5 College Essay Tips

By Sam Fleischmann

I don’t like movies that involve space or zombies. I love a good rom-com and I love sports movies - but don’t like my sports movies to involve romance. Maybe you can relate, or maybe you think I have mixed up cinematic priorities. This is the reason I think it is important to acknowledge that while people might promote a style or approach as a surefire way to impress someone with your essay, humans will be humans and we don’t all like the same thing. This holds true for all admissions officers when they read student essays.

That being said, here are my five tips on writing your essay for secondary school or university admissions.

Take out a piece of paper or use your computer and set a timer for 5 minutes.

Answer the following questions with as much honesty as you can. Don’t worry about spelling, sentence construction, style, or grammar. JUST WRITE for 5 minutes for each prompt.

1. What is a topic or idea that causes you to “nerd out” that you could spend hours talking/writing/reading about?

2. Which do you prefer, odd or even?

3. When you meet someone for the first time, what do you want them to know about you, but generally don’t tell them?

4. Describe one of the world’s greatest failures or achievements (it can be your own or someone else's).

5. What song are you listening to a lot right now? What do the lyrics of the song mean to you?

6. What is a strange habit you have?

Brainstorm everything you think you are good at, or everything your best friend would say you are good at.

This one is pretty self-explanatory, but for the sake of both filling up this space and providing some of you a little more guidance, here are three reasons this brainstorm process is important.

Smart:

Everyone is smart in their own way. My kids (I have three young boys) all know that when they use the word “stupid” my wife and I will stop and remind them that, “everyone is smart in their own way.” My eldest son is Athletic smart, and he is also conscientious. My middle son is Word smart, he is also clever. My youngest is Spatially smart, he is also socially engaging.

Strengths:

You all have strengths which help you in situations socially, academically, emotionally and personally. Knowing your strengths is helpful in setting up good boundaries and achieving your potential. I love Gallup Strengthsfinder most, but a free assessment to help you determine your strengths is Via Character Strengths. Take an assessment and write out your strengths and how you see them play a role in your academic life.

Value:

We add value to others, and others add value to us. Spend some time writing down the names of people who have invested in your life. Who are the people you are investing in? Who are the people in your area that need your help?

After you spend time doing these 3 things, you should see how your Smarts combined with your Strengths could add Value in your community.

Write about something mundane you do every day or week.

Look back at the question, “What is a strange habit you have?” Write about that habit and how that habit affects your life and your decisions. Investigate what value you hold that is tied to that habit. One of the best essays I ever read was a student who, despite having multiple food options of high quality available to him for lunch every day, he always got the same plain meat and cheese sandwich. He said it was the consistency and known schedule along with efficiency that made him choose that sandwich over the more gourmet options. He values schedule, consistency and efficiency in his life, relationships and his schooling.

This one is simple. If you ever find yourself asking, “Is this what the admissions office wants to hear?” You have lost already. Most admissions offices have more than one person, and just like different movies, they like to read different types of essays. Stick to what you like and what you want. If it is true to you, it is better than being disingenuous in hopes that you will impress someone else.

This one is even simpler. Be Yourself, don’t Be Someone else. BU, don’t BS! This is true in the essay and in the entire application. Also, it’s true for your daily life.

Sam Fleischmann is the International Counselor Engagement Manager for Duolingo English Test and formerly served as School Counselor at Hong Kong International School and Director of Student Services at International Community School in Singapore

If you are looking for admissions to Boarding Schools or Universities and want to showcase your English Proficiency, and in many cases meet the English proficiency requirements at your schools, take the Duolingo English Test. It saves you time and money so that you can go out into the world and Be who you ARE. An additional place to find great essay tips is here: The College Essay Guy