Additional Tips for College Essays

If your student is entering their senior year of high school, then they should be well on their way to writing their personal statement. The Common App prompts have already been released and there are some great options this year. 

Writing a Personal Statement takes time. It cannot and should not be written quickly and sent off to a top college. Instead, it should be read by a number of willing readers and revised numerous times before it is submitted. But how does this happen? Simple, your student should ask for help. 

Ask for feedback!
There are several people who can contribute feedback to this essay. They can ask teachers and school counselors for feedback. That is what these professionals are there for. You can also reach out to admissions consultants, such as Ivy Link, who can offer thorough feedback on your student’s essays. Your student should take advantage of the wisdom and experience these professionals have to offer. Plus, these professionals will likely be brutally honest which may sting at first, but will benefit your student’s essay considerably. And it will help them avoid the dreaded cliches.

Avoid cliches at all costs!
There is no faster way to ruin a great essay than by filling it with cliches. Maybe your student wants to write about overcoming a broken ankle by training hard and winning a 50 yard dash, or the advice their grandparents gave them. These are touching and beautiful memories that your student should cherish. However, they make for rather cliche and trite essays. Remember, admissions officers are reading thousands of Personal Statements a year. Your student’s essay needs to stand out, not blend in with all the other students writing about sports or grandparents. 

Encourage your student to think outside the box and approach the prompt in an unexpected way. We’re not asking them to reinvent the wheel here. We are asking them to think about the prompt on a deeply personal level, even if the prompt itself doesn’t seem deeply personal. Those elements of originality and personality will help the admissions officers connect with your student’s essay which can help your student get a leg up in the admissions process.

So, have your student get started on their Personal Statement right away if they haven’t already. The more time they have to work on it the better the essay will be! If your student is struggling with narrowing their topic or even just getting words on the page, reach out to Ivy Link.