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College Essays - Part II

In Part II, we look at the DNA of a college essay. In addition to the main essay, colleges often require applicants to write supplemental essays which can often make or break your application.

Student Writing Essay
Essay Writing

Essay requirements vary across colleges and public university systems. In addition to the main essay (typically one of the essays on CommonApp, a platform accepted by a vast majority of schools), many colleges ask applicants to submit one or more supplemental essays. Most essays have a strict word limit which you are not allowed to exceed but brevity can be powerful, so don’t be compelled to use the entire word limit if you find a creative or striking way to get your point across with less.

 

Essays fall into one of the two broad categories of main essay or supplemental essay.

 

 

Main Essay

 

Here you talk about yourself, share your story and provide insights into your thoughts, your talents, your personality, and your aspirations… In short, whatever is meaningful to you. Examples (from CommonApp) of this kind of essay prompts are,

 

  • What is your greatest talent or skill? How have you developed and demonstrated that talent over time?

  • Reflect on a time when you questioned or challenged a belief or idea. What prompted your thinking? What was the outcome?

 

A word of caution. Choosing to write anything other than your true interests would constitute doing yourself a disservice and will have an adverse impact on your admission chances.

 

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Supplemental Essays

 

In addition to the main essay, colleges typically require students to write, on average, a couple of supplemental essays. These are typically shorter, and topics tend to focus on the student’s fitment for the specific college and program. Essay prompts range from something as open-ended as "Is there any additional information we need to know about you?" to something as hyper-specific as "What do you hope to add to your roommate’s experience?", the response to which has to be in 35 words or fewer.

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Pay particular attention to the supplemental essay questions as they will be different for each college. It is imperative to respond to what is being asked and your responses have to be personalized for the specific school or academic area of interest. Avoid repeating the main essay, in full or in part, on the supplements. Being shorter, the supplements will take a lot of wordsmithing but you don’t need or have the room for a lot of preamble – keep it short and sharp.

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The quintessential Why Essays

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Two of the most frequently asked questions are Why a specific subject and Why a specific school typically ranging 200-300 words. Sample essay prompts,

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  • Think about an academic subject that inspires you. Describe how you have furthered this interest inside and/or outside the classroom

  • Describe why you are interested in studying engineering, and how you think the programs in engineering offered at XYZ university suit your particular interests OR SIMPLY, Why have you chosen to apply to XYZ university?

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Do your research, and do it thoroughly. These essays expect you to delve into details and specifics. On subject matter, colleges are looking for focus and high levels of commitment for the chosen field. The more you are able to bring out that your interests are aligned and that your reasons are genuine, the better your chances.

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Other supplement essays

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Essay topics could also be completely open-ended or even quirky. Let’s look at some of these.

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  • It’s story time and today is your turn. Tell your story.

  • It's 2040. What’s today’s headline?

  • If you could have dinner with anyone from history, who would it be and why?

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What are colleges looking for here? They are keen to know what matters to you and how your mind works. The prompts are sometimes tricky and the key is to make this essay complement and strengthen the rest of your application package. Use it to bring out a facet of your personality that has not been sufficiently captured or reflected elsewhere.

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At the end of the day, the essay is your vehicle to share your story in your own words. Brainstorming and formulating a cohesive set of ideas to share across the various essays will help tell a cohesive, comprehensive, and compelling story.

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We’d love to hear from you with your queries and feedback. For a limited time, we are offering to share expert feedback on one of your essays for free. Please write to us at the email address support@ugadmin.com today. Be sure to read our article that provides an overview on college essays in College Essays - Part I and feel free to let us know what other topics you would like us to cover in one of our upcoming newsletters.

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College & Me is a series of articles featuring useful information about College Admissions for undergraduate degree programs in US colleges.

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