Janine Robinson's Blog, page 7

Best College Application Essays Have Touch of Gray

Learn How to Avoid Black-and-White Thinking

to Add Depth to Your Essays

 

It’s exciting to see that word is getting out to collegebound students, and those who support their admissions quests, that real-life stories power the most effective college application essays.

If you are new to this concept, read up on the narrative (storytelling) writing method that I promote all over this blog.

(If you are just starting learning about college application essays, I recommend first reading How to Write a College Application Essay in 3 Steps. This post you are reading here is intended for students who have a topic and have started writing their first draft.)

Here’s the essence of my writing approach: You use your real-life stories to illustrate or demonstrate one of your defining qualities, characteristics or core values in your college application essay or personal statement. 

Once you understand how this works, however, it’s important to find ways to bring meaning and depth to your essay, beyond simply sharing real-life stories.

You must go on to explain what those stories meant to you, what you learned.

 

Image Via Unomaha.edu

 

This is your opportunity to display what colleges and others call “intellectual vitality.” That’s just a fancy way to say how you think and learn, and what you value.

Most of the students I work with catch on quickly to the idea of using a real-life story in their essay. But many have trouble when it comes to moving to the next step of explaining what it meant to them. They often stumble when it comes to “digging deeper” in their essay, and developing their ideas and insights.

One common pitfall that I’ve seen is the tendency toward black-and-white thinking, especially when analyzing, reflecting and sharing their thoughts and opinions.

Black-and-white thinking is when everything needs to be all one way or the other, instead of somewhere in the middle. Better known as the gray areas (what you get when you mix black and white).

With so much riding on these essays, there’s a weird pressure on students to sound knowledgable and self-assured. As a result, I believe many feel that they need to draw absolute conclusions in their essays. Or make concrete, all-knowing statements.

My advice is to try to resist that pressure to be certain, to feel that there is only one way or rule.

Here’s the irony of black and white thinking: Even though that “I got this” certainty can make you feel confident and wise, it often reveals the opposite.

The truth is always in the gray.

Nothing is all good or all bad.

This ambiguity makes people who stick to black-and-white thinking uncomfortable. They prefer labels, generalities, extremes and feeling in control. (Anyone come to mind?)

In writing about ourselves, revealing doubt and vulnerability can be the most powerful way to connect with others. As well as demonstrate true inner strength and integrity.

Embracing the gray of life—the uncertain, the vague, the abstract—is often considered higher level thinking.

And guess who loves to see that?

Yup! College and universities.

When you are writing your essay, seek out the gray.

 

 

I advise students to share a real-life story in their personal statement essay that involved some type of problem, and then go on to look for what they learned in dealing with that problem. (It’s a standard writing formula for a personal essay: Learn how it works in How to Write a College Application Essay in 3 Steps.)

I warn them that they do not need to have had solved that problem to write a meaningful essay about it. In fact, this is an opportunity to explore the gray in your life.

Share the steps you took to deal with the problem, and how you felt, thought and learned along the way.

You don’t need to wrap it up with a big red bow, as in “problem solved forever.”

Because life isn’t usually like that. It’s complicated. Messy. Gray.

When you share what you learned, you don’t need to have learned that “everything” is one way, or “all good” or “all bad.”

It’s okay to not be sure of anything.

You can still share and assert what you think, and how you feel, and what steps you took in dealing with the problem.

Remember, true confidence is knowing what you don’t know. This humility also shows that you remain open and eager to learning more. (Guess again who loves to see that?)

Here are some ways to go gray in your essay:

Look out for “absolute words” that flag black-and-white statements: (All, always, everyone, everybody, each, no one, none.)

Include open-ended questions. “Sometimes I wondered: “‘Why I was born with this strange ability to sense how others are feeling?'”

Share what you don’t know. “I was able to figure out the first part of coding equation, but I felt blindsided by the rest of it.”

Confess your missteps or regrets. “Looking back, I now see that I should have called the police the first time my father drove us home from the ball game drunk on too many beers.”

Explore both sides to an opinion. “In some ways, I love my ability to learn quickly, but often I notice that I getting going so quickly that I forget to delve deeper into things.”

If you follow my narrative approach to writing these essays, you will be showcasing a defining quality or characteristic, or a core value. One way to “go gray” is to examine and evaluate that quality or characteristic, and include both “the good” and “the bad” about it.

Here’s an example: The quality is “stubborn.”

“All my life I’ve had a stubborn streak. Looking back, I see that my resistance to trying something new or doing what I’m asked has cost me greatly. I’ve missed out on some unique opportunities, and I can never get those back. At the same time, I believe there are times when it’s important to dig in my heels, hold my ground and channel my inner donkey…It all depends on why I baulk and resist, or give in.”

Do you see that the writer is not saying that being stubborn is “all good” or “all bad?” Instead, it just depends. It’s relative to other factors. It’s gray.

The ability to see the gray in the world, and not be threatened by the unknowing, shows humility and trust.

Those who grapple with the gray reveal themselves as open-minded people; truth seekers.

I’ve written about how effective college application essays usually make the writer “likable.”

I’m not talking about popularity or kissing up to the admissions officers.

It’s more about letting them see how you think and feel in your essay, and having the confidence to include aspects about yourself that are not 100 percent positive or certain.

This is what makes us “likable” because we come across as self-effacing and open to learning more.

 

 

I know there is so much pressure on these essays to wow admissions officers, and many students assume they need to be impressive and self-assured.

It’s counter-intuitive, but the most effective essays do not set out to impress and are meek in tone. They include everyday life experiences and problems instead of impressive feats and accomplishments.

And the writers also share and explain how they handled those problems and what they learned from them—and let their gray show in the process.

Dealing with those problems (challenges, mistakes, failures, set-backs, changes, crises and flaws) taught them certain things about themselves, and also forced them to question other parts of themselves and life.

The best essays ended with how much the writer still needed and wanted to learn.

And they weren’t just comfortable with the gray, it actually excited them.

That’s intellectual vitality.

So if you’ve got it, show it!

Go gray!

Ready to get crankin? Again, I suggest you start by reading How to Write a College Application Essay in 3 Steps.

The post Best College Application Essays Have Touch of Gray appeared first on Essay Hell.

Timeless Life Advice from 2016 Commencement Speakers

I arrived home to California yesterday from St. Louis, Missouri, after attending my son’s graduation from Washington University in chemical engineering. (Woot Woot!)

As part of graduating from college (as well as high school), my son and other students are bombarded with life advice.

For college graduates, the idea is that you are now moving out of the structured, sheltered world of academia and into the “real world.”

Colleges and universities recruit notable and often famous speakers at the commencement ceremonies to share their advice and insights.

It took me a few minutes to recognize the speaker at my son’s commencement, an iconic Civil Rights activist named John Lewis.

Usually, these types of speeches go in one ear and out for me.

But this year, Lewis’ speech and several others around the country this past weekend have made me reflect on my own path, even at the ripe age of 55!

Whether you are closing in on your high school graduation, or are fresh out of college like my son, or someone like myself who has already followed a long and winding career path, I thought you might enjoy and find inspiration from these speakers.

Congressman Lewis, who is one of the last surviving Civil Rights champions from the ’60s and days of Martin Luther King, Jr., delivered a famous speech during the historic March on Washington (D.C.) in 1963. He was also brutally beaten in 1961 when both black and white college students arrived in busses to take a stand for equality in Montgomery, Alabama.

His call for peace and racial harmony was especially poignant at Washington University last Friday since the campus is within 15 minutes of the recent racial clashes in Ferguson, Missouri.

My favorite quote from his keynote speech was when he urged his audience to stand up against whatever is not right.

“When you see something that is not right, not fair, not just, you must have the courage to stand up, to speak up, and find a way to get in the way.”

 

During the last couple weeks, the Internet was flooded with quotes and videos from other commencement addresses and life advice.

My favorite was this lecture by political pundit Robert Reich at UC Berkeley, given to his senior class on World Poverty just a few days ago.

If you are thinking about your life, and enjoy learning new ideas on how to make mindful decisions, this is worth watching.

 

 

If you want some more life inspiration, check out this short video by film director Steven Spielberg. I love the part about listening to “the whisper.”

 

If you enjoy these speeches, here’s a link to The 5 Best Commencement Addresses of 2016, by both Barack and Michelle Obama, VP Biden, and Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg. And John Lewis.

 

 

 

 

 

 

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How Brittany Stinson Wrote Her Costco Essay

A Q&A With The Author of the Viral Costco Essay

Last month, Brittany Stinson learned she got into five Ivy League colleges, as well as Stanford and many other top schools.

When a newspaper reporter asked her to share her college application essay, Brittany didn’t think twice.

Within hours, her essay went viral.

More than 1.6 million people, and counting, have now read the “Costco essay.”

Brittany, who has decided to attend Stanford, was as shocked as anyone by the media frenzy.

The Media Backlash to Brittany’s Costco Essay

Besides the predictable backlash from Internet trolls and haters, the assumption that this Costco essay earned Brittany all these stellar acceptances disturbed her the most.

“…the thing that really got to me was that people thought my essay was the only reason I got into my dream schools. ‘Costco Essay Gets Local Girl Into 5 Ivy League Schools,’ read headlines, ‘Love for Costco Got a High School Senior Into 5 Ivy League Schools,’ ‘High School Senior Reveals the Secret That Got Her Into Nearly Every Ivy League School.’ I mean, screw four years of hard work and straight As, it was totally just the essay, right?” (From her piece about handling the publicity storm in Cosmopolitan magazine.)

Of course the Costco essay played a role in her admissions coup—though it’s impossible to know how much it counted. And Brittany says she put a lot of effort into finding a unique topic and crafting a readable piece that revealed her personality and character.

She even credited reading this blog to find tips and inspiration on how to write a narrative style essay. (And you can, too!)

In the following Q&A about her Costco essay, Brittany took the time to share details, advice and tips about how she brainstormed and wrote her Costco essay. How generous is that?

A Question and Answer Interview About the Costco Essay

When and how did you start working on your essays?

I started in mid­-August before my senior year. I opened up a blank Google doc and just typed whatever was on my mind. This ranged from random sentences to essay topics and character traits. It helped me get the bad ideas out of my head, put some good ideas on paper and start to think about an organizational model.

Do you remember how you felt about these essays when you first started your application process?

I felt pretty intimidated, for the schools I was trying to get into, I knew that I had to knock it out of the park with my essay if I had any hope of securing admission. I was terrified of cliches and avoided them like the plague (the irony!).

What was the hardest part of writing your essay?

It was probably reining in my topic and saving my focus for just a few things. There’s a lot I wanted to convey about myself and I tried my best to do it in 650 words.

Can you tell us your writing process? Did you start brainstorming? Do you use an outline? How many drafts, etc.

After I got my random thoughts down, I made outlines for two different essay topics. This one and one about my experiences in dance class. I worked on both at about the same pace, got halfway through the dance essay, decided it wasn’t going anywhere, and decided to scrap it. I figured that this topic was more creative and probably would’ve made for a more memorable essay. It just felt natural to continue with the Costco topic.

Did you consider yourself a strong writer?

Yes, I’ve taken a liking to writing and have always taken the most advanced writing courses available to me. I’ve had many demanding yet supportive teachers along the way.

How did you come up with the idea of Costco as a topic?

There’s an ongoing joke between me and my friends that I practically live at Costco. I’m there with my parents nearly every weekend because it’s just as close to our house as a regular supermarket. I once read a quote that said something along these lines, “If your friend finds your essay on the ground and it has no name on it, they should be able to tell that it’s yours just by reading it.” I used this to guide my topic selection and writing style.

Had you ever written this style of essay before, where you write about yourself?

No, I’m not used to writing about myself, this was actually a big concern for me when I started thinking about writing college essays. I was afraid of coming off as too self-­involved.

Did you have anyone help you with your essay?

No, I never really went to anyone for advice until it was pretty much finished. I consulted my mom on my topic in the beginning stages of my essay but she didn’t really know what direction I was trying to go in, so I figured it would be best to get input after I tied up loose ends and brought all of my ideas together. My English teacher saw the final product and gave it her stamp of approval, which was a huge relief because I wanted to be reassured that I wasn’t crazy for writing about such a unique topic.

Do you have any idea how important your essay was in getting admitted to any or all of the school you get accepted to? (Did you get any feedback?)

I’m not sure, but I do know that since so many applicants are qualified and have similar GPAs, SAT scores and extracurriculars, the essay is an important opportunity to differentiate yourself.

What advice do you have for students working on their essays, or the whole admissions process itself?

It’s so easy to get discouraged by admissions statistics. I recommend starting applications early to take pressure off and allow time for deep reflection. Some short supplements took me days to write because I was so careful about word choice and intent.

How are you going to decide which of these outstanding schools you are going to attend?

I’m so late on this. Sorry! So I’ve already decided at this point and have chosen Stanford. All of the schools are academic powerhouses, so there’s no difference there. I wanted Stanford because of it’s innovative spirit whereas a lot of the other schools I got into are rooted in tradition. Stanford is more known for STEM, but many of its humanities departments are some of the best in the world. They have appealing interdisciplinary programs and majors. This was so attractive to me because I want to pursue neuroscience, but at the same time, I appreciate the humanities and couldn’t imagine an education without them.

If you could give any advice to college­-bound freshmen about their essays, what would it be?

Think about a few of your defining qualities and figure out what makes you tick. Don’t try to be someone else, because it will show. If you convey your true self, the people reading it will connect with your authenticity.

THANKS BRITTANY!! And best of luck at Stanford!

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Coalition for Access Essay 4: Teenager Advice

 

Coalition Prompt 4: What is the hardest part of being a teenager now? What’s the best part? What advice would you give a younger sibling or friend (assuming they would listen to you)?

When I first read through the five prompts students have to choose from to write their one personal statement essay for the new Coalition for Access, Affordability and Success application, this one popped out at me.

I bet it did the same for you.

Why?

Of the five prompts, Coalition prompt 4 tries to be more creative and relevant to a high school student.

And that’s great!

It’s more fun to try to think about what advice you would give someone younger than you. More interesting than writing about those more serious prompts about your character, volunteering and beliefs.

(Remember, you can also write about any topic you want based on the fifth “Topic of Choice” prompt.)

I have some trepidations about this prompt about teenage advice, however.

Even though it’s more playful and friendly in nature, I’m not convinced this prompt is the best of the five prompts to help you write your most effective personal statement.

I believe the main intent of Coalition prompt 4 is to get you to write about something specific you learned so far in your life, but the danger is your essay could turn out too general, and therefore dull to read.

That’s not to say it’s impossible to rock this prompt. Just be aware of the pitfalls.

If you want to give this prompt a go, it’s important to give your essay a sharp focus.

You don’t want to just provide straight answers, such as, “I would tell my younger sister that she needs to study hard and make sure to get along with everyone…”

 

 

I believe to write a powerful essay about this prompt you would be wise to first think about a significant lesson you learned, and then you can explain the related advice you would give to someone else about it.

In general, if you have advice to dish out, it’s usually because you learned something the hard way and don’t want anyone else to have to go through what you did.

To recall examples of the “hardest parts” of your teenage years, search your brain for some of the “bad” things that happened, which were either your fault, or where you were a victim of circumstances. Or look for “problems,” in the form of challenges, mistakes, failures, obstacles, set-backs, etc.

That way, you could start your essay by sharing what happened—which will make your essay engaging at the start—and then how you handled it and what you learned.

Then you can go onto include any advice you would pass on to a sibling or friend about what you learned.

Instead of writing an essay that tries to include many lessons you have learned, focus your essay on one key lesson, and what you learned.

Sample Outline for Coalition Prompt 4

Start by describing an incident, moment or “time” you faced a problem.
Give background to that problem; explain it.
Describe how you handled it and what you learned.
Share the advice you would give someone younger than yourself so they won’t make the same mistake.
Explain how you imagine yourself using what you learned in your future endeavors.

 

 

This is just one approach to Coalition prompt 4, and there are unlimited other ways to write about it. Instead of writing about a teen problem, you could write about something you love about it. (To address the “best part” of being a teenager in Coalition prompt 4.)

For example, you could pick one thing you love about being a teenage, and what you would advise other teenagers to appreciate and take advantage of as well. To give this a focus, try to find an example in your life about this positive teenage benefit, instead of just talking about it in general terms. Or maybe think of something that you used to not like, but now like about being a teenager.

No matter what you end up writing about it, aim to make one point about yourself (based on one core quality, characteristic or core value) and something you’ve learned to give it a sharp focus.

If you really like this prompt, give it a shot and see if you like what you write. Have a little fun with it!

 

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Coalition for Access Prompt 3: A Belief Challenged

You Believe That?

Coalition for Access Essay Prompt 3: Has there been a time when you’ve had a long-cherished or accepted belief challenged? How did you respond? How did the challenge affect your beliefs?

So you need to write your core essay for the new Coalition for Access, Affordability and Success application.

I assume you’ve already scanned the five Coalition for Access prompts you have to choose from to write your personal statement (an essay about yourself).

For some reason this one jumped out at you.

There’s most likely a reason for that, so I encourage you to keep thinking and brainstorming a bit about this idea of a belief you’ve held. It should be something you have believed (whether you gave it much thought or not until recently) for a long time.

It could be along religious or philosophical lines, but it certainly doesn’t have to be.

As long as it fits the idea that “I once thought X about myself or life, or others or life in general, and now I’m not so sure, or now I think something totally different, or now I believe more than ever.”

I believe that this prompt is trying to see if you have changed your thinking on something important in your life in recent years.

Typically, this is a sign of maturity, in that you have the ability now in your teens to look back, examine and analyze why you think like you do about certain things.

We all grow up pretty much accepting and adopting what we are expected to believe, by parents, teachers, peers and others.

But there’s a point when we start to question ones that don’t make us feel comfortable anymore, ideas or beliefs that no longer make sense or apply to ourselves. It’s called independent thinking—a skill colleges are all over.

 

 

We no longer agree. We question. We don’t believe it anymore. We have changed.

Also, when we make those shifts away from old beliefs, something usually happened to start the process.

In this prompt, they call it a “challenge,” something that made you rethink or evaluate what you believed.

If you decide to write your essay about Coalition prompt 3, I believe it’s critical that you identify and share what happened to challenge your belief in order to make it compelling and personal.

Notice that the prompt literally asks for “a time.”

Otherwise, you risk talking too much about your beliefs in general ways that could result in a dull essay. And you don’t want that!

So start by thinking of something you used to believe that you don’t believe anymore, or you believe in all the more.

Then try to hone in on a moment, time or incident related to that belief that either got you thinking differently or inspired you to change that belief.

The idea is that you will write your essay for Coalition prompt 3 about why and how you changed something you believed in, and in the process, will show the readers a key part of your character—how you think, what you value and how you’ve changed.

As far as possible topics, it’s pretty wide open.

 

 

You could write about how you used to believe a certain religious dogma and now you don’t or believe something else; or how you used to believe you were weird, or fat, or ugly, or unlovable, and how that has changed.

Or just take one basic idea about what you thought about the world: You thought all people were good; you thought all people were bad; you thought it didn’t matter if you worked hard; you thought being happy was an impossible goal; you thought you were stuck in life because of your background. Etc.

Sometimes the shift in what you believed happened in a flash, or overnight; other times it took weeks, months, years.

Once you have a belief that was challenged–either by yourself or others–dig deep to explore how and why you changed. This will be the most meaningful part of your essay for Coalition prompt 3.

Sample Outline for Coalition Prompt 3

Start by sharing a moment, time or incident that relates to what caused you to doubt or change something you believed (about yourself, others or the world.)
Give background on your old belief: Why you believed it
Explain how you responded to the moment you describe at the start. Go into what changed and why: Share how you used to think about the belief and what you think now
Share how this change made you feel and why you think it was important in your life (What you learned about yourself.)
Conclude with how you think this change in what you believe will affect your future goals and dreams.

Try writing a paragraph or two on each number. Once you have a rough draft, go back and edit it to about 500 or 600 words.

The 3rd Prompt for The Common Application required essay is almost identical to this Coalition prompt 3, you can find more ideas on how to brainstorm for this essay by reading Should You Take the Challenge of Prompt 3 of the Common App?

Remember, if you think up an interesting topic after reading this post, but it doesn’t exactly fit the question Coalition prompt 3 asks, you can still write about it since the last prompt is “Topic of Choice.”

You can write your essay for the Coalition for Access on anything you want!

 

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Coalition for Access Essay Prompt 2: Volunteering

If you’re using the new Coalition for Access, Affordability and Success to apply to one or more colleges for 2016-17, you need to write a core essay that responds to one of their five prompts.

First, I encourage you to read through the five prompts and see if one appeals to you or sparks any ideas.

If so, give that one a go.

If you mainly want to find the strongest topic that would allow you to write your most effective personal statement, I would suggest you focus on the first and last prompts to start brainstorming. They are the most wide open.

Also, the first prompt encourages students find a story that illustrates something fundamental about their character. This is an excellent approach to a personal essay.

The last prompt is even more general. You can literally write about anything!

This can intimidate some students. But if you already have some ideas about what you want to write about, dive right in.

I’m partial to starting with that first prompt because I believe using real-life stories from your past to demonstrate key parts of yourself is a fail-proof method to writing a standout personal statement.

Let’s say, however, that Coalition prompt 2 spoke to you.

Great!

I’m going to share some ideas and tips on ways to respond to it here so your essay will be engaging and meaningful, and you avoid common pitfalls in writing personal essays about “giving back.”

Coalition Prompt 2: Helping Others

Coalition Prompt 2: Describe a time when you made a meaningful contribution to others in which the greater good was your focus. Discuss the challenges and rewards of making your contribution.

The University of California just changed its essay prompts for this coming year, and one of them asks something almost identical to this prompt.

To get ideas on this Coalition prompt 2, read UC Essay Prompt 7: Volunteer Your Best Story.

I love that this prompt starts specifically asking that you “describe a time” in your essay, since that will make sure you include something that happened, or a mini-story from your background.

Try to think of a specific moment, incident or experience where you volunteered or contributed to a project or activity that helped others.

If you can think of a “time” that involved some type of challenge or problem, it will be easy to continue with how you dealt with any obstacles, and then conclude with what you learned (your “reward”).

Try to start your essay by sharing the details of that “time,” and then go into the challenges and rewards. Make sure to work in how this experience made you feel to ensure that it has a personal voice and tone.

If you have gone on a mission trip, or volunteered at a hospital or worked with special needs kids, make sure you don’t write about those experiences in a general way for Coalition prompt 2.

Instead, dig deeper to recall something specific that happened on that mission trip, or with someone at that hospital or while working with one of the kids. Feature that moment or incident instead of explaining the general details of the larger volunteer mission. (Remember, try to remember when something went sideways or there was any type of problem. That will be your story!)

Also, when you go onto share what you learned through this experience, share something more meaningful than a line about how you learned you like to help people or love how you feel when you help others.

How did you feel and why?

Did the experience make you think about something in a new way?

Was there some type of life lesson that you never expected?

If the experience felt rewarding to you, ask yourself why, and include those details.

Did you change how you think or feel, or your future goals and dreams because of this experience?

I will warn you that this prompt flies a big red flag over it because so many students write about these “do-good” experiences and often write essays that end up cliche, overdone or boring.

You can write an excellent essay about one your experiences contributing to the good of others, just make sure that you include real-life stories or examples to make it interesting and memorable.

If you write about Coalition prompt 2, including a “problem” that related to your do-good experience is your ticket to avoiding the never-never land of cliche essays.

Good luck!

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Strategies for Each of 8 New University of California Essays 2016-17

Quickly Find Ideas for Each of the

8 New Personal Insight Questions

 

I hope everyone applying to any of the University of California schools this fall got the big news: They have all new essay prompts for 2016-17!

Instead of writing two longer essays, incoming freshmen now are required to write four shorter essays—and have eight new prompts, called Personal Insight Questions, to choose from.

Since the big announcement this spring, I’ve written eight new posts on each of the new UC essays.

I’ve listed them all together here (below) in this post so you can find them easily.

I also wrote 21 Tips for the UC Personal Insight Questions that you might also find helpful with these new UC essays.

While working with a group of private college admissions consultants from the San Diego area recently, one of them had another great idea on how students could approach picking their four topics from the prompts.

 

 

Jackie Wooley of Summit College Counseling (who is now a trained Jumpstart Essay Expert) suggested that students first think of the different activities, achievements, personal qualities, core values, etc. that they wanted to feature in their college application (beyond what information would be included without the essays), and then go through the eight Personal Insight Questions and find the ones that would help them develop and showcase these in more depth.

I thought that was an excellent way to use these four shorter essays to enhance and deepen your entire application, and make sure to show the UC a complete, balanced and personal snapshot of yourself.

The UC will learn a lot about you from seeing your grades, test scores, extracurricular activities and list of specific accolades and achievements.

But these essays are your chance to personalize parts of yourself and background that could give them an even sharper and unique understanding of what sets you apart from other students.

You also can simply start by reading through the 8 Personal Insight Questions and see which ones appeal to you and spark ideas on what to write about.

Just make sure that the four you pick do not overlap in the points you make about yourself, and take advantage of this opportunity to highlight parts of yourself through four different lens.

 

Strategies for the New UC Essays:

Here are my ideas and tips on ways you could think about the 8 essay prompts to get your started. Click on the prompt and it will link to an entire post on that Personal Insight Question:

Describe an example of your leadership experience in which you have positively influenced others, helped resolve disputes, or contributed to group efforts over time.
Every person has a creative side, and it can be expressed in many ways: problem solving, original and innovative thinking, and artistically, to name a few. Describe how you express your creative side.
What would you say is your greatest talent or skill? How have you developed and demonstrated that talent over time?
Describe how you have taken advantage of a significant educational opportunity or worked to overcome an educational barrier you have faced.
Describe the most significant challenge you have faced and the steps you have taken to overcome this challenge. How has this challenge affected your academic achievement?
Describe your favorite academic subject and explain how it has influenced you.
What have you done to make your school or your community a better place?
What is the one thing that you think sets you apart from other candidates applying to the University of California?

You also might find my tutorial How to Write a Short Essay helpful, since each of these essays needs to be less than 350 words each.

Good luck!

The post Strategies for Each of 8 New University of California Essays 2016-17 appeared first on Essay Hell.

Coalition for Access Essay Prompt 1: Tell a Story

 

Tips and Ideas for Coalition for Access

Essay Prompts: The First and Last

 

If you are using the new Coalition for Access, Affordability and Success to apply to college for 2016-17, you first need to check if the college or university you want to attend requires essays.

Some will require you to write the main general essay, and others might only require you write their shorter, additional essays specifically for individual schools, which are called supplemental essays. A few might not want any essays.

It’s up to you to figure out what each school wants from you, something you can find out on the Coalition for Access web site.

If they require you write the main Coalition essay, there’s good news!

You can write a personal statement on any topic you want.

And, if you have already written your main essay for the other, more popular application system, called The Common Application, you can simply use that same essay for the Coalition.

If you are feeling confused, don’t worry. You aren’t alone.

Stick with me here and it will start to make sense.

 

If you learned you need to write that main, general Coalition essay to apply to a school that uses the Coalition for Access application, here are the prompts you choose from.

Notice that the last one says, “Topic of Choice.”

This is the reason you can write about anything you want if you need a general Coalition essay for the Coalition for Access, and the reason you can also simply recycle your Common App essay here.

You are also welcome to write your essay in response to any of the other prompts for the main essay for the Coalition for Access for 2016-17:

Tell a story from your life, describing an experience that either demonstrates your character or helped to shape it.
Describe a time when you made a meaningful contribution to others in which the greater good was your focus. Discuss the challenges and rewards of making your contribution.
Has there been a time when you’ve had a long-cherished or accepted belief challenged? How did you respond? How did the challenge affect your beliefs?
What is the hardest part of being a teenager now? What’s the best part? What advice would you give a younger sibling or friend (assuming they would listen to you)?
Submit an essay on a topic of your choice.

Strategies for the First Prompt for the Coalition essay

Here are some tips and strategies to help you brainstorm ideas for the first prompt for your Coalition essay:

Tell a story from your life, describing an experience that either demonstrates your character or helped to shape it.

This prompt is encouraging you to pick something that happened to you (an “experience”) that had a significant influence on who you are.

I would start by looking at what I call your “defining qualities or characteristics” so you can zero in on the key descriptors of your “character.”

Then think of moments or incidents from your past (mainly high school years) where something happened that related to one of those qualities or characteristics.

To make sure that experience was interesting, look for one that included some type of problem.

The idea is you share a mini-story about an experience that illustrates or demonstrates that one core quality or characteristic. In the process, you will naturally showcase a key part of your character.

If this approach appeals to you, I would read How to Answer Prompt 1 of the Common Application to learn more about how to find and share a real-life story to illustrate your character.

This post will also teach you how to craft your real-life story or experience into an engaging “anecdote” that you can use to power your essay at the start.

I would also suggest you read How to Write a College Application Essay in 3 Steps to learn more about this writing method (for writing personal essays), and why “problems” are essay gold when it comes to making sure they are interesting, meaningful and memorable.

The Coalition for Access did not provide a word count, but to write a balanced personal statement with depth I would shoot for 500 to 600 words. Too short, and it’s difficult to develop your ideas; too long and you risk losing the interest of the reader.

 

As a reminder, here’s my short list of features I believe make any personal statement essay effective. If you follow the 3 steps from my post, you will include all of these:

Be engaging at the start (hook reader)


Reveal something unique about who you are


Connect with your reader


Show your grit (raw determination)


Express intellectual vitality (how you think and what you value)


Have a sharp focus


Be memorable

Here’s tips and advice on how to answer Essay Prompt 2 for the Coalition for Access (about volunteering and giving back experiences).

I will share more tips and strategies on how to brainstorm and craft a main Coalition essay for prompts 3 and 4 for Coalition for Access, Affordability and Success in future posts. Stay tuned!

 

 

 

 

 

The post Coalition for Access Essay Prompt 1: Tell a Story appeared first on Essay Hell.

Coalition for Access Essay Strategies: Tell a Story

 

Tips and Ideas for Coalition for Access

Essay Prompts: The First and Last

 

If you are using the new Coalition for Access, Affordability and Success to apply to college for 2016-17, you first need to check if the college or university you want to attend requires essays.

Some will require you to write the main general essay, and others might only require you write their shorter, additional essays specifically for individual schools, which are called supplemental essays. A few might not want any essays.

It’s up to you to figure out what each school wants from you, something you can find out on the Coalition for Access web site.

If they require you write the main Coalition essay, there’s good news!

You can write a personal statement on any topic you want.

And, if you have already written your main essay for the other, more popular application system, called The Common Application, you can simply use that same essay for the Coalition.

If you are feeling confused, don’t worry. You aren’t alone.

Stick with me here and it will start to make sense.

 

If you learned you need to write that main, general Coalition essay to apply to a school that uses the Coalition for Access application, here are the prompts you choose from.

Notice that the last one says, “Topic of Choice.”

This is the reason you can write about anything you want if you need a general Coalition essay for the Coalition for Access, and the reason you can also simply recycle your Common App essay here.

You are also welcome to write your essay in response to any of the other prompts for the main essay for the Coalition for Access for 2016-17:

Tell a story from your life, describing an experience that either demonstrates your character or helped to shape it.
Describe a time when you made a meaningful contribution to others in which the greater good was your focus. Discuss the challenges and rewards of making your contribution.
Has there been a time when you’ve had a long-cherished or accepted belief challenged? How did you respond? How did the challenge affect your beliefs?
What is the hardest part of being a teenager now? What’s the best part? What advice would you give a younger sibling or friend (assuming they would listen to you)?
Submit an essay on a topic of your choice.

Strategies for the First Prompt for the Coalition essay

Here are some tips and strategies to help you brainstorm ideas for the first prompt for your Coalition essay:

Tell a story from your life, describing an experience that either demonstrates your character or helped to shape it.

This prompt is encouraging you to pick something that happened to you (an “experience”) that had a significant influence on who you are.

I would start by looking at what I call your “defining qualities or characteristics” so you can zero in on the key descriptors of your “character.”

Then think of moments or incidents from your past (mainly high school years) where something happened that related to one of those qualities or characteristics.

To make sure that experience was interesting, look for one that included some type of problem.

The idea is you share a mini-story about an experience that illustrates or demonstrates that one core quality or characteristic. In the process, you will naturally showcase a key part of your character.

If this approach appeals to you, I would read How to Answer Prompt 1 of the Common Application to learn more about how to find and share a real-life story to illustrate your character.

This post will also teach you how to craft your real-life story or experience into an engaging “anecdote” that you can use to power your essay at the start.

I would also suggest you read How to Write a College Application Essay in 3 Steps to learn more about this writing method (for writing personal essays), and why “problems” are essay gold when it comes to making sure they are interesting, meaningful and memorable.

The Coalition for Access did not provide a word count, but to write a balanced personal statement with depth I would shoot for 500 to 600 words. Too short, and it’s difficult to develop your ideas; too long and you risk losing the interest of the reader.

 

As a reminder, here’s my short list of features I believe make any personal statement essay effective. If you follow the 3 steps from my post, you will include all of these:

Be engaging at the start (hook reader)


Reveal something unique about who you are


Connect with your reader


Show your grit (raw determination)


Express intellectual vitality (how you think and what you value)


Have a sharp focus


Be memorable

I will share more tips and strategies on how to brainstorm and craft a main Coalition essay for the other three prompts for Coalition for Access, Affordability and Success in future posts. Stay tuned!

 

 

 

 

 

The post Coalition for Access Essay Strategies: Tell a Story appeared first on Essay Hell.

UC Essay Prompt 7: Volunteer Your Best Story

University of California Personal Insight Question 7:
Time to Talk About One of Those Volunteer Experiences

UC essay prompt 7: What have you done to make your school or your community a better place?

The minute I read UC essay prompt 7, I thought most students would jump at this question because most have spent endless hours volunteering during high school.

Now it’s time to recall some of your most interesting or meaningful “times” or experiences.

You could write a strong essay about giving back, but you have to be careful to avoid the cliche trap.The trick is to think of something unusual or unexpected that happened during one of those experiences.

And think hard about how they affected you so you don’t repeat the same old stuff everyone else usually says. (“I love to help people.” or “I found it very rewarding.”)

Your volunteering experience doesn’t need to be impressive or unique. Many students work on similar projects, such as helping build houses or churches for the needy, tutoring special needs kids, working with seniors, etc. And the UC knows that.

Make sure to probe a little deeper into what you noticed as you helped out your community, school, town or home. Share what you thought, look for specific incidents or moments, and recall those observations or realizations that you didn’t expect.

 

Describe something specific that happened during that mission trip, trash pickup or fundraiser instead of describing what you did there in general terms.

That will make what you have to say more interesting and original.

I believe you need to give your essay a focus on something specific within that larger volunteering experience to make it meaningful and effective.

Here’s a sample outline that can help you give your topic interest and focus so you avoid the usual pitfalls of writing about volunteer experiences:

Sample Outline for UC Essay Prompt 7

Start by describing “a time” something happened while you were working on some type of improvement activity. Include a problem that you faced to give it interest. Then background the larger project or experience, and what led up to it, why you decided to participate and how you felt about it. (A paragraph or two)
Explain how you handled the problem related to that volunteer experience, what you thought about it and what you learned in the process. End with how you intend to apply this lesson in future goals.

The UC admissions included additional suggestions to help you brainstorm for this essay:

Think of community as a term that can encompass a group, team or a place – like your high school, hometown, or home. You can define community as you see fit, just make sure you talk about your role in that community. Was there a problem that you wanted to fix in your community?

Why were you inspired to act?  What did you learn from your effort? How did your actions benefit others, the wider community or both? Did you work alone or with others to initiate change in your community?

The UC also shared this in the Personal Insight Question Freshman Guide to help you with UC essay prompt 7:

Did you contribute to a positive change at your school or in your community? What steps have you taken to accomplish this? Remember, even small changes can have a big impact. Why were you inspired to act? What did you learn from your effort?

I made a short presentation to help student learn How to Write Short Essays, such as these UC essays that need to have fewer than 350 words each.

The post UC Essay Prompt 7: Volunteer Your Best Story appeared first on Essay Hell.