Best College Application Essay Prompts

Best College Application Essay Prompts It’s December, the height of college application season, and students across Massachusetts are hunched over their desks, putting the finishing touches on their college application essay. Or at least that was the case when students were still writing their own essays, which, increasingly, they aren’t. As the members of the class of 2018 begin their applications, writing the main essay will undoubtedly be one of the most daunting tasks associated with the process. If a school uses an admissions committee the number could jump to three or more. In any case, what YOU can control is how well your essay describes who you are and gives the admissions person a chance to see things in you that will be an asset to the school. College admissions officers are very busy and only want to read essays that help them make admissions decisions. Some colleges have a team of people read each file. Others divide them up, and then only share files that require further discussion. While it drives TV writers mad (and sometimes the notes are not good!), there’s a reason this process exists â€" because in most instances it pulls out the best writing from these artists. Students don’t knock out outstanding college admissions essays on the first pass. It may be only 500 words, but the admissions essay portion of a college application can mean the difference between acceptance and rejection. How you write your personal essay shows the admissions committee why you are different from everybody else. It provides information about you that test scores, grades, and extracurricular pursuits just cannot. The tricky part is that not always peers and relatives have the necessary expertise. That's when you can think back about guys who supported you during the admissions process. Prompt’s team of essay experts has reviewed and provided feedback on tens of thousands of college essays. Prompt’s hundreds of Essay Specialists support thousands of students each year with feedback on their college essays, having helped students get into every top-50 university and earn millions in scholarships. Prompt’s web application is now available to high schools who want to improve their students’ college essays and is currently used by districts such as the New York City Department of Education. If you were to take bets on the percentage of essays read by college admissions personnel, I’d guess that it would be in the high 90’s. The college essay often frightens students because they think it has to be about some extraordinary event and they may not have something momentous to write aboutâ€"that is OK. Actually, the best college essays I have read have been about mundane, everyday life. What made them great is that the students showed who they were through their writing. Good writing is all about starting over, revising, reordering, peppering in new details, starting over yet again, and more. Often times, there are multiple rounds of production company, studio, and network notes. There is not one way that all colleges work, so I always tell students to assume everyone in the admissions office could their essays so that they cannot write anything that anyone and everyone cannot read. Also I believe that students should believe that the more people who read an essay the better as these essays should really captivate and engage readers and help them see why you belong on their campus. The thing is, college writing differs drastically from what you've been doing in school. It is apparently more complex and, subsequently, requires more time. Rare students manage to survive freshmen year without help with essay writing by someone experienced from the sidelines. So if a school requires an essay it is VERY likely to be read. If a school has a writing section in their supplement to the Common Application you can rest assured that ALL of that writing is evaluated by admissions officers. Do your best and assume that it WILL be read and that it WILL have a bearing on your admission chances. There is no way to determine a typical scenario regarding a college’s method for reviewing applications. In all cases at least one admissions officer will look at your essay. If you’re seeking assistance on college admissions essays, know that good writing is about rewriting. Very rarely is a first draft of an essay or a book or a play the finished product. An essay is an important part of sharing who you are with a school. With increased competition for admission, the essay has become an important factor in consideration of your admissibility to a school.