conduct research about how people have already tackled that question before
Here's a guide and breakdown for the common app essays
Can you formulate a response?
Once you understand the prompt or question well, it is integral for you to come up with a relevant response for it. Your answer should align well with the question that is asked. For this step to be successful, make sure you introspect yourself well to develop instances and stories that back your answer up. Then go back to the question and assess whether the response fits the prompt well. If not, try to come up with another response.
While you start to address a question, we recommend you follow the process of idea generation, mind mapping, and structuring.
When you start the essay or answer, free write! Free writing is the practice of writing down all your thoughts without stopping, without regard for spelling, grammar, tones, or syntax. This allows you to note down every thought you could have about the question or prompt without filters.
Once you're through with free writing, mind map! A mind map requires writing a central theme and thinking of new and related ideas that radiate from the center. This helps you build a better connection between your thoughts and retain the essence.
After you've built a connection between your thoughts, you must decide on a structure for your essay. While the typical structure of an essay includes an introduction followed by a body and a conclusion, many students experiment with the structures of their essays, especially in US applications. However, some countries, like India, the UK, Singapore, etc., follow a more precise and set structure, so it is wise to look at the requirements before you finalize your essay.
How well can you articulate yourself?
While you introspect yourself, you might be able to come up with multiple incidents and instances to write about. The key is to pick the most relevant ones to the question and articulate them in ways that make your unique voice stand out while highlighting your strengths and key takeaways.
Brainstorming and writing an essay is just 30% of the work that goes into answering a question or prompt, and 70% of the work goes into revising your drafts. When you're free writing, you're so consumed in writing things down that you often shift perspectives. We recommend returning to writing after a few hours with a fresh perspective.
It is essential to keep the tone of your central theme in mind while you write the essay. The style and syntax of your essay should align with the message you're trying to convey. Ensure that your essay doesn't have sloppy grammar and is well-proofread multiple times before the final submissions.
It would be best if you got your essay reviewed by people who do not know the central theme of the idea and see whether or not they get the message and idea behind the essay. If they do not, maybe it would be better to go back and make the necessary adjustments.
Keep these things in mind while crafting your college essay, and ensure you stay true to yourself in these essays – do not attempt to be someone you believe the college admissions offices would be more likely to choose. Do not overthink the meaning behind every single prompt and what the officers might be looking for in the essays – just decipher the question well and write about your experience and a unique perspective you can put it in. Admissions officers look for students whose essays can reveal their character and
perspective through their actual experiences and not contrived situations. They do not look for polished, perfect essays; they look for compelling stories.
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