Shellee Howard from College Ready breaks down how to write a college essay that admissions officers actually want to read. She identifies three essentials: intellectual curiosity, honest confidence, and authentic voice. Her method: brainstorm five essay ideas, write ten opening sentences, pick the two strongest, and expand them into full paragraphs.
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Hello and thank you for joining College Ready. My name is Shellee Howard and I am the founder and owner of College Ready. I'm super excited to speak with you today regarding Essays, the college essay. It is going to be super important, more important than any time this year. So please stay tuned. I'm going to give you some great insight and updates, and hopefully technology will continue to be on our side. I'm going to share my screen so you can see for yourself what we need to focus on. So as you can see by, um, on screen, Today I'm going to be sharing a very quick presentation because I want you to have this information. Super important. Why is the essay so important this year? Is because the GPA— hold your breath— test scores— hold your breath— the essay is the final icing on the cake, the bow on the gift. You get this right, it can make the difference of admission or not. So let's go ahead and dig in. So, 3 keys to a strong application essay: evidence of intellectual curiosity, confidence through honesty, channeling your true inner voice. Colleges want to get to know you. Some dos and some don'ts: don't write your essay for the admissions officer. It's really apparent. The essay does not need to be long to be effective. Word count, word count, so important. Invest your time in writing your essay. You spent the last 3 years working super hard for college. Do not rush through your essay just to get it done. Take your time. It will be worth it. Be sure your essay reflects you, nobody else. They don't want to know about a parent. They don't want to know about a grandparent. They want to know about you. Be sure, um, that that is the emphasis of the essay. Don't have your essay carry the load. It should be the final thing that impresses them. Do not let somebody else write your essay, please. They know. It's so apparent if it doesn't match your application. What do you want colleges to know about you? Well, think about it this way. Do you want them to know you in particular? Do you want them to know why you're important and why it matters? What did you do? Why did you do it? Why would a college be interested in what you want to share? What does it show about you that they can't find in the rest of the application? What did you learn about yourself? How does the experience show who you really are? If you get stuck, ask why. It's always a good question. The essay admissions rep wants to know you and why you're important. The 3 main aspects to consider: 1, topic. Topic is so important. There are good things to write about, and there are not good things to write about. Please know which is best. The presentation— how will you share it? And a good personal statement. I mean, that first paragraph needs to absolutely grab them. So what do you do next? It's time to brainstorm. Think back on your life. Jot down as many possible topic ideas as you can think of— past experiences, significant people, family traditions, challenges you've faced. Focus on your traits and your qualities. What makes you great? Are you kind, resourceful, industrious, funny, patient, compassionate? We want to know. We want to know what makes you, you. What are your core beliefs? Brainstorm. Give a personal example. Give an example from your family. Activities. How did you spend your non-academic time? Accomplishments. Now is the time to toot your own horn. It is not a time to be humble. Please let them know how amazing you are. Use your personal qualities. You have a concern for others. You're open-minded. You have strong organizational skills, a sense of humor. These are what colleges want to know. Next steps: first, develop 5 essay ideas. Second, use these ideas to write your 10 opening sentences. Select 2 of the 10 and develop the first paragraph for your essay. If you have problems or you need help, please reach out to us at College Ready Plan at gmail.com, and we are happy to help you and be a sounding board. Use this checklist to evaluate your essay. Does the essay answer the prompt? If not, it is not a good essay. Can you tell why you chose this topic? Is the essay really about you, or is it really about a place? They want to know about you, not so much the place. Does it illustrate a trait you want to share with colleges? Does the essay sound like you wrote it? These are all super important. If you would like to learn what a good essay topic is or how we can help you here at College Ready, please go to our website. It's www.collegereadyplan.com, and we are happy to assist you. Thank you so much and have a wonderful day.
