A Students Checklist For Planning A College Essay

A Student’s Checklist For Planning A College Essay Despite the high speed of the bullet train, my mind is perfectly still â€" trapped between the narrative of the book and the narrative of my own life. Although they're phrased differently from college to college, certain essay question types appear routinely. We asked the admission staff to select some of their favorite essays. We hope they will provide inspiration as you craft your stories. Today it is The Things They Carried by Tim O’Brien, already worn and slightly crumpled. They say the best books tell you what you already know, resonating with your own thoughts and emotions. As I read, it is as if the tempest of my thoughts is spelled out on paper. The overflowing sense of hyper-reality in Tim O’Brien’s words of warfare spills into my world. His words somehow become my words, his memories become my memories. Students don’t need to stick to the 5-paragraph model that they’ve used so often in school. You can have a good essay that has 2 or 10 paragraphs, or includes a good amount of dialogue. They’re going to turn down lots of highly qualified applicants, so your essay could be critical if the choice comes down to you and another, similarly qualified applicant. That said, your essay probably won’t actually hurt you as long as it’s reasonably literate . I graduated summa cum laude from Northwestern University's theatre and creative writing programs. I'm a playwright, editor, and writing teacher with a focus on arts education. “Most Original” always let me down, and as a result, I hated to be original in any context. In my hometown of New Haven, Connecticut, where normality was…well, the norm, I tried to be a typical student â€" absolutely, perfectly normal. I blended into crowds, the definition of typical. I became a person who refused to surprise people. Unsettled, I turn to my ever-present book for comfort. She also pushes them to be more intellectually rigorous, when necessary. Evidently, there is a fear that students who hire coaches won’t be presenting original work, which would be cheating. When asked to write an essay about something meaningful to them, teens suddenly claim no passion for anything. They have passion, but they need to identify it before they can share their story. Admissions officials have seen plenty of overused topics, such as a venerated parent, a game-winning goal or volunteer work in the soup kitchen. These essays can’t work without a personal connection or engaging observations. There has always been speculation as to the value colleges place on the essay. The essay itself won’t propel an average student into Harvard, but may indeed make a difference. Okay, maybe I’m overreacting â€" but I cannot for the life of me understand that award. The first time I was on stage was in the eighth grade when my best friend talked me into auditioning for our school's performance of the play Romeo and Julietby William Shakespeare. DON’T rehash information that is already in your application. The goal of your essay should not be something like “to show I’m co-captain of the soccer team.” They already know that; you need to tell them something new. This may be your only chance to address an admissions officer directly. You can write about pretty much anything â€" an experience, an inanimate object, a movie, a place, a person â€" as long as your essay reveals how that experience, thing, movie, place, or person made an impact on you. Since 2016, I have worked as a high school English tutor, theatre educator, and freelance journalist. Jager-Hyman uses Mad Libs to help students find their own language to express their thoughts. She highlights issues with their work and helps students learn to express themselves in a more engaging and organic manner.