1. Time for college essays
Whaaaaa???

2. Mrs. Jill Brown College Guidance Counselor
Questions about college? or set-up an appointment:
Office Hours:
Monday – Thursday 8:30am-12:30am

3. Three Requirements for College
Graduate from high school and a high school transcript
ACT or SAT score
Application
ApplyTX – college or university in Texas
Common Application – college or university outside Texas as well as some Texas schools
University specific online application – on the universities website (i.e. ACU)
YOUR ESSAYS ARE A PART OF YOUR APPLICATION

4. Deadlines and Dates Junior Year: Write essays - now
Start application – group meeting after spring break
Complete application – summer after junior year
Apply to college – August before senior year starts
Senior Year:
Apply for scholarships

5. What should my essay look like?
Personal story or experience
Movie scene
Creative writing
Casual, first-person

6. What should my essay NOT look like?
Research paper
Impersonal, formal language
List of achievements
Report of activities

7. Two exercises to find your topic
Story Questions
Value Checklist

8. Essay A What was the environment in which you were raised
Essay A What was the environment in which you were raised? Describe your family, home, neighborhood, or community, and explain how it has shaped you as a person.
Personal story from your past
Connect the value that goes with your story
Current status – the way you implement your value currently through activities, jobs and/or volunteering
Future status – how you see this value manifesting itself in your future

9. Essay B Most students have an identity, and interest, or a talent that defines them in an essential way. Tell us about yourself.
Personal story – hardship, trial, talent, quirky, boring, vulnerability (i.e. Costco)
Something I WANTED, but here’s what I NEEDED
Connect the value – tell why it means something to you or is important to you
Personal growth – what you’ve learned, hope to learn, or try to implement in your life

10. Requirements 300-500 words, single-spaced 1-1.5 page MAX
Save on Google Docs
to:
Due:___________________________________