11 Stellar Common App Essay Examples To Inspire Your Writing

11 Stellar Common App Essay Examples To Inspire Your Writing Tell a story that is short, sweet, and narrowly focused on a single event or idea. You might alternately be given a space in which to craft a “personal statement” of your own design. When given this freedom, choose a topic that seems inherently interesting to you. Tell a story that best illustrates who you are and how you can contribute to the unique makeup of a student body. Instead, find an area in which you are naturally confident, and use that area of your life to drive this story. Elyse Krantz is a member of College Coach’s team of college admissions experts. Elyse received her BA in linguistics from Dartmouth College and her MA from Teachers College, Columbia University. Prior to joining College Coach, Elyse worked as an admissions officer at Barnard College and Bennington College. Writing an effective persuasive essay requires research, organization, and passion. Our quick tips will help you make a convincing case for your readers. As a writer, you can become very close to your work. A proofreader will review your essay with fresh eyes and may even catch mistakes that you have routinely missed. The story will, in turn, provide context for your accomplishments. This is the opportunity to show admissions officers who you are, how you express yourself, and what distinctive qualities you’ll add to the student body. Just take a blank document or sheet of paper, set a timer for minutes, and start writing. Really, the success of your essay will come down not to what you write about, but how. In general, it’s much easier to stand out on the basis of how you approach your topic than what you say. Whatever application process you’re going through, you’ll likely have a choice of several questions. Don’t try to be a comedian if you don’t know how to deliver a punchline. Your writing should be sharp, focused, and relevant. And of course, whatever you write, make sure it actually addresses the prompt. Make sure you’re answering the question, making the point, or illustrating the feature that you’ve been asked to. You’ll score points for being earnest and faithful to yourself. Over 220,000 awesome students are learning how to dominate their classes, get more done, and land the jobs they want â€" and you should too. With all the knowledge you have of a topic, it can seem that a few simple sentences are enough to do it justice â€" but that’s rarely the case. You have to remember that the person reading your essay knows nothing about you, save for a few basic statistics. They’ll get you started, but simply writing about these things alone isn’t enough. More work needs to be done in order to craft an essay that makes you trulystand out. When free writing about a topic, you may stumble onto an idea even better than your original. If you’ve never done it before, free writing is just taking a topic and writing anything that comes into your head. In choosing a proofreader, find someone who knows you well, but who will also help you to preserve your voice within the essay. Admissions counselors develop a sixth sense about essay writers who are authentic. icons new Career Skills Learn how to network, crush interviews, and land your dream job. icons new Life Skills Build confidence, make friends, budget your money, and more. icons new Remote Work, learn, and succeed from the comforts of your own home. icons new View All PostsBookCourses icons new Productivity Masterclass Learn how to create a system that works and reorganize your life. Don’t get overwhelmed trying to pick the right one. My suggestion is to just read through them and narrow down to one or two that really speak to you. Today I’ll share some of that knowledge and teach you how you can craft an essay that really bolsters your overall application. I was in your same position four years ago, and I learned a lot through both my own college application process and through my subsequent years as an English major who wields commas like shurikens. icons new Productivity Get organized, become more efficient, and reclaim your time.