Five Tips for Writing a Great Common Application Personal Essay
The Common Application personal essay is a 650 (max) word opportunity to illustrate that you are a compelling applicant. It’s the one section on the Common Application through which your voice is able to shine. Here are 5 tips that will help you write a great personal essay:
1. Make it personal.
Before you write anything, think about what you want the admissions committee to learn about you. Do you have a unique personality trait, quality, or skill? Does your family have a particular tradition that you really value? What do you truly value? While you should review the Common Application essay prompts to see if there is a prompt that particularly resonates with you, identify a topic that you want to share with the admissions committee and write about it.
Try to avoid trendy or controversial topics because you don’t know the reader’s personal biases, but stay true to yourself. Do be vulnerable enough that the essay has a genuine personal quality to it. Be sure that the reason your chosen topic is important to you is clear to the reader.
Do not just write a narrative - this is not an English paper! This is your chance to share a story that reflects who you are and what is important to you. Share the “why” behind the story; include your insights. Lastly, if your essay subject includes other people, make sure that the majority of the essay is still about you or what impact the people or incident had on you, and not too much about the other individuals.
2. “Show, Don’t Tell”
Admissions officers have very little time to read through your application. And remember, they read your essay (and hundreds of other essays) on a computer screen. Make your opening paragraph compelling so that they will want to scroll down to learn more about you. Writing a strong first paragraph, using visual imagery and/or a strong hook is important.
To make your essay stand out “show, don’t tell.” Use actions, thoughts, senses, and feelings to allow the reader to experience your story. Paint an image through your words. The reader should be able to envision what you are writing about. Use language to evoke a response in the reader as opposed to using descriptive language to explain what happened. Here is a short example:
Telling: It was late fall. Showing: Leaves crunched beneath his feet.
“Showing” and using an “active voice” are two writing techniques that help the reader to envision the scene that you have written. It enables them to experience what you experienced, thus creating a more engaging reading experience.
3. Make the essay strengths-based: Be the victor, not the victim.
Many students will choose to write about an obstacle they had to overcome (essay prompt #2). That choice can provide great fodder for a strong essay. However, limit the challenge’s description to about ⅓ of your essay. A common mistake that students make is spending too many words writing about the challenge or obstacle and then devoting very few words to explaining how they overcame it. As a result, the structure of the essay causes the writer to be framed as a “victim” instead of a “victor.” Instead, balance the essay so that an equal amount of the essay, or more, focuses on how you tackled the challenge, and on how well you are doing currently. For instance, one could structure the essay as follows:
⅓ of the essay on the obstacle/challenge/setback/failure
⅓ should address what the student did to address the challenge
⅓ of the essay should share how the author has grown from the experience.
4. Use the essay to share new information.
Ideally, you will use each Common Application section to highlight your different strengths and experiences. The essay is another opportunity to share with the admissions committee a talent, skill, trait, or value that makes you both prepared for college life and a good “fit” for their school. Try to avoid revisiting the same information in your essay that you have highlighted in other parts of your application.
5. Make sure the essay is well-constructed
Many college admissions officers have shared that, while really using the essay to get a better sense of who you are and how you will contribute to their college’s culture, they also are using the essay to gauge your “college readiness” as reflected in the quality of your writing. With that in mind, be sure to have someone else read your essay to assess the overall essay development and construction as well as for proper grammar.
Most importantly, just start writing once you know what you want the admissions committee to know about you! Brainstorm or free-write to help you play with different ideas. Have fun with it! Do not feel confined to the typical 5-paragraph narrative essay if you feel like a different format would better represent you. Just make sure the essay reflects who you are and that your voice and experiences are front and center!
To learn more, or to secure Common Application Essay support, contact JMT College Consulting,