This section will examine two essays from the examples that were collected above so we can pull them apart and investigate the criteria that make for a great college application essay. We'll dissect each case and examine what makes these essays tick. Example One. A Johns Hopkins Admission Essay by Stephen entitled ‘Breaking into Cars’ · Sample College Essay (Harvard): Prompt: The Harvard College Honor code declares that we "hold honesty as the foundation of our community." As you consider entering this community that is committed to honesty, please reflect on a time when you or someone you observed had to make a choice about whether to act with integrity and honesty. ( words) · THE "IDENTIFYING AS TRANS" COLLEGE ESSAY EXAMPLE Narrative Essay, “Challenges” Type. “Mommy I can’t see myself.”. I was six when I first refused/rejected girl’s clothing, eight when I only wore boy’s Soon after this, I came out to my mom.. It was like all those years of being out of place had
Common Application Essay Prompts: Tips, Samples
College AdmissionsCollege Essays. The personal statement might just be the hardest part of your college application. Mostly this is because it has the least guidance and is the most open-ended. One way to understand what colleges are looking for when they ask you to write an essay is to check out college app essay examples essays of students who already got in—college essays that actually worked.
After all, they must be among the most successful of this weird literary genre. In this article, I'll go through general college app essay examples for what makes college app essay examples college essays great. Finally, I'll break down two of these published college essay examples and explain why and how they work. With links to full essays and essay excerptsthis article will be a great resource for learning how to craft your own personal college admissions essay!
Even though in many ways these sample college essays are very different from one other, they do share some traits you should try to emulate as you write your own essay.
Building out from a narrow, concrete focus. You'll see a similar structure in many of the essays. The author starts with a very detailed story of an event or description of a person or place.
After this sense-heavy imagery, the essay expands out to make a broader point about the author, and connects this very memorable experience to the author's present situation, state of mind, college app essay examples, newfound understanding, or maturity level.
Knowing how to tell a story. Some of the experiences in these essays are one-of-a-kind. But most deal with the stuff of everyday life. What sets them apart is the way the author approaches the topic: analyzing it for drama and humor, for its moving qualities, for what it says about the author's world, and for how it connects to the author's emotional life, college app essay examples.
A killer first sentence, college app essay examples. You've heard it before, and you'll hear it again: you have to suck the reader in, and the best place to do that is the first sentence. Great first sentences are punchy. They are like cliffhangers, setting up an exciting scene or an unusual situation with an unclear conclusion, in order to make the reader want to know more.
Don't take my word for it—check out these 22 first sentences from Stanford applicants and tell me you don't want to read the rest of those essays to find out what happens! A lively, individual voice. Writing is for readers. In this case, your reader is an admissions officer who has read thousands of essays before yours and will read thousands after. Your goal? Don't bore your reader. Use interesting descriptions, stay away from clichés, include your own offbeat observations—anything that makes this essay sounds like you and not like anyone else.
Enchanted Prince Stan decided to stay away from any frog-kissing princesses to retain his unique perspective on ruling as an amphibian. Technical correctness. No spelling mistakes, no grammar weirdness, no syntax issues, college app essay examples, no punctuation snafus—each of these sample college essays has been formatted and proofread perfectly. If this kind of exactness is not your strong suit, you're in luck! All colleges advise applicants to have their essays looked over several times by parents, teachers, mentors, and anyone else who can spot a comma splice.
Your essay must be your own work, but there is absolutely nothing wrong with getting help polishing it. Want to write the perfect college application essay?
Get professional help from PrepScholar. Your dedicated PrepScholar Admissions counselor will craft your perfect college essay, from the ground up. We'll learn your background and interests, brainstorm essay topics, and walk you through the essay drafting process, step-by-step.
At the end, you'll have a unique essay that you'll proudly submit to your top choice colleges. Don't leave your college application to chance.
Find out more about PrepScholar Admissions now :. Some colleges publish a selection of their favorite accepted college essays that worked, and I've put together a selection of over of these. Please note that some of these college essay examples may be responding to prompts that are no longer in use.
The current Common App prompts are as follows:. Some students have a background, identity, college app essay examples, interest, or talent that is so meaningful they believe their application would be incomplete without it. If this sounds like you, then please share your story. The lessons we take from obstacles we encounter can be fundamental to later success. Recount a time when you faced a challenge, setback, or failure.
How did it affect you, and what did you learn from the experience? Reflect on a time when you questioned or challenged a belief or idea. What prompted your thinking? What was the outcome? Describe a problem you've solved or a problem you'd like to solve.
It can be an intellectual challenge, a research query, an ethical dilemma—anything that is of personal importance, no matter the scale. Explain its significance to you and what steps you took or could be taken to identify a solution. Discuss an accomplishment, event, or realization that sparked a period of personal growth and a new understanding of yourself or others. Describe a topic, idea, or concept you find so engaging that it makes you college app essay examples all track of time.
Why does it captivate you? What or who do you turn to when you want to learn more? Share an essay on any topic of your choice. It can be one you've already written, one that responds to a different prompt, or one of your own design.
These essays are answers to past prompts from either the Common Application or the Universal Application which Johns Hopkins used to accept.
If college app essay examples looking for even more sample college essays, consider purchasing a college essay book. The best of these include dozens of essays that worked and feedback from real admissions officers. College Essays That Made a Difference —This detailed guide from Princeton Review includes not only successful college app essay examples, but also interviews with admissions officers and full student profiles.
Heavenly Essays by Janine W. Robinson—This collection from the popular blogger behind Essay Hell includes a wider range of schools, as well as helpful tips on honing your own essay. I've picked two essays from the examples collected above to examine in more depth so that you can see exactly what college app essay examples a successful college essay work.
Full credit for these essays goes to the original authors and the schools that published them. We were in Laredo, having just finished our first day at a Habitat for Humanity work site. The Hotchkiss volunteers had already left, off to enjoy some Texas BBQ, college app essay examples, leaving me behind with the college kids to clean up.
Not until we were stranded did we realize we were locked out of the van. More out of amusement than optimism, I gave it a try. I slid the hanger into the window's seal like I'd seen on crime shows, and spent a few minutes jiggling the apparatus around the inside of the frame. Suddenly, two things simultaneously clicked, college app essay examples. One was the lock on the door. I actually succeeded in springing it.
The other was the realization that I'd been in this type of situation before. In fact, I'd been born into this type of situation. My upbringing has numbed me to unpredictability and chaos, college app essay examples.
With a family of seven, my home was loud, messy, and spottily supervised. My siblings arguing, the dog barking, the phone ringing—all meant my house was functioning normally. My Dad, a retired Navy pilot, was away half the time. When he was home, he had a parenting style something like a drill sergeant.
At the age of nine, I learned how to clear burning oil from the surface of water. My Dad considered this a critical life skill—you know, in case my aircraft carrier should ever get torpedoed. Clear a hole!
While I'm still unconvinced about that particular lesson's practicality, my Dad's overarching message is unequivocally true: much of life is unexpected, and you have to deal with the twists and turns. Living in my family, days rarely unfolded as planned. A bit overlooked, a little pushed around, I learned to roll with reality, negotiate a quick deal, and give the improbable a try. I don't sweat the small stuff, and I definitely don't expect perfect fairness. So what if our dining room table only has six chairs for seven people?
Someone learns the importance of punctuality every night. But more than punctuality and a special affinity for musical chairs, my family life has taught me to thrive in situations over which I have no power. Growing up, college app essay examples, I never controlled my older siblings, but I learned how to thwart their attempts to control me. I forged alliances, and realigned them as necessary. Sometimes, I was the poor, defenseless little brother; sometimes I was the omniscient elder.
Different things to different people, as the situation demanded. I learned to college app essay examples.
College Application Essay Example �� Reading My Common App Essay! ��
, time: 10:10College Essay Examples for 11 Schools + Expert Analysis
This section will examine two essays from the examples that were collected above so we can pull them apart and investigate the criteria that make for a great college application essay. We'll dissect each case and examine what makes these essays tick. Example One. A Johns Hopkins Admission Essay by Stephen entitled ‘Breaking into Cars’ · THE "IDENTIFYING AS TRANS" COLLEGE ESSAY EXAMPLE Narrative Essay, “Challenges” Type. “Mommy I can’t see myself.”. I was six when I first refused/rejected girl’s clothing, eight when I only wore boy’s Soon after this, I came out to my mom.. It was like all those years of being out of place had · Sample College Essay (Harvard): Prompt: The Harvard College Honor code declares that we "hold honesty as the foundation of our community." As you consider entering this community that is committed to honesty, please reflect on a time when you or someone you observed had to make a choice about whether to act with integrity and honesty. ( words)
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