The Commonapp Essay

                                                  The Commonapp Essay 

Introduction:

The college essay is one of the many pieces of the college application. I am writing this blog in September 2021, and this is after extensive research in this arena. Throughout the last 20 years, I have talked to multiple personnel that includes former college students (including Harvard graduates), Guidance Counselors, watched plenty of youtube videos, and attended multiple virtual college admission sessions. The motivation behind me doing all this is that I want to make sure that I pass on what I have learned to anyone who is reading this blog. With the application deadlines looming in the corner if you are a parent or a student you will find the tips here quite useful. Feel free to leave your comments.

 

Importance of the Essay:

First and foremost, how important is the essay? The answer depends on so many factors and its importance need to be valued in the specific context of the overall credentials of the students and where she is applying. There is a widely held notion that the essay is the most important piece of the application and with a thoughtful and insightful essay, one could secure admission to a prestigious college.

This notion is flawed.

For a student with great credentials in every sense (SAT, GPA, ECs, etc), if she applies to a competitive and prestigious school, then she can stand out from other applicants through the essay. If she applies to a less competitive school, then the essay is less important relatively speaking.  In other words, an applicant rarely gets in because of the essay alone, at the same time the essay can provide that little bit of nudge to push him to the admit pile.

Your essays are read by admissions officers who have little or no knowledge of you as a person, and often your essay will be read in less than a couple of minutes. Admissions Officers usually spend only a few minutes to review the entire application package. Top schools get thousands of applicants, and this raises every year. For example, in 2021, Harvard reviewed more than 50,000 applications! The admissions officers will be reviewing hundreds of applications in a day and often on a cold winter night slouched in front of the TV trying to ward off sleep! So, your first and foremost goal is that your essay should not put him to sleep! More importantly, when there is a close contest between you and some unknown person, your essay should stay in the mind of the admissions officer, and that way she can promote your case over the other.

That is all.

I have read that in some prestigious institutes the interesting essays get discussed among the Admissions Officers during lunch break and one can imagine that this could tilt the decision in a particular student’s favor.

Colleges have a holistic review process where your personal traits are evaluated in addition to grades. The essay is one way you can show these traits. You have complete control over your essay and your own voice can shine through the essay and reveal something that is not revealed anywhere else.

The whole idea of your character shining through is the most important aspect of the essay.

What do you need to do to shine through? 

The only way is to be authentic.

Here are the steps involved in writing the essay:

1.   Brainstorming: Brainstorm with your parents, friends, and teachers. This can be done verbally or by writing things down and eliminate what is not appealing.

2.   Drafting: Draft your essay by writing as much as possible within a given time (say 10 minutes). Write whatever comes to your mind. Don’t edit your thinking. Keep on doing this until you feel your draft is complete. Don’t categorize them yet in terms of beginning, middle, and end. That comes later.

3.    Review: Have someone you value such as a parent, teacher, friend, or a high school guidance counselor to review your essay. Be absolutely open to their feedback. You don’t have to take all of their suggestions. At the same time if several people are saying the same thing, then chances are you need to consider incorporating their comments.

4.    Rewrite:  Rewrite and ask someone you know quite well the following questions:

a.       “If you read this essay without my name on it, would you know it is me?”

b.       “What qualities of myself are coming through”

If your friend can answer these questions affirmatively, then you are quite close.

5.     Organize: Now organize the essay in terms of beginning, middle, and end. The end should be tied to the beginning subtly. Keep in mind the organization should be self-evident and never explicit.  One good rule of thumb is that the beginning and the end should be no more than 20%.

6.    Finalize: Take a final look and look for typos and grammatical errors.

7.    Read it aloud: Make sure you read the essay aloud. When you read you can “feel” your words better and you can identify some typos that spellcheck or Grammarly would have missed.

Some tips to consider:

·       Don’t try to impress the reader by telling them what you think they want to hear. Be yourself.

·       Chose simple events and elaborate: Chose simple events in your life and spin the essay to reflect on an interesting aspect of your personality.

·       Topics: There is no such thing as a good or bad topic (at the same time avoid, contentious topics such as politics, sex, abortion rights, etc).  

·       Don’t approach it the way you would write a school essay. Avoid complicated words or phrases.  This is not a scholarly pursuit. One simple yardstick is that the average reader shouldn’t have to consult a dictionary.

·        Avoid clichés: Another rule of thumb – if you had already heard an expression, don’t use it.

·        Make your essay entertaining if possible. If you can add humor that is great but don’t overuse it. Be subtle in humor. Keep in mind that humor is not the only way to entertain.  It is perfectly fine to entertain by evoking other emotions – such as empathy, sensitivity, or even sadness.

·       Don’t be afraid to show your vulnerability: Showing your vulnerability in your essay makes you human. Remember you are a teenager, and it is perfectly ok to show your vulnerability especially when it fits into the context.

·       Depth, not breadth: Your essay should have enough depth concerning whatever you are writing. If you touch on so many other things, then the message gets diluted. Stay focused.

·       Sight, smell, and visuals: An insightful essay should unfold what is being written in front of the reader. It is not just enough to talk about an incident that changed you. What was it like in that scene? The vivid imagery of the scene will make your essay stay longer in the readers' minds.

·       Have authority in your voice: When you have authenticity and truth the authority in your words will reveal itself.

·       Proofread: Spelling and grammar count but you are not writing for a writing competition!

·       Peer check: Have someone review your essay. It could be your guidance counselor, parent, friend, teacher, or anyone who knows you well.

·        Have a rhythm: Good rhythm breaks the boredom, and the reader can escape from the monotony of reading your essay if you use sentences of varying lengths in your essay. This brings a unique cadence to your essay.

·        Let the end resonate with the beginning: The end is one of the most important aspects of the essay and it should resonate with the beginning.  

·        Beginning, middle, and end: All essays should have these parts. Once one has finished reading it should be obvious to the reader. Remember all classical music traditions – whether they are Indian classical or Western classical have these three parts. Your essay is in a way should feel like classical music. Like all music, your personal experiences and the traits that you reveal should touch someone else's heart.

·         Beginning: Grab the attention in the first sentence - at least in the first paragraph that kindles the reader’s interest.

·         Middle: The first paragraph should effortlessly and seamlessly lead to the middle where the core idea is expanded more.

·         End: One way to think about the end is that how the incident or event that you are describing changed you as a person. Don’t state the conclusion, but instead tie the conclusion to the beginning

 

Checklist:

·         Is the essay authentic?

·         Is the essay interesting?

·         Will it stand out because it shows who I am?

·         Is it about something which is important to me?

·         Does the essay convey a uniquely personal experience?

·         Is the topic presented neatly, and logically and is clear?

·         Is there a good transition between ideas?

·         Is the reading length, ok?

·         Is my voice concise and clear?

·         Does it sound like me? (Don’t cover too much about yourself – reveal one or two of your traits)

I have based this blog based upon the following material:

·         “On Writing the College Application Essay” by Harry Bauld. This book is must-read

·         Excellent video by Vanderbilt University. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aL5zdPbHTn4