How to Prepare a Great College Essay Private Colleges and Universities UC Personal Statement District Scholarship

Who Are You? What makes you different from all the other qualified applicants? Demonstrate your unique qualities. Shed light on your values, contributions, opinions and talents. Fill in the holes that the test scores, transcripts and application did not show. The essay is an extension of the application. It should show new information, not repeat things already said.

Three most common questions: What are your most significant academic interests? Explain how our college will help you grow. Describe a personally satisfying experience.

What are THEY looking for? Your ability to write The content of the essay Creativity How well you will fit at their school

How you write Spelling, grammar, syntax, and usage must all be perfect Your writing must be crisp and cliché free Vary sentence structure Use a proofreader Use an opening sentence with an attention grabber

Content Create a thesis statement for the essay, support it with specific, concrete details and examples Make sure your argument has logic Say something with substance in an economical and effective manner Do not ramble or be redundant Take time to develop sentiments or ideas that are interesting to read

Creativity Must be more than technically correct Take a risk (depending on difficulty of acceptance) Use humor (cautiously), poetry, brief dialogue (without throwing caution to the wind) However, those who take risks stand out Be descriptive-show don’t tell

Know the school you are applying to The admissions representatives know the type of student who fits best at their university: Do you know the student population of the particular campus? Do you know the teaching methods and philosophy of the school? How will you be a benefit to their school community? What will you be able to add?

Tips Narrow your topic Look through yearbooks, family photos. Record feelings. Ask parents and siblings for favorite stories about you. Think about future goals and what education will do for you. Choose some anecdotes that show how these characteristics have manifested themselves in your life. Read some samples Not only does this help you get in the mood for writing, but you can learn what NOT to do. Read both good and bad essays. Begin the draft Remember keep it crisp, positive and energized!

Tips Read through all questions. Make a list of essays. Any overlaps? Use cut and paste. Pay attention to any limits set. Take time to reflect Think about what makes you unique. How did you get to this point in life? What has been your greatest tragedy fear/proudest moment/success? Brainstorm!

Proofreading Ask others to proof read. Teachers, parents, UC Readers, counselors. Re-write until you are satisfied. Your writing should be your own ideas, words, style and expression Re-write the draft. Let it sit a couple days. Read it out loud. How does it sound? Does it flow easily?

Submit Type your essay (unless it requires you shouldn’t). This creates a bold, clear, easy to read impression and is clear and visible to the reader. If the school insists that you write in the space provided, trace that space onto a scrap of paper. Then keep writing and editing until your sentences fit. Remember space is limited-make every word count.

UC Personal Statement Respond to two prompts, using a maximum of 1,000 words. Allocate the word count as you wish, but it is suggested that each count be no less than 250 words. Describe the world you come from—for example, your family, community or school-and tell us how your world has shaped your dreams. Tell us about a personal quality, talent, accomplishment, contribution or experience that is important to you. What about it makes you proud and how does it relate to the person you are? Following the personal statement, there’s a section called Additional Comments. Use this space-550 words-to tell anything you want them to know about you that you didn’t have the opportunity to describe elsewhere in the application.

UC Personal Statement To get started: Read your completed UC application Find the questions that your readers might ask- What pieces about who you are and why you are a good fit for this UC are missing from the application? Add information that you couldn’t work in to the other parts of the application Explore different areas of your life, your education, your goals and aspirations through brainstorming

Common Application Over 400 private universities and colleges have joined together to produce the Common Application. This is a great convenience for it allows you to fill out a single master form and submit it to any college in the group. This reduces the amount of duplicate work. Some colleges do have supplemental essays. www.commonapp.org

The Commonapp Essays Choose the option that best helps you answer that question and write an essay of no more than 650 words. 650 words is not your goal, but your limit. Responses cannot be shorter than 250 words. Some students have a background or story that is so central to their identity that they believe their application should be incomplete without it. If this sounds like you, then please share your story. Recount an incident or time when you experienced failure. How did it affect you and what lessons did you learn? Reflect on a time when you challenged a belief or idea. What prompted you to act? Would you make the same decision again?

more essay prompts cont. Describe a place or environment where you are perfectly content. What do you do or experience there, and why is it meaningful to you? Discuss an accomplishment or event, formal or informal, that marked your transition from childhood to adulthood within your culture, community or family.

District Scholarship Essay Due in January. Essay question reads: Please describe your educational goals and future plans, explaining how your high school activities, extra curricular activities, life experiences, and/or employment have enhanced or determined those future goals. You may briefly describe any unusual circumstances or challenges……