Five Tips To Make Your College Essay S-H-I-N-E

Are you one of the many high-school students sitting aimlessly at your computer, struggling with where to begin on your college essay? The summer of procrastination is over as October slowly starts to creep up on class of 2024. With admissions deadlines starting to stack one by one, you aren’t alone with the stress of checking off those boxes. But don’t worry; here are 5 advantageous tips to make your essay out-S-H-I-N-E your competition! 

S- Stay Away From Overused Topics

The average college admissions officer reads about 50 essays a day, five days a week, for months — they’ve pretty much seen it all. One of the most important ways to attract their attention is to write about something they haven’t yet seen before. Topics such as sports injuries, family hardship (divorce), and community service are just a few examples of essays they read regularly. Unless you’re able to make it unique to yourself, or build it to a bigger theme, it’s best to avoid those types of topics in your essays.

H-Hook Your Reader
You may remember practicing ‘hooks’ in your elementary essays. If this sounds unfamiliar, hooks are the opening statement of an essay designed to steer the reader’s attention so they are captivated to continue. One of the best ways to make your essay unforgettable is to start your essay off with something very specific. One of the more effective techniques to do this is using imagery, a literary device that evokes a mental image in the reader’s mind. Here’s an example: 

“My fingers traced along the luscious pink silk that belonged to my grandmother, wrapping around the loose threads that hung carelessly from its corners.”

If imagery isn’t your style, you can also use a quotation or a rhetorical question. If you choose this direction, make sure it’s relevant to your essay and something you reference again later on. Don’t use a quotation that doesn’t tie into a theme/central idea, and do not ask a question that you won’t answer later on. Remember, it’s also important to keep your hook unique, so it’s best not to quote Martin Luther King Jr. or Albert Einstein. Instead, use quotations they may not have heard of before. 

I-Incorporate Your Passion & Interests 

  Colleges WANT to see what you’re passionate about! Passionate students tend to be the most successful, which is exactly what universities are betting on when they select which students they’re going to admit. If you’re fighting for words in your essay, it’s probably not the best choice. Your topic should be something you never run out of things to write about. This should include consistent use of specific details, not general summaries that leave the reader with questions. Make sure to also include pathos, a literary device that intentionally evokes emotions from the readers that you want them to feel. If you want them to be tugging at their heartstrings over your love of culinary arts, utilize meaningful language and word choices to emphasize this. 

N-Never ‘List’ Your Accomplishments

 One of the biggest things to avoid in your college essays is saying things along the lines of: “I competed in the academic team and placed third in the country, served as a representative for a prestigious law program, and maintained a 4.0 GPA in the process.” Although that’s an impressive accomplishment, colleges are not interested in seeing this in your essay. Admissions officers want to learn about who you are as well as your values; now is the time to take advantage of it and save the extracurriculars for the necessary part of your application. 

E-Edit Your Essay

 You may be eager to stuff away your computer after meeting the 650 word limit, but as tempting as it is — do not do this! There is always room for improvement. Have someone read your essay for you. More times than not, they’ll see things you didn’t, whether you misspelled a word or maybe misused a diction choice. Note that there is more to proofreading than just grammar and punctuation; take feedback with trope ideas, style, and even content. If you aren’t comfortable with family or friends reading your essay, English teachers are also a great resource to present both criticism and appraisal.