Now is the moment to focus on oneself a little bit:
In spite of the often negative reputation, I find that high school seniors have a difficult time being self-centered when it comes to writing the admission essays for the colleges to which they are applying. You have a propensity, most of the time, to write about anything else, such as an occurrence, another person, or a hobby that you adore, rather than your personality, hobbies, or eccentricities. This makes perfect sense, considering that much of your previous writing experience has been limited to essays based on books you’ve read or knowledge you’ve gained. But at this point, we need you to look deep within yourself. Fight the temptation to focus on your next sports practise schedule, the grandparent who you look up to, or the experience you had performing community service last summer.
The devil is in the details:
When researching a topic for your college essay, you can either take a broad or a narrow approach; these are the two options available to you. Permit me to illustrate with an example: when you write about your developing interest in art history, you might say that you’ve always enjoyed going to museums, and that your high school art history class entrenched the urge to do so even further. After that, you are free to add your preferred musical artists. That’s going to miss its target. OR you may get obsessed with the work of Edward Hopper. You may talk about his solitary paintings and how they make you feel. You could also inform the reader that you’ve always admired his ability to create a whole story with only a few characters that don’t seem to have much of an impact on the plot.
Write as you would say it:
Why would you submit a collection of essays that are all written in an official tone when your friends, family members, and teachers would describe you as amusing, sociable, and unrestrained? (The same applies for you, introverts: if you’re quieter in person, write a quieter essay! When writing college essays, thoughtfulness, consideration, and an unpretentious tone are all qualities that make for excellent writing. Many students who are writing college essays will choose to be clean and admit that they have this or that trait in their personality.
