2. 1 Writing a College Application Essay www.nassp.org Ms. O’ SheaEnglish IV www.nassp.org

3. 2 Common Application ( National Association of Secondary School Principals) This personal statement helps us become acquainted with you as an individual in ways different from courses, grades, test scores, and other objective data. It will demonstrate your ability to organize thoughts to express yourself better. We are looking for an essay that will help us know you better as a person and as a student. Please write an essay (250-500 words) on a topic of your choice or on one of the options listed below. You may attach your essay on separate sheets (same size, please).

4. 3 Common Essay Topics 1. Evaluate a significant experience or achievement that has special meaning for you. 2. Discuss some issue of personal, local, or national concern and its importance to you. 3. Indicate a person who has had a significant influence on you, and describe that influence. 4. Describe a fictional character, an historical figure, or a creative work in art, music, science, etc. that has had an influence on you, and explain that influence. 5. Topic of your choice.

5. 4 How is my essay evaluated? By a multiple-scoring system: scored separately for content, style, and mechanics. OR Holistically…based on comments by evaluators and the conversation of the admission committee.

6. 5 Portraying the “REAL” You 1. Interview family and friends: How would you describe me to people who have not met me? What’s the best thing anyone has ever told you about me? What’s the worst thing anyone has ever told you about me? What do you think is my most unusual or unique character trait? What was your initial impression of me when you first met me? How has that changed?

7. 6 Portraying the “REAL” You 2. Record your dreams. 3. Record your thoughts and feelings about what is important to you: self-esteem, identity, independence from parents, academic and extra-curricular success, popularity and acceptance by a peer group, physical appearance and attractiveness, loyalty, trust and honesty. 4. Use excerpts from your diary or journal.

8. 7 Portraying the “REAL” You 5. Record interesting observations in a notebook. 6. Observe human behavior. (People are amazing. They do and say some strange things!)

9. 8 Preparing for the College Essay 9. Read the works of essayists: Contemporary: Calvin Trillin, Anna Quindlen, Dave Berry. Modern: John Updike, H.L. Mencken, Tom Wolfe, George Orwell. Less Modern: Henry Thoreau, Ralph Waldo Emerson, Jonathan Swift. Writers who write about writing: William Zinsser, E.B. White.

10. 9 Preparing for the College Essay 1. Read the editorial section of your local newspaper, articles from The New Yorker. 2. College admission websites. 3. Read issues of the newspaper from the college to which you are applying. 4. Read the alumni publications produced by the school. What VALUES are important to them? What IMAGE is the school conveying? What are the schools POLICIES and ATTITUDES? What ACCOMPLISHMENTS are they proud of?

11. 10 Preparing for the College Essay 5. Inform yourself of the school’s history…its founders’ philosophies, its educational philosophies, its mission, its most famous alumni and their accomplishments. 6. CAREFULLY READ THE DIRECTIONS AND GUIDELINES FOR WRITING THE ESSAY ON THE COLLEGE APPLICATION. 7. Visit the college website. 8. Admissions officers will detect high school essays disguised as college application essays. 9. Talk to students at the school.

12. 11 Essays about a personal relationship Teacher, coach, distant relative, your arch- rival at school, neighbor, cyberfriend, member of friend’s family NOT YOUR PET.

13. 12 Common themes for college essays on Issues YOU WANT TO BE UNIQUE! REMEMBER? Environment, world peace, prejudice, drugs, crime…blah, blah, blah…

14. 13 Under-explored issues Individual rights (right to die, AIDS, abortion, gun control, materialism, equity and justice, free trade, internet issues like privacy, alienation, education, commerce)

15. 14 Essays on experiences, activities,events NO College admission process, your vacation, your wilderness experience, winning/losing a competition, the benefits of discipline, summer camp, a part-time job, an unforgettable experience.

16. 15 Essays on experiences, activities,events YES An ordinary field trip that became extraordinary, a piece of literature/song that influenced how you perceive life/ yourself/others, an unexpected gift, a white lie/insult that helped you to grow, an informal social situation that impacted you, a time when an authority figure let his/her guard down.

17. 16 Personal Qualities Essay NO 1. Lists of your favorite/least favorite things 2. Your determination and tenacity 3. Your diversity of interests

18. 17 Personal Qualities Essay YES 1.Little habits that annoy others. 2.A time you put your foot in your mouth. 3.A personal possession to which you have become unreasonably attached. 4.Study habits you want to change. 5.Your unusual awkwardness in some social situations.

19. 18 DO BE YOURSELF- PERSONAL AND ANECDOTAL. DELIVER A POSITIVE MESSAGE. ENSURE DEPTH…ONE IDEA/EVENT. BE INTERESTING. WRITE ABOUT WHAT YOU KNOW AS A TEEN. WRITE ABOUT YOUR OWN EXPERIENCE. WRITE ABOUT SOMETHING YOU FEEL PASSIONATE ABOUT. WRITE ABOUT OTHERS AS WELL AS YOURSELF. BE OPINIONATED WITHOUT BEING OFFENSIVE.

20. 19 DON’T LET ANYONE DECIDE WHAT YOU SHOULD WRITE. SELL YOURSELF. WRITE A SCHOLARLY RESEARCH PAPER. WRITE A HIGH SCHOOL ESSAY. WRITE A “SAFE” ESSAY. BE TOO IDEALISTIC. EXPLAIN DEFICITS ON YOUR APPLICATION. WRITE SOMETHING EMBARRASSING OR OFFENSIVE. WRITE A NEWSPAPER EDITORIAL/SOAP BOX ESSAY. BE CYNICAL. REFERENCE POPULAR MUSICIANS, MOVIES, T.V. SHOWS, DR. SEUSS BOOKS… LIMIT YOURSELF TO THE 5 PARAGRAPH ESSAY, BUT DON’T BE LONGWINDED. WHINE, FEIGN HUMILITY, BOAST…

21. 20 OPENINGS ENIGMATIC STATEMENT OBSCURE QUOTATION INSIGHTFUL QUESTION TRIVIAL OBSERVATION PARADOX GROSS GENERALIZATION SOMEONE ELSE’S OPINION/THEORY A CONFESSION OBVIOUS STATMENT

22. 21 CLOSING DO BRING CLOSURE. RESOLVE SUSPENSE CREATED IN THE ESSAY. COMPOSE SHORT, FORCEFUL SENTENCES.DON’T Ask the committee to admit you. Use “finally”, “in conclusion”. Repeat. End with a quotation.

23. 22 STYLE Avoid overused words like responsibility, interact, develop, leadership, interpersonal, goal, role, integrity, excellence. Avoid SLANG and BUZZ phrases. Avoid superfluous words like clearly, obviously, unquestionably, somewhat, rather, quite, perhaps, I think, I believe, My feeling is that, first, second, (etc.), thus, moreover, however, the next point.

24. 23 Style DO Use analogies (metaphors/similies), but not to excess. Incorporate dialogue, but don’t write a screenplay. Use more short than long sentences. Vary sentence length for a natural rhythm. Read your essay aloud to ensure it has a natural flow. Use logical paragraph breaks. Use the active, not the passive voice.

25. 24 STYLE DON’T Tell. Instead show. Start too many sentences with “I”. Use the phrase “a lot of”. Try “many”, “numerous”, “significant”. Have spelling errors.

26. 25 FEEDBACK Ask a better writer to read your essay and give honest feedback on how you portray yourself. Give yourself a day or two before writing the final copy. You will not approach your essay in a jaded fashion if you do this.

27. 26 PRESENTATION 1. Attach your essay separately if the college allows. 2. Use ONLY plain, white, quality 81/2 * 11 paper with no personalized embellishments. 3. Number each page. Record your name and ss# on each page. 4. Collate your essays in the order asked for.

28. 27 PRESENTATION 5. Do not use staples unless the school asks. 6. Comply with page limits. 7. Do not exceed the word limit by more than 10%. 8. Type in serif fonts (stems at top and bottom of letters). They are easier to read. 9. Font size 11 or 12. Don’t use fancy typeface. Watch the “kerning” (spacing between letters). 10. 1-11/2 inch margins unless school requests otherwise. 11. Print on high resolution laser printer.

29. 28 SOURCES As brilliant and creative as I am, I did rely heavily on the book cited! Stewart, Mark Alan and Cynthia C. Muchnick. Best College Admission Essays. Canada: Thomson, 2002.