Writing College and Scholarship Essays
Do not write what you think the committee wants to read. Write about YOU.
Admissions and scholarship committees read thousands of essays a year. The best way to make your essay stand out is to write about YOU. Your essay is the only part of an application that you 100% own, so make it your own! If you can put someone else's name on your essay and it still works, you need to pick a new topic.
Get to the point, and stick to the point.
Most college and scholarship essay prompts are fairly short. Do not try to sum up your life story in 500 words. Pick one story—one moment—and provide lots of detail about it.
Show, don't tell.
You know how a joke is funnier than an explanation of a joke and a movie is better than a summary of a movie? The same is true for essays. Show them what interests/excites/saddens you by the way you write it instead of by saying, "This interests/excites/saddens me." If you really love pickles, don't just state it blandly. Write about how giddy it makes you when the pickle juice runs down your chin and leaves your face sticky for the rest of the day.
Write in your own voice.
Committees can tell when you are trying to sound smart. Don't use big words just to use them. When you read your essay, you should hear yourself in it. The committee knows you are a high school student; they don't expect you to sound older than that!
Forget the 5 paragraph essay.
In high school, teachers will often tell you, “Tell them what you’re going to tell them (introduction), then tell them (body), then tell them what you told them (conclusion).” DO NOT DO THIS. You have limited space, so don't repeat yourself. Take the committee on a journey with you instead of sticking to a rigid structure.
Supplement, don't recap.
This essay is not supposed to recap all of the talents, extracurricular activities, and academic achievements on your application. The committee know all of that already. This is your chance to show your personality, because the the committee wants to get to know a person, not just an application. Write something that supplements the rest of the application, and show your personality!
Have at least 2 people edit your essay, and read your essay out loud.
Spelling and grammar mistakes in your essay show that you didn't spend time and effort on it. Having other people read your essay helps avoid these errors. And as weird as it may sound, reading your essay out loud helps you to hear things you might miss on the page. If your paper sounds choppy, uncomfortable, or unnatural coming from your mouth, then you need to change something.