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Most selective colleges require you to submit an essay or personal statement as part of your application.

It may sound like a chore, and it will certainly take a substantial amount of work. But it's also a unique opportunity that can make a difference at decision time. Admissions committees put the most weight on your high school grades and your test scores . However, selective colleges receive applications from many worthy students with similar scores and grades—too many to admit. So they use your essay, along with your letters of recommendation and extracurricular activities , to find out what sets you apart from the other talented candidates.

Telling Your Story to Colleges

So what does set you apart?

You have a unique background, interests and personality. This is your chance to tell your story (or at least part of it). The best way to tell your story is to write a personal, thoughtful essay about something that has meaning for you. Be honest and genuine, and your unique qualities will shine through.

Admissions officers have to read an unbelievable number of college essays, most of which are forgettable. Many students try to sound smart rather than sounding like themselves. Others write about a subject that they don't care about, but that they think will impress admissions officers.

You don't need to have started your own business or have spent the summer hiking the Appalachian Trail. Colleges are simply looking for thoughtful, motivated students who will add something to the first-year class.

Tips for a Stellar College Application Essay

1. write about something that's important to you..

It could be an experience, a person, a book—anything that has had an impact on your life. 

2. Don't just recount—reflect! 

Anyone can write about how they won the big game or the summer they spent in Rome. When recalling these events, you need to give more than the play-by-play or itinerary. Describe what you learned from the experience and how it changed you.

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3. Being funny is tough.

A student who can make an admissions officer laugh never gets lost in the shuffle. But beware. What you think is funny and what an adult working in a college thinks is funny are probably different. We caution against one-liners, limericks and anything off–color.

4. Start early and write several drafts.

Set it aside for a few days and read it again. Put yourself in the shoes of an admissions officer: Is the essay interesting? Do the ideas flow logically? Does it reveal something about the applicant? Is it written in the applicant’s own voice?

5. No repeats.

What you write in your application essay or personal statement should not contradict any other part of your application–nor should it repeat it. This isn't the place to list your awards or discuss your grades or test scores.

6. Answer the question being asked.

Don't reuse an answer to a similar question from another application.

7. Have at least one other person edit your essay.

A teacher or college counselor is your best resource. And before you send it off, check, check again, and then triple check to make sure your essay is free of spelling or grammar errors.

Read More: 2018-2019 Common Application Essay Prompts (and How to Answer Them)

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How to Write a College Admissions Essay for Top Schools

The gates of academia will open much easier with a strong college or university admissions essay.

Most top colleges and universities require you to include an application essay or personal statement when you submit your application. But how do Ivy League and other elite schools differ from your average state or private college when it comes to admissions essays? The answer lies in the details.

Writing a strong admissions essay is not the easiest task—it will almost certainly take a significant amount of time and dedication. Admissions committees weigh  high school grades  and  test scores  above almost everything else as determiners of potential for academic success. However, because selective colleges receive applications from many worthy students, and since major universities in the US have cut their acceptance rates almost in half due to factors such as increasing numbers of international applications, the application essay (along with  letters of recommendation  and extracurricular activities) may prove to be your best bet for standing out among the thousands of other talented and worthy candidates.

Setting Yourself Apart from the Other Candidates

Admissions officers read thousands of admissions essays each year. So if your essay tells a similar story to those of everyone else, it isn’t likely that your application will end up in the “Accepted” pile. So rather than trying to impress the admissions committee by recounting endless dry details about your subject or about their school in an attempt to sound more like a “model student,” think about how to actually distinguish yourself from others. Ask yourself: “What makes me unique?  What am I passionate about or do I excel at, even if it isn’t what everyone else is doing? What do I care about most in the world? What factors and/or experiences in my life have shaped me into the person I have become at the time of writing this essay?”

Many applicants will write about subjects that don’t truly interest them to try and impress the judges. Others simply tell a story from A to B to C, listing things they have done but including no narrative theme of development, growth, learning, or triumph over difficulties. Distinguish yourself by turning your story into THE STORY OF YOUR LIFE–and include a beginning, middle, and end that sum up who you are and why you are not only intelligent enough but  interesting  enough to attend this school.

So how do you write a narrative in the form of a personal essay that both informative and captivating; both intimate and somewhat academic?

Luckily there are models you can use—many hundreds of thousands of college applicants have trod this road before you, and hundreds of sites publish successful admissions papers that you can (and should) read to see the common elements that make them effective. Think of the tips below as a kind of map to both plan out your route and then check to see if you are on the right path to writing a strong admissions essay that will make any admissions committee think to themselves, “Now THIS is a sincere and interesting person who belongs at our vaunted learning institution!”

Tips for Writing an Effective College Admissions Essay

Focus on what you care about most.

Consider this a kind of brainstorming exercise. Close your eyes and imagine what drives you, motivates you, excites you, inspires you to pursue great things (or at least fantasize about doing them). This might include a hobby, a genre of music, an important person in your life, a pivotal memory or experience, a book—anything meaningful that you consider part of your identity or that defines you. Start by making a list of these things and creating a  word web  of other relevant or secondary aspects of this one idea, person, object, or experience. Write some brief sentences about exactly why it is important to you. Once you have your list and a few sentences written, it should be a bit easier to narrow your topic to just one or two things at most.

Use experiences that everyone can relate to but that make your story unique

Brainstorming exercise #2. Experiences are formative. Think about an experience in your life that changed you, changed your mind about something, or even set you off on a particular path that was unexpected. Perhaps you visited Berklee School of Music Summer Camp for a month when you were seventeen and it inspired you not to dedicate your life professionally to music, but to travel the world and seek your fortune in international relations. (Okay, that one might be a bit too autobiographical for this simple article…) You don’t need to recount a story of your precocious business success or have spent a year sailing the world with your family to have an interesting story to tell. Admissions officers want students who are thoughtful, motivated, even somewhat imaginative—students who will likely make a fantastic contribution to their school in their first year. From a narrative perspective, consider using this experience as a jumping-off point for a bigger lesson about life or education, and then return to this experience towards the end of your essay. This narrative structure presents an excellent way to frame a story and is common in many successful admissions essays.

Provide a beginning, middle, and end in your story—and include some twists and turns

Speaking of narrative structure, when you include the basic plot elements of setting, introduction, conflict, and resolution, not only will your essay be more fun to read, it will be easier to write. And when writing is easier, you are usually having more fun and pouring more of yourself into your writing. You will find that this often translates into a more compelling story as well since passion and interest are hallmarks of any good story told to a friend or included on the page of an adventure or romance novel. When structuring your narrative arc, include the lessons you have learned from these experiences: How did you change? What did you learn? What did/do you plan to do differently because of these experiences? Anyone can write about how they won first place in a competition or spent a fantastic vacation in Europe. The important stuff is not in the itinerary, but rather in the diary–what you learned from the experience and how it impacted you.

Recount a time when you overcame a difficulty, focusing on what you learned and how it impacted you

While we are on the subject of life lessons, let’s spend a little more time focusing on the “learning” part—the growth, development, life lessons, and changes in attitude and potential actions in the future. Writing about how great you were at chess growing up and recounting your consistent tournament successes might show that you are really good at chess. But real dedication is proven through failure and perseverance.

Don’t repeat yourself

Was there ever a time in your life where you thought you couldn’t go on doing something because it was too hard, but you somehow pulled through and accomplished what you needed or wanted to by some force of will or tenacity? Maybe you failed miserably in your first few chess tournaments, but despite your parents’ and friends’ desire for you to just give up, you dedicated yourself to practicing and studying chess moves two hours a night. And when you eventually won that first tournament (and then lost a few later but still didn’t give up), the sweetness of that experience was also mixed with the lessons you had gained about success, failure, and the necessity of the latter to understand the former. If you choose to write this kind of story about overcoming failure or a profound difficulty (financial, emotional, physical, etc.), don’t forget to focus significantly on the “lesson” part. Demonstrating to the admissions officers that you are able to grasp these lessons and make sense of these relationships (which are always crucial in school as in life) will greatly develop the impression of you as a thoughtful and capable person, and therefore a good candidate for admission to a great college.

As an editor who has read and proofread hundreds of admissions essays, I have seen my fair share of essays that simply repeat the same information in different terms. Cycling one experience or talent throughout your essay without adding relevant details or expounding on its importance makes your essay dry and boring and wastes a lot of precious space that could otherwise be spent sculpting your ideas into something more reflective about what you have learned and how you have developed. Here is an example of what I mean:

Opening paragraph : “I have always had a passion for ballet—it has been my life since I was six years old.” Second paragraph : “I continued doing ballet into my junior year of high school because of this passion. But then I had an accident and had to stop for six months. However, ballet remained my passion before, during and after this tragic event.” …Fifth paragraph : “Ballet has been my passion throughout my life, and although I have experienced difficulties, I never stopped loving it. It is this kind of passion for ballet that I intend to bring to my academic career as an undergraduate at your school.”

Sooooooo…do you think this person just might enjoy ballet? That much is clear from the start—but it could have been demonstrated by including details that  show  this passion rather than simply  telling  about it. And even if the author were to evidence this passion through actions and details, the repetition of one theme without expansion could still weaken the essay. Additionally, because the author spends so much time discussing ballet throughout the essay, once it comes time to connect this passion to something school- or life-related, they have run out of room to develop what could have been a really amazing idea or point about work, school, knowledge, passion, or life in general. Instead of repeating your facts about your passion or giving more and more details about it, zoom out and show its impact on how you approach other important facets of life. Discuss what important personal characteristics were/are needed to achieve a high level of skill: dedication to craft, daily energy and tenacity, the ability to follow directions but also to grow and eventually “fly on your own when you hit the dance floor.” Some of this can be accomplished through fancy rhetoric. But because most college essays must be a thousand words or fewer, a better strategy would be to expand on your main interest or experience and show how it impacts other crucial areas in your life.

Write several drafts…then revise…then write it again

We get it—writing is difficult. For many it can seem like pure torture to sit for hours on end and put together a self-introduction that not only satisfies all of the basic requirements of a personal essay or “narrative resume,” but which will also supplement your grades and test scores and accomplish this monumental goal of getting you into your school of choice, especially if that school happens to have a fantastic reputation and a list of applicants a mile long. Not everyone is a born writer—in fact, pretty much no one is. And this is why it is absolutely essential that you give yourself some time to not only finish the first draft of your essay but to edit and revise your work and even rewrite the essay again if necessary. Why is it important to write a second or third draft of your personal essay? For the same reason that architects don’t decide that a house is ready to be built after only one sketch. On subsequent viewings, revisions that you missed the first time around will appear. While you are writing the first draft, you are almost still in the process of brainstorming, at least on the level of the word or phrase if not the general ideas or concepts. When you revisit the work, you will see what you have written and often easily determine what needs to be revised, deleted, or rewritten altogether. Luckily, this process is usually more fun because you can already see what you have accomplished and are now simply “reworking the clay” into a more sophisticated and precise shape. Set the draft aside for a few days and then read it again. Imagine that you are an admissions officer and ask yourself as an objective reader: Is the essay interesting? Are the main points clear and do the ideas flow logically? If this person weren’t me, would I feel like I know them after reading this essay? Does it sound clinical and overly academic or does it have a more human and personal element? Answering these more general questions will help you see what parts need to be changed and in which ways. By the time you have written your third (and hopefully final?) draft, you can re-read the original draft and feel confident that you have made great improvements simply by re-reading the essay and making needed changes.

Let someone you trust read, proofread, and edit your essay

While revising and reworking the drafts is more of a “global” process, this step also includes changing phrases and fixing grammar, punctuation, and style errors in the work. However, the final task to complete before you submit your essay for scrutiny by your intended college or university is to receive editing and proofreading by someone who knows what they are doing—preferably someone whose ability and opinion you can trust. Far too many students neglect the importance of editing and proofreading their admissions essays. You need to ensure that your writing is not only free of grammar and punctuation errors but that it also has natural and appropriate language, flows logically, and contains anecdotes and other content that is more likely impress admissions committees (but, as we mentioned, not in a way that is cliche or forced). And as good of a writer as you may be, even the best authors use editors to improve their work and give it that extra layer of polish or extra “oomph.” And in fact,  an unedited essay is generally far less likely to get you into a great school —this is especially true if English is not your first language or if you have had limited experience writing essays.

Improve Your Application Essay with Professional Editing

One very accessible solution is to let a professional editing company revise your work—preferably a company that is reputable and employs highly qualified editors but is also affordable and can quickly deliver your edited essay. And according to an October 2019  article in  Wired.com , the company that currently best meets these standards is Wordvice English Editing & Proofreading Service . One  Wired  tech reviewer performed a blind study of four leading editing companies, evaluating them in terms of cost and quality of editing, and Wordvice came out on top. Now, how’s that for great word of mouth!

But don’t take our word for it. Check out our  Essay Editing Services  to find out how professional editing can impact your ability to get into top schools. See our services pages to learn more about personal statement editing and statement of purpose (SOP) editing as well.

Until you get to that point, follow the above tips and check out our  Admissions Writing Resources  for further writing assistance. Best of luck drafting your admissions essays!

Wordvice Admissions Resources

• 20 Tips for Writing a Strong Grad School Statement of Purpose
• 5 Admissions Essay Writing Tips
• How to Write the Common App Essay in 2022-2023
• How to Answer the 2022-2023 UC Personal Insight Questions
• Writing a Flawless CV for Graduate School
• Graduate School Recommendation Letter Templates and Examples

Additional Resources from Around the Web

• Crafting an Unforgettable College Essay  (Princeton Review)
• Tips for writing a paper and the problem of fake essays  (Good Morning America)
• Ten Reasons Why Your College Application Essay Might Get Rejected  (Trusted Essay Reviews)
• 4 College Admissions Essay Editing Services Reviewed  (Wired.com)

The Ivy Coach Daily

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August 31, 2023

Can a Good Essay Get You Into an Ivy League School?

Many students (and their parents) wonder what role the essays play in the admissions process to the eight Ivy League universities . Some believe the essays play an insignificant role, that it’s mainly about a student’s GPA and test scores. Others believe the essays play a critical role, that great essays can be the difference-maker between an acceptance and a rejection. So who’s right and who’s wrong?

The Role of Essays in the Ivy League Admissions Process

Top grades and scores are the table stakes.

That’s an easy one. Essays are crucial in the highly selective college admissions process, including the eight Ivy League institutions. Think about it: If admission were simply about boasting perfect or near-perfect grades and scores, Ivy League schools would have incoming classes with over five students in every available seat. It’s not just about the grades and scores — it’s not the case in 2023, and it wasn’t the case in 1993. Top grades and scores are mere table stakes in the process.

Ivy League Schools Seek Singularly Talented Students

For generations now, through their holistic admissions process, Ivy League schools have sifted through students with top grades in the most rigorous classes and top scores to identify singularly talented students or students who excel in one area that will interest the college.

It could be a sport for which an applicant is being recruited. It could be astrophysics research. It could be poetry. But what the Ivy League schools most certainly are not seeking is well-rounded students . Instead, admissions officers at these institutions seek to admit singularly talented students who, together, form a well-rounded class. As such, the student who plays three sports (none good enough to be recruited), a musical instrument, and conducts science research does not impress the gatekeepers in the holistic admissions process.

The Essays Are Prime Real Estate to Showcase a Singular Hook

And because these schools seek to admit singularly talented students, the activities and admissions essays serve as prime real estate to articulate how a student will contribute to the campus community. After all, the essays can compel an admissions officer to want to go to bat for a student. Likewise, the essays can lead an admissions officer to yawn or roll their eyes and quickly move on to the next student up for admission.

So, are essays critical in the Ivy League admissions process? You bet they are! The essays are a chance for applicants to show their humanity, showcase how they hope to leave their mark on the world, and demonstrate how they think through the prism of their experience and background. As such, while top grades in rigorous coursework, the quality of a student’s high school, test scores, and other factors play critical roles in the Ivy League admissions process, essays are monumentally critical.

2023-2024 Ivy League Admissions Essays

What better way of demonstrating the critical role that essays play in the Ivy League admissions process than highlighting how many essays each of the eight Ivy League schools ask its applicants? In addition to The Common Application ’s Personal Statement, the eight Ivy League schools pose the following number of essay prompts to applicants to the Class of 2028:

Ivy League Admissions Essays FAQs

Is the personal statement more important than the supplemental admissions essays at the ivies.

While the Personal Statement is submitted to every Common Application-subscribing institution, each Ivy League school requires applicants to write additional essays, which are  as crucial  as the Personal Statement. If, for instance, a student writes a Personal Statement that wows and then fills their Why Dartmouth essay with a mix of professor name drops and class names, they’re doubtful to earn admission to Dartmouth because the student failed to demonstrate their interest in Dartmouth adequately. The Ivy League schools present supplemental essay prompts for a reason. They matter  big time .

What are the most common supplemental essay prompts for applicants to the Ivies during the 2023-2024 admissions cycle?

The most common supplemental admissions essay prompts this year are the “ Why College ,” “Why Major,” and “Which Community” essay prompts. As an example, for applicants to the Class of 2028, among the Ivies, only Harvard doesn’t ask applicants “Why Harvard.”

Wondering why? Harvard knows you want to attend. It’s Harvard. But every other university — including all seven of the remaining Ivies — wants to see that you genuinely wish to attend and that you want to attend  for the right reasons .

Do the Ivies have more supplemental essays in the 2023-2024 admissions cycle than in past cycles?

Yes, some of the Ivies have increased their essay counts this year — likely in response to the Supreme Court’s decision to outlaw Affirmative Action .

In the majority opinion, Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts wrote , “Nothing in this opinion should be construed as prohibiting universities from considering an applicant’s discussion of how race affected his or her life, be it through discrimination, inspiration, or otherwise.”

It’s thus no surprise that these schools would rely even more heavily on essays in the wake of the decision.

Ivy Coach’s Assistance with Ivy League Essays

If you’re interested in optimizing your chances for admission to Ivy League schools during the 2023-2024 admissions cycle, fill out Ivy Coach ’s free consultation form , and we’ll be in touch to delineate our college counseling services for seniors .

You are permitted to use www.ivycoach.com (including the content of the Blog) for your personal, non-commercial use only. You must not copy, download, print, or otherwise distribute the content on our site without the prior written consent of Ivy Coach, Inc.

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College Reality Check

Can a Good College Essay Get You Into Your Dream College?

It’s not uncommon for the dream colleges of high school teens to be some of the most prestigious in the land. And most of these elite institutions require applicants to submit essays. Can handing in a good college essay make up for less-than-impressive admissions factors like grades and recommendations and get you into your top-choice school?

A college essay is considered an academic admissions factor at most postsecondary institutions, including selective ones with a holistic admissions policy. However, its overall weight in the admissions process is not usually as substantial as that of high school GPA or academic rigor, although it can vary from one college to the next.

Everyone knows that an impressive academic profile is a must if the goal is to get into a top-tier school.

This usually means having high grades and standardized test scores, taking challenging courses, graduating at the top of your class and submitting convincing letters of recommendation. Handing in an impressive college essay is also a part of it.

Which Colleges Require Applicants to Submit Essays?

Many highly-ranked institutions of higher education by US News require applicants to submit college essays. As a matter of fact, in many of them, college essays have pretty much the same weight in the admissions process as other academic factors such as academic rigor, high school GPA, standardized test scores and class rank.

Selective colleges and universities will do anything and everything necessary to make sure that the available spots they have will go to no one but some of the most deserving college-bound kids.

And, in most instances, this entails asking aspirants to submit all sorts of documents and materials.

College essays are usually some of the most important applications requirements — whether they are just as important as or less important than other academic admissions factors will depend on the school.

Below is a table showing the different academic factors considered by admissions officers and which ones are taken into account at some of the top postsecondary institutions in the county, as per US News Best National University rankings, as well as the relative importance of each — very important, important, considered and not considered.

Princeton University

• Academic rigor – very important
• Class rank – very important
• GPA – very important
• Standardized test scores – very important
• College essays – very important
• Recommendation letters – very important

Massachusetts Institute of Technology

• Academic rigor – important
• Class rank – considered
• GPA – important
• Standardized test scores – important
• College essays – important
• Recommendation letters – important

Harvard University

• Academic rigor – considered
• Class rank – not considered
• GPA – considered
• Standardized test scores – considered
• College essays – considered
• Recommendation letters – considered

Stanford University

Yale university, university of chicago, johns hopkins university, university of pennsylvania.

• Class rank – important

California Institute of Technology

Duke university, northwestern university, dartmouth college, brown university, vanderbilt university.

As you can see, at some of the top colleges and universities in the nation, college essays are taken into account by admissions officers — their relative importance ranging from considered, important to very important.

As a matter of fact, at Caltech, college essays are an academic admissions factor that’s more important than GPA and class rank.

Which Colleges Do Not Require Students to Submit Essays?

The majority of postsecondary institutions that do not require applicants to submit college essays are community colleges and small liberal arts colleges. The same is true for most public or state universities. Reasons for such include having limited admissions resources and making the admissions process easy and attractive.

Planning on applying to a state university? Then chances are you will not be required to compose any college essays.

Most of the time, it’s because they want more students to apply — nothing can be more intimidating to a lot of high schoolers who dream of earning a bachelor’s degree than being asked to submit a written piece.

Generally speaking, colleges and universities that do not require college essays also do not check out some academic and non-academic factors that other institutions take into account in the admissions process.

For instance, extracurricular activities and work experience may not count. The same is true for demonstrated interest and recommendation letters.

Below are some public or state universities that do not require aspirants to hand in college essays. I will also point out some of the most important admissions factors their admissions officers consider.

Will College Essays Ever Go Away?

Although it’s true that many colleges and universities, including especially selective ones, require applicants to submit college essays, coming up with a good one is not enough to get you into your dream school — you will also have to impress admissions officers with the rest of your academic profile’s components, from GPA, rigor of curriculum to recommendations.

In most instances, if truth be told, college essays don’t matter as much as college-bound teens think.

Like what a former admissions officer at the University of Pennsylvania said in a Time interview, she never came across a phenomenal college essay suddenly making up for everything else.

And with artificial intelligence (AI) in our midst, it’s possible for college essays to mean even less in the college admissions process sooner or later — ChatGPT and other similar AI chatbots make it possible to write essays in just a few minutes.

However, when tested, results usually fail to answer essay prompts in a convincing way.

What happens if you go beyond the word limit in a college essay?

In most instances, it’s impossible for applicants to go beyond the required word limit when submitting a college essay as the college application software will cut them off. If the software doesn’t have this feature, admissions officers may choose to quit reading the rest of the essay past the word limit.

When should you start writing your college essay?

According to most experts in the college admissions process, it’s a good idea for college-bound teens to start writing their college essays during the summer before their senior year of high school.

This will give them plenty of time to focus on composing their written submissions before their schoolwork arrives.

Independent Education Consultant, Editor-in-chief. I have a graduate degree in Electrical Engineering and training in College Counseling. Member of American School Counselor Association (ASCA).

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Can A Good College Essay Get You In?

Writing a college essay can be a daunting task, and one that often causes stress and anxiety for high school seniors. It’s a crucial component of the college application process, and students may wonder if their essay will be the deciding factor in whether they get accepted or not. With so much riding on this one piece of writing, it’s no wonder that many students turn to online writing services and search for “ do my essay ” to ensure they submit a strong and polished piece. But the question remains, can a good college essay actually get you in? In this article, we’ll explore the importance of college essays, what makes a good essay, and whether or not a strong essay can increase your chances of admission.

Table of Contents

Understanding the Importance of the College Essay and Why It Matters

As a student, it is imperative to understand the importance of a college essay and why it matters. The college essay can make or break a student’s chance of getting into the college of their dreams in today’s world, the competition among students is fierce, especially when it comes to getting admission into top-notch colleges and universities. Therefore, writing an impressive college essay can be a game-changer for your academic journey. If you are wondering, “ do my essay ” then you must read on to understand why it matters.

One of the primary reasons why a college essay is essential is that it gives the admissions committee an idea about the individual’s personality, character, and academic potential. The essay is a way for the admissions committee to get to know the applicant on a personal level, beyond test scores and grades. Therefore, a well-written essay can leave a lasting impression, making the applicant stand out from the crowd.

Moreover, a good college essay highlights an individual’s writing skills, creativity, and critical thinking abilities. It shows the admissions committee that the student is capable of expressing themselves coherently and succinctly, which is a crucial skill that is necessary in college and beyond.

Additionally, a college essay is an opportunity for the applicant to showcase their unique qualities, background, and experiences that make them an ideal candidate for the program. It allows the student to highlight their strengths and how they can contribute to the college community.

Furthermore, a compelling essay can compensate for an average or below-average academic record. Admissions committees take note of individuals who exhibit motivation, determination, and drive to succeed despite previous setbacks. Therefore, a well-written essay can make the difference between acceptance and rejection, especially for borderline cases.

a college essay is a crucial component of the application process, and every applicant should take it seriously. It provides an opportunity for the student to shine, showcases their individuality, and sets them apart from other applicants. Therefore, if you are wondering, “ do my essay ,” take the time to research, brainstorm, reflect, and write a winning essay that will impress the admissions committee.

 Who Sees Your College Essays?

When it comes to college essays, it’s crucial to keep in mind Who Sees Your College Essays?

. Admissions officers, committee members, and essay readers are just a few examples of the individuals who will be reviewing your application. Admissions officers are responsible for evaluating your application as a whole, but they also pay close attention to your essay as it provides insight into who you are as a person. Committee members and essay readers also play a significant role in the admissions process, often helping to narrow down the pool of applicants. It’s essential to know your audience and cater to their expectations when crafting your essay. By doing so, you increase your chances of standing out and making a memorable impression. So, if you’ve been pondering, “who will do my essay?” it’s important to remember that not only could a college admissions officer be reading it, but also individuals who hold significant influence in the admissions decision-making process.

What Makes A Good College Essay?

 When it comes to writing a college essay, there are certain characteristics that admissions officers look for in a strong essay. Whether a student writes their own essay or chooses to use a “ do my essay ” service, it’s important to keep these qualities in mind:

1.     Authenticity and uniqueness:

Admissions officers want to get to know the real person behind the application. A good college essay should be authentic and showcase the student’s unique perspective and voice.

2.     Structure and organization:

 A well-structured essay with a clear introduction, body, and conclusion is essential. Admissions officers want to see that the student can express their thoughts coherently and logically.

3.     Clarity and coherence:

 A good college essay should be easy to read and understand. It should flow smoothly and be free of grammar and spelling errors.

4.     Voice and tone:

 A strong essay should have a distinct voice and tone that reflects the student’s personality and style. It should be engaging and interesting to read.

5.      Storytelling and personal insight:

 A good college essay should tell a story that provides insight into the student’s experiences and values. It should showcase their character and demonstrate why they would be a good fit for the school.

By incorporating these qualities into their essay, students can increase their chances of standing out to admissions officers and making a strong impression. Whether a student writes their own essay or decides to use a “do my essay” service, it’s important to remember that a good college essay is a reflection of the student and their unique qualities.

Can A Good College Essay Get You In ?

 When it comes to college admission decisions, there are a variety of factors that are considered. Grades, test scores, extracurricular activities, and letters of recommendation are just a few of the components that make up a strong application. However, one piece that should not be overlooked is the college essay.

A well-crafted college essay can be the factor that sets an applicant apart from the rest. Admissions officers read thousands of essays each year, and a standout essay can catch their attention and leave a lasting impression. In fact, many colleges specifically ask for an essay in their application process, indicating its importance in their decision-making process.

Success stories abound of students who were accepted into their dream schools due in part to a powerful essay. One such example is the story of Kwasi Enin, a student who was accepted into all eight Ivy League schools. His essay, which focused on his love of music and how it shaped him as a person, was widely praised for its creativity and sincerity.

Of course, it’s important to note that an essay alone cannot guarantee acceptance into a college. It’s just one piece of the puzzle, and a strong essay should be backed up by equally strong grades and other accomplishments. Additionally, not all colleges and universities place the same weight on essays; some may be more focused on test scores, while others may put more emphasis on extracurricular activities.

However, if an applicant is on the borderline of being accepted, a great essay could be the deciding factor. It can show a side of the student that isn’t conveyed elsewhere in the application, and can demonstrate their ability to think critically, express themselves effectively, and connect with others.

a good college essay can definitely help an applicant get into their desired school. Crafting an essay that tells a unique and compelling story, showcases the student’s personality, and demonstrates their skills and potential can make a strong impression on admissions officers. While it’s not the only factor that matters, a strong essay can certainly make an applicant stand out in a crowded field of candidates.

How to Write a Good College Essay?

Writing a college essay can be a daunting task, but it is a crucial step in your academic journey. Your essay is your chance to showcase your personality, strengths, and experiences to the admissions committee. A well-written essay can impress the committee and increase your chances of getting into your dream school. In this article, we will discuss how to write a good college essay in five easy steps.

1.     Brainstorming and Outlining

The first step in writing a good college essay is brainstorming and outlining. Before you start writing, take some time to think about your experiences, achievements, and goals. Jot down everything that comes to mind, no matter how insignificant it may seem. Then, organize your thoughts and ideas into a structured outline. This will help you stay on track and ensure that your essay is well-organized.

2.     Crafting a Compelling Opening

The opening of your essay is crucial as it sets the tone for the rest of your essay. The goal is to grab the reader’s attention and make them want to read more. To craft a compelling opening, consider starting with a personal anecdote or a thought-provoking question. Avoid cliché openings such as “Webster’s dictionary defines success as…” Instead, be creative and original.

3.     Telling Your Story Effectively

Your essay is essentially a story about you, so it’s important to tell it effectively. Be descriptive and paint a vivid picture of your experiences. Use sensory language to engage the reader’s senses and create a visual image. Also, be honest and authentic. Don’t try to be someone you’re not, as the admissions committee can easily spot insincerity.

4.     Showcasing Your Personality and Strengths

Your essay is an opportunity to showcase your personality and strengths. Use specific examples to demonstrate your skills and accomplishments. Also, highlight your unique qualities and what sets you apart from other applicants. However, be careful not to sound arrogant or boastful. Instead, be humble and show your achievements in a positive light.

5.     Avoiding Common Mistakes

Finally, it’s essential to avoid common mistakes when writing a college essay. Make sure to proofread your essay for grammar and spelling errors. Also, avoid rambling or getting off-topic. Stick to the topic and answer the prompt directly. Finally, don’t try to impress the admissions committee with fancy vocabulary or complex sentence structures. Write in a clear and concise manner that is easy to understand.

Writing a good college essay is a challenging but rewarding experience. Follow these five steps and craft an essay that showcases your personality, strengths, and achievements in a compelling and authentic way. Your essay is your chance to make a lasting impression on the admissions committee and prove that you deserve a place at your dream school.

Tips For Crafting Your Own Essay

When crafting your own essay, it is important to keep in mind the various factors that contribute to making it engaging and effective.

1.     Start Early:

Don’t wait until the last minute to start writing your college essay. Give yourself plenty of time to brainstorm ideas, write multiple drafts, and revise your work.

2.     Brainstorm and Plan:

Before you start writing, take some time to brainstorm ideas and plan out your essay. Think about what makes you unique and what you want to convey to admissions officers.

3.     Understand The Prompt:

Make sure you fully understand the essay prompt and what the admissions officers are looking for. If you’re unsure about the prompt, ask for clarification from your guidance counselor or college admissions representative.

4.     Be Authentic:

Write from your own unique perspective and voice. Avoid trying to sound like someone you’re not or writing what you think admissions officers want to hear. Be true to yourself and showcase your personality and experiences.

5.     Tell A Story:

Your essay should tell a story that provides insight into your experiences and values. Focus on a specific moment or experience that has shaped who you are.

6.     Be Concise:

Admissions officers read thousands of essays, so it’s important to be concise and to the point. Stick to the word limit and avoid rambling or going off on tangents.

7.     Revise And Edit:

Once you’ve written your essay, revise and edit multiple times. Read it out loud to catch any awkward phrasing or errors. Have someone else read it as well to provide feedback.

By following these tips, you can craft a compelling and authentic college essay that showcases your unique voice and experiences. Remember, the college essay is an opportunity for you to shine and stand out from other applicants, so make the most of it!

A good college essay can definitely improve a student’s chances of getting accepted into their desired college or university. While the essay is just one part of the application, it offers an opportunity for students to showcase their personality, unique experiences, and passion for learning. By crafting a strong and authentic essay that reflects who they are as a person, students can catch the attention of admissions officers and demonstrate why they would be a good fit for the school. Ultimately, a well-written college essay can make a difference in the admissions decision and help students achieve their academic and career goals.

College Application Essays Don’t Matter as Much as You Think

Correction appended, November 14.

Parents: sit down before you read this. Kids: deep breaths. You know that beautifully crafted, deeply felt, highly unusual college application essay you’ve been polishing? It might not make a difference for your college admission chances.

Stanford sociologist Mitchell Stevens spent 18 months embedded with admissions officers at an unnamed top-tier liberal arts college and found that, even in cases where students were within the admissible range in terms of scores and grades, officers rarely looked to the personal essays as a deciding factor. He wrote about his experience for The New Republic , and here’s the most interesting part:

Yet even in these middling cases, personal essays rarely got even cursory attention from admissions officers. There were simply too many files to consider in too small a time frame, and too many other evaluative factors that mattered much more. How likely was an applicant to accept our offer of admission? Had we already accepted anyone from his or her remote zip code? Had the applicant received any special endorsement from a college alumnus or a faculty member? Did someone in the office owe a favor to the applicant’s guidance counselor? Those are the questions that get debated before a verdict is reached. But during the hundreds of deliberations I sat in on over two admission cycles, I literally never heard a decision made on the basis of a personal essay alone.

The good news? Three former admissions officers I spoke to told me that, contrary to Steven’s observations, officers read every essay that comes across their desks. “We definitely read the essays,” says Joie Jager-Hyman, president of College Prep 360 and former admissions officer at Dartmouth College. “You don’t do that job unless you enjoy reading the essays. They’re kind of fun.” Elizabeth Heaton, senior director of educational counseling at admissions-consulting firm College Coach, and former admissions officer at the University of Pennsylvania, says she took notes on every single piece of writing a student submitted, whether she advocated for them or not.

The bad news? No matter how gorgeous your prose is, you can’t get into college based on the strength of your essay alone. “No-one ever gets into college because you write a great essay,” Heaton says. “You can not get in because you write a really bad one.”

And even Joan Didion herself wouldn’t get into college on her writing skills if she had lackluster grades or scores. The officers told me they did sometimes look to the essays to explain weaknesses in the application (like if there was a year of bad grades that coincided with an illness,) but they said that kind information was usually best kept in the “additional information” section of the application.

Some officers recalled moments when they were so moved by an essay that they advocated for the student to be admitted despite other weaknesses on the application, but none had ever recalled a time where that strategy had worked. “There were a couple of incidents were I really wanted to admit a student and recommended that they move forward because their writing and personal qualities were so interesting, but I was not successful,” says Shoshana Krieger, a counselor for Expert Admissions who formerly worked in the admissions office at the University of Chicago and at Trinity University in San Antonio, TX. “There are certain cases where if a student is simply too far off academically, it’s then just not going to make a difference.”

“I never saw a phenomenal essay suddenly make up for everything” Heaton agreed. “These days, there’s just so little wiggle room to be able to make that call.” She also noted that it looks suspicious when a kid with mediocre grades and scores submits a spectacular essay, and raises doubts that the student might not have written it herself.

Later in his piece, Steven notes that the college essay may be more of a psychological outlet than a practical asset in the college application process, since it’s one of the only things that’s still in the applicant’s control during the fall of their senior year (most of their transcript and scores are already behind them.) Joie Jager-Hyman said she agreed with that assessment. “There’s so much anxiety right now in the air,” she said. “It’s the thing they feel like they have power over.” She also noted that focus on the essay could help kids become better writers in the long-run, even if it might not necessarily make or break their college admissions chances, and “that’s not totally a bad thing.”

So even if all the revising and nitpicking on the college essay may not help your kid get into college, it will almost certainly make him or her a better writer. So don’t put away that red pen yet.

Correction: The original version of this post misstated the location of Trinity University in Texas. It is in San Antonio.

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How to Write the University of California Essays 2023-2024

The University of California (UC) school system is the most prestigious state university system in the United States and includes nine undergraduate universities: UC Berkeley, UC San Diego, UCLA, UC Santa Barbara, UC Santa Cruz, UC Davis, UC Riverside, UC Merced, and UC Irvine.

The University of California system has its own application portal, as well as its own deadline of November 30th—a full month before the Common Application is due. All nine universities use one application, so it is easy to apply to multiple UCs at the same time. 

The application requires you to answer four of eight personal insight questions, with a 350-word limit on each prompt. This may seem daunting at first, but we provide this guide to make the prompts more approachable and to help you effectively tackle them! 

University of California Application Essay Prompts

Note: There is only one application for all the UC schools, so your responses will be sent to every University of California school that you apply to. You should avoid making essays school-specific (unless you are applying to only one school).

You might want to start by deciding which four of the eight prompts you plan on answering. The eight prompts are:

1. Describe an example of your leadership experience in which you have positively influenced others, helped resolve disputes, or contributed to group efforts over time.

2. 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., 3. what would you say is your greatest talent or skill how have you developed and demonstrated that talent over time, 4. describe how you have taken advantage of a significant educational opportunity or worked to overcome an educational barrier you have faced., 5. 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, 6. think about an academic subject that inspires you. describe how you have furthered this interest inside and/or outside of the classroom., 7. what have you done to make your school or your community a better place, 8. beyond what has already been shared in your application, what do you believe makes you stand out as a strong candidate for admissions to the university of california.

As you begin selecting prompts, keep the purpose of college essays at the forefront of your mind. College essays are the place to humanize yourself and transform your test scores, GPA, and extracurriculars into a living, breathing human with values, ambitions, and a backstory. If a specific prompt will allow you to show a part of who you are that is not showcased in the rest of your application, start there. 

If nothing immediately jumps out at you, try dividing the prompts into three categories: “definites,” “possibilities,” and “avoids at all costs.” “Definites” will be prompts that quickly spark up a specific idea in you. “Possibilities” might elicit a few loose concepts, anecdotes, or structures. And “avoids” are prompts where you honestly cannot see yourself writing a convincing essay. Next, take your “definites” and “possibilities” and jot down your initial thoughts about them. Finally, look at all of your ideas together and decide which combination would produce the most well-rounded essay profile that shows who you are as an individual.

Of course, this is just one way to approach choosing prompts if you are stuck. Some students might prefer writing out a list of their values, identifying the most important ones in their life, then figuring out how to showcase those through the prompts. Other students select prompts based on what they are excited by or through freewriting on every prompt first. Do not feel constrained by any one method. Just remember:

• Do not rush into prompts at first glance (though trial writing can be very valuable!).
• Make sure that you consider potential ideas for many prompts before making final decisions, and ultimately write about the one with the most substance.
• The prompts you select should allow you to highlight what is most important to you.

Check out our video to learn more about how to write the UC essays!

The 8 UC Personal Insight Questions

“Leadership Experience” is often a subheading on student resumes, but that is not what admissions officers are asking about here. They are asking for you to tell them a specific story of a time when your leadership truly mattered. This could include discussing the policies you enacted as president of a school club or the social ties you helped establish as captain of a sports team, but this prompt also gives you the freedom to go past that.

Leaders are individuals with strong values, who mentor, inspire, correct, and assist those around them. If you don’t feel like you’ve ever been a leader, consider the following questions:

• Have you ever mentored anyone? Is there anyone younger than you who would not be the person they are today without you?
• Have you ever taken the initiative? When and why did it matter?
• Have you ever been fundamental to positive change in the world—whether it be on the small scale of positively impacting a family member’s life or on the large scale of trying to change the status of specific communities/identities in this world?
• Have you ever stood up for what’s right or what you believe in?

Leadership is a concept that can be stretched, bent, and played with, but at the end of the day, the central theme of your essay must be leadership. Keeping this in mind, after your first draft, it can be helpful to identify the definition of leadership that you are working with, to keep your essay cohesive. This definition doesn’t need to appear within the essay (though, if you take on a more reflective structure, it might). Some examples of this include “being a positive role model as leadership,” “encouraging others to take risks as leadership,” and “embracing my identities as leadership.”

Here are some examples of how a leadership essay might look:

• You’ve always loved learning and challenging yourself, but when you got to high school it was clear that only a certain type of student was recommended to take AP classes and you didn’t fit into that type. You presented a strong case to the school counselors that you were just as prepared for AP classes as anyone else, enrolled in your desired classes, and excelled. Since then, AP classes have become more diversified at your school and there has even been a new inclusion training introduced for your district’s school counselors. 
• When you were working as a camp counselor, the art teacher brought you two of your campers who were refusing to get along. To mediate the conflict, you spent long hours before bed talking to them individually, learning about their personal lives and family situation. By understanding where each camper came from, you were better equipped to help them reach a compromise and became a role model for both campers.
• As a member of your school’s Chinese organization, you were driven by your ethnic heritage to devote your lunch breaks to ensuring the smooth presentation of the Chinese culture show. You coordinated the performers, prepared refreshments, and collected tickets. You got through a great performance, even though a performer didn’t show and some of the food was delivered late. You weren’t on the leadership board or anything, but exhibited serious leadership, as both nights of the culture show sold out and hundreds of both Chinese and non-Chinese people were able to come together and celebrate your culture.

Like the last prompt, this prompt asks about a specific topic—creativity—but gives you wiggle room to expand your definition of that topic. By defining creativity as problem-solving, novel thinking, and artistic expression, this prompt basically says “get creative in how you define creativity!” 

Additionally, this broad conception of creativity lets you choose if you want to write about your personal life or your academic life. A robotics student could write about their love of baking on the weekends or their quick thinking during a technical interview. A dance student could write about their love of adapting choreography from famous ballets or their innovative solution to their dance team’s lack of funds for their showcase. You have space to do what you want!

That said, because this prompt is so open, it is important to establish a focus early on. Try thinking about what is missing from your application. If you are worried that your application makes you seem hyper-academic, use this prompt to show how you have fun. If you are worried that you might be appearing like one of those students who just gets good grades because they have a good memory, use this prompt to show off your problem-solving skills.

Also, keep in mind that you don’t have to describe any skill in creative pursuits as you answer this prompt. The prompt asks you how you express your “creative side,” alluding to creative instinct, not creative talent. You could write about how you use painting to let out your emotions—but your paintings aren’t very good. You could write about dancing in the shower to get excited for your day—but one time you slipped and fell and hurt your elbow. Experiences like these could make for a great reflective essay, where you explore the human drive towards creative expression and your acceptance that you personally don’t have to be creatively inclined to let out creative energy.

Some examples:

• A math student writing about a time they devised a non-textbook method to proving theorems 
• A creative writer describing how they close-read the ups-and-downs of classical music as an attempt to combat writers’ block and think of emotional trajectories for new stories
• An engineering student writing about cooking as a creative release where numbers don’t matter and intuition supersedes reason
• A psychology student writing about the limitations of quantitative data and describing a future approach to psychology that merges humanism and empiricism.

This is the kind of prompt where an answer either pops into your head or it doesn’t. The good news is that you can write a convincing essay either way. We all have great talents and skills—you just might have to dig a bit to identify the name of the talent/skill and figure out how to best describe it.

Some students have more obvious talents and skills than others. For example, if you are intending to be a college athlete, it makes sense to see your skill at your sport as your greatest talent or skill. Similarly, if you are being accepted into a highly-selective fine arts program, painting might feel like your greatest talent. These are completely reasonable to write about because, while obvious, they are also authentic! 

The key to writing a convincing essay about an obvious skill is to use that skill to explore your personality, values, motivations, and ambitions. Start by considering what first drew you to your specialization. Was there a specific person? Something your life was missing that painting, hockey, or film satisfied? Were you brought up playing your sport or doing your craft because your parents wanted you to and you had to learn to love it? Or choose to love it? What was that process like? What do these experiences say about you? Next, consider how your relationship with your talent has evolved. Have you doubted your devotion at times? Have you wondered if you are good enough? Why do you keep going? On the other hand, is your talent your solace? The stable element in your life? Why do you need that?

The key is to elucidate why this activity is worth putting all your time into, and how your personality strengths are exhibited through your relationship to the activity. 

Do not be put off by this prompt if you have not won any big awards or shown immense talent in something specific. All the prompt asks for is what you think is your greatest talent or skill. Some avenues of consideration for other students include:

• Think about aspects of your personality that might be considered a talent or skill. This might include being a peacemaker, being able to make people laugh during hard times, or having organization skills.
• Think about unique skills that you have developed through unique situations. These would be things like being really good at reading out loud because you spend summers with your grandfather who can no longer read, knowing traffic patterns because you volunteer as a crossing guard at the elementary school across the street that starts 45 minutes before the high school, or making really good pierogi because your babysitter as a child was Polish.
• Think about lessons you have learned through life experiences. A military baby might have a great skill for making new friends at new schools, a child of divorce might reflect on their ability to establish boundaries in what they are willing to communicate about with different people, and a student who has had to have multiple jobs in high school might be talented at multitasking and scheduling. 

Make sure to also address how you have developed and demonstrated your selected talent. Do you put in small amounts of practice every day, or strenuous hours for a couple of short periods each year? Did a specific period of your life lead to the development of your talent or are you still developing it daily? 

The purpose of college essays is to show your values and personality to admissions officers, which often includes exploring your past and how it informs your present and future. With a bit of creativity in how you define a “talent or skill,” this prompt can provide a great avenue for that exploration. 

This prompt offers you two potential paths—discussing an educational opportunity or barrier. It is important that you limit yourself to one of these paths of exploration to keep your essay focused and cohesive. 

Starting with the first option, you should think of an educational opportunity as anything that has added value to your educational experience and better prepared you for life and your career. Some examples could include:

• participation in an honors program
• enrollment in an academy geared toward your future profession
• a particularly enlightening conversation with a professional or teacher
• joining a cultural- or interest-based student coalition
• plenty of other opportunities

The phrasing “taken advantage of” implies the admissions committee’s desire for students who take the initiative. Admissions officers are more interested in students who sought out opportunities and who fought to engage with opportunities than students who were handed things. For example, a student who joined a career-advancement afterschool program in middle school could write about why they were initially interested in the program—perhaps they were struggling in a specific subject and didn’t want to fall behind because they had their sights set on getting into National Junior Honor Society, or their friend mentioned that the program facilitated internship opportunities and they thought they wanted to explore therapy as a potential career path.

On the other hand, if an opportunity was handed to you through family connections or a fortuitous introduction, explore what you did with that opportunity. For example, if a family member introduced you to an important producer because they knew you were interested in film, you could write about the notes you took during that meeting and how you have revisited the producer’s advice and used it since the meeting to find cheap equipment rentals and practice your craft.

If you choose to write about educational barriers you have faced, consider the personal characteristics and skills you called upon to overcome the challenge. How did the process of overcoming your educational barrier shape you as a person? What did you learn about yourself or the world? An added plus would be talking about passing it forward and helping those in your purview obtain the knowledge you did from your experiences.

Some examples of educational barriers could include:

• limited access to resources, materials, technology, or classes
• lacking educational role models
• struggles with deciding on a passion or career path
• financial struggles

One example of an interesting essay about educational barriers:

As a student at a school that did not offer any honors classes, you enrolled in online lectures to learn the subject you were passionate about — Human Geography. Afterward, you spoke to your school administrators about high-achieving students needing higher-level courses, and they agreed to talk to the local community college to start a pipeline for students like you.

Either way that you take this prompt, it can be used to position yourself as motivated and driven—exactly the type of student admissions officers are looking for!

This prompt is three-pronged. You must 1) identify a challenge 2) describe the steps you have taken to overcome the challenge and 3) connect the challenge to your academic achievement.

When approaching this prompt, it is best to consider these first and third aspects together so that you identify a challenge that connects to your academic life. If you simply pick any challenge you have experienced, when you get to the third part of the prompt, you may have to stretch your essay in ways that are unconvincing or feel inauthentic.

That said, remember that “academic achievement” reaches far beyond grades and exams. It can include things like:

• Deciding your career goals
• Balancing homework, jobs, and social/familial relationships
• Having enough time to devote to self-care
• Figuring out how you study/learn best
• Feeling comfortable asking for help when you need it

You should begin brainstorming challenges and hardships that you have experienced and overcome. These could include financial hardships, familial circumstances, personal illness, or learning disabilities. Challenges could also be less structural—things like feeling like you are living in a sibling’s shadow, struggles with body image, or insecurity. While it is important that your challenge was significant, it matters much more that you discuss your challenge with thoughtful reflection and maturity.

Some ways to take this prompt include:

• Writing about how overcoming a challenge taught you a skill that led to academic success — for example, a high-achieving student who struggles with anxiety was forced to take time off from school after an anxiety attack and learned the importance of giving oneself a break
• Writing about a challenge that temporarily hindered your academic success and reflecting on it — for example, a student who experienced a death in the family could have had a semester where they almost failed English because reading led to negative thought spirals instead of plot retention
• Writing about how a challenge humbled you and gave you a new perspective on your academics — for example, a student with a part-time job who helps support her family missed a shift because she was studying for a test and realized that she needed to ask her teachers for help and explain her home situation

As you describe the steps you have taken to overcome your selected challenge, you will want to include both tangible and intangible steps. This means that you will need to discuss your emotions, growth, and development, as well as what you learned through overcoming the challenge. Was your challenge easy to overcome or did it take a few tries? Do you feel you have fully overcome your challenge or is it a work in progress? If you have fully overcome the challenge, what do you do differently now? Or do you just see things differently now? If you were to experience the same challenge again, what would you have learned from before?

Here are some detailed examples:

• Your parents underwent a bitter, drawn-out divorce that deeply scarred you and your siblings, especially your little brother who was attending elementary school at the time. He was constantly distraught and melancholy and seemed to be falling further and further behind in his schoolwork. You took care of him, but at the cost of your grades plummeting. However, through this trial, you committed yourself to protecting your family at all costs. You focused on computer science in high school, hoping to major in it and save up enough money for his college tuition by the time he applies. Through this mission, your resolve strengthened and reflected in your more efficient and excellent performance in class later on.
• Your race was the most significant challenge you faced growing up. In school, teachers did not value your opinion nor did they believe in you, as evidenced by their preferential treatment of students of other races. To fight back against this discrimination, you talked to other students of the same race and established an association, pooling together resources and providing a supportive network of people to others in need of counseling regarding this issue.

The first step for approaching this prompt is fun and easy—think about an academic subject that inspires you. This part of the essay is about emotional resonance, so go with your gut and don’t overthink it. What is your favorite subject? What subject do you engage with in the media in your free time? What subject seeps into your conversations with friends and family on the weekends?

Keep in mind that high school subjects are often rather limited. The span of “academic subjects” at the university level is much less limited. Some examples of academic subjects include eighteenth-century literature, political diplomacy, astronomy, Italian film and television, botany, Jewish culture and history, mobile robotics, musical theater, race and class in urban environments, gender and sexuality, and much more.

Once you’ve decided what subject you are most interested in and inspired by, think about a tangible example of how you have furthered your interest in the subject. Some common ways students further their interests include:

• Reading about your interest
• Engaging with media (television, film, social media) about your interest
• Volunteering with organizations related to your interest
• Founding organizations related to your interest
• Reaching out to professionals with your academic interest
• Using your interest in interdisciplinary ways
• Research in your field of interest
• Internships in your field of interest

While you should include these kinds of tangible examples, do not forget to explain how your love for the subject drives the work you do, because, with an essay like this, the why can easily get lost in describing the what . Admissions officers need both.

A few examples:

• You found your US government class fascinatingly complex, so you decided to campaign for a Congressional candidate who was challenging the incumbent in your district. You canvassed in your local community, worked at the campaign headquarters, and gathered voter data whilst performing various administrative duties. Though the work was difficult, you enjoyed a sense of fulfillment that came from being part of history.
• Last year you fell in love with the play Suddenly Last Summer and decided to see what career paths were available for dramatic writing. You reached out to the contact on your local theater’s website, were invited to start attending their guest lecturer series, and introduced yourself to a lecturer one week who ended up helping you score a spot in a Young Dramatic Writers group downtown.
• The regenerative power of cells amazed you, so you decided to take AP Biology to learn more. Eventually, you mustered up the courage to email a cohort of biology professors at your local university. One professor responded, and agreed to let you assist his research for the next few months on the microorganism C. Elegans.
• You continued to develop apps and games even after AP Computer Science concluded for the year. Eventually, you became good enough to land an internship at a local startup due to your self-taught knowledge of various programming languages.

With regards to structure, you might try thinking about this essay in a past/present/future manner where you consider your past engagement with your interest and how it will affect your future at a UC school or as an adult in society. This essay could also become an anecdotal/narrative essay that centers around the story of you discovering your academic interest, or a reflective essay that dives deep into the details of why you are drawn to your particular academic subject.

Whatever way you take it, try to make your essay unique—either through your subject matter, your structure, or your writing style!

College essay prompts often engage with the word “community.” As an essay writer, it is important to recognize that your community can be as large, small, formal, or informal as you want it to be. Your school is obviously a community you belong to, but your local grocery store, the nearby pet adoption center you volunteer at, your apartment building, or an internet group can also be communities. Even larger social groups that you are a part of, like your country or your ethnicity, can be a community. 

The important part of your response here is not the community you identify with but rather the way you describe your role in that community. What do you bring to your community that is special? What would be missing without you?

Some responses could include describing how you serve as a role model in your community, how you advocate for change in your community, how you are a support system for other community members, or how you correct the community when it is veering away from its values and principles.

Here are some fleshed-out examples of how this essay could take shape, using the earlier referenced communities:

• A student writes about the local grocery store in his neighborhood. Each Sunday, he picks up his family’s groceries and then goes to the pharmacy in the back to get his grandmother’s medication. The pharmacist was a close friend of his grandmother’s when she was young, so the student routinely gives the pharmacist a detailed update about his grandmother’s life. The student recognizes the value in his serving as a link to connect these two individuals who, due to aging, cannot be together physically.
• An animal-loving student volunteers one Saturday each month at the pet adoption center in their city’s downtown district. They have always been an extremely compassionate person and view the young kittens as a community that deserves to be cared for. This caring instinct also contributes to their interactions with their peers and their desire to make large-scale positive social change in the world.

Your response to this prompt will be convincing if you discuss your underlying motives for the service you have done, and in turn, demonstrate the positive influence you have made. That said, do not be afraid to talk about your actions even if they did not produce a sweeping change; as long as the effort was genuine, change is change, no matter the scale. This essay is more about values and reflection than it is about the effects of your efforts.

Lastly, if you are discussing a specific service you did for your community, you might want to touch on what you learned through your service action or initiative, and how you will continue to learn in the future. Here are a few examples:

• Passionate about classical music, you created a club that taught classical and instrumental music at local elementary schools. You knew that the kids did not have access to such resources, so you wanted to broaden their exposure as a high school senior had done for you when you were in middle school. You encouraged these elementary schoolers to fiddle with the instruments and lobbied for a music program to be implemented at the school. Whether the proposal gets approved or not, the kids have now known something they might never have known otherwise.
• Working at your local library was mundane at times, but in the long run, you realized that you were facilitating the exchange of knowledge and protecting the intellectual property of eminent scholars. Over time, you found ways to liven up the spirit of the library by leading arts and crafts time and booking puppet shows for little kids whose parents were still at work. The deep relationships you forged with the kids eventually blossomed into a bond of mentorship and mutual respect.

Be authentic and humble in your response to this essay! Make sure it feels like you made your community a better place because community is a value of yours, not just so that you could write about it in a college essay.

This is the most open-ended any question can get. You have the freedom to write about anything you want! That said, make sure that, no matter what you do with this prompt, your focus can be summarized into two sentences that describe the uniqueness of your candidacy.

The process we recommend for responding to open-ended prompts with clarity involves the following steps:

1. On a blank piece of paper, jot down any and every idea — feelings, phrases, and keywords — that pop into your head after reading this prompt. Why are you unique?

2. Narrow your ideas down to one topic. The two examples we will use are a student writing about how her habit of pausing at least five seconds before she responds to someone else’s opinion is emblematic of her thoughtfulness and a student whose interest in researching the history of colonialism in the Caribbean is emblematic of their commitment to justice.

3. Outline the structure of your essay, and plan out content for an introduction, body paragraphs, and a conclusion.

4. Before you start writing your essay, write one or two sentences that summarize how you would like the admissions officers to perceive you based on this essay. These sentences will not be in your final product, but will help you to maintain a focus. For our examples, this would be something like “Natalie’s habit of gathering her thoughts before responding to other people’s opinions allows her to avoid undesired complications and miscommunications in her social interactions. This has not only helped her maintain strong relationships with all the staff members of the clubs she leads, but will also help her navigate the social environments that she will face in the professional world.” A summary for the student writing about their interest in the history of colonialism could be “Jonathan has always been highly compassionate and sympathetic by nature. When they found out about the historical injustices of colonialism in the Caribbean through the book The Black Jacobins , they realized that compassion is what is missing from politics. Now, they are inspired to pursue a political science degree to ultimately have a political career guided by compassion.”

5. Finally, write an essay dedicated to constructing the image you devised in step 4. This can be achieved through a number of different structures! For example, Natalie could use an anecdote of a time when she spoke too soon and caused someone else pain, then could reflect on how she learned the lesson to take at least five seconds before responding and how that decision has affected her life. Jonathan could create an image of the future where they are enacting local policies based on compassion. It is important to keep in mind that you do not want to be repetitive, but you must stay on topic so that admissions officers do not get distracted and forget the image that you are attempting to convey.

As exemplified by the examples we provided, a good way to approach this prompt is to think of a quality, value, or personality trait of yours that is fundamental to who you are and appealing to admissions officers, then connect it to a specific activity, habit, pet peeve, anecdote, or another tangible example that you can use to ground your essay in reality. Use the tangible to describe the abstract, and convince admissions officers that you would be a valuable asset to their UC school!

Where to Get Your UC Essays Edited

With hundreds of thousands of applicants each year, many receiving top scores and grades, getting into top UC schools is no small feat. This is why excelling in the personal-insight questions is key to presenting yourself as a worthwhile candidate. Answering these prompts can be difficult, but ultimately very rewarding, and CollegeVine is committed to helping you along that journey. Check out these UC essay examples for more writing inspiration.

If you want to get your essays edited, we also have free peer essay review , where you can get feedback from another student. You can also improve your own writing skills by editing other students’ essays.

You can also receive expert essay review by advisors who have helped students get into their dream schools. You can book a review with an expert to receive notes on your topic, grammar, and essay structure to make your essay stand out to admissions officers. Haven’t started writing your essay yet? Advisors on CollegeVine also offer  expert college counseling packages . You can purchase a package to get one-on-one guidance on any aspect of the college application process, including brainstorming and writing essays.

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Essays That Worked

The essays are a place to show us who you are and who you’ll be in our community.

It’s a chance to add depth to something that is important to you and tell the admissions committee more about your background or goals. Below you’ll find selected examples of essays that “worked,” as nominated by our admissions committee. In each of these essays, students were able to share stories from their everyday lives to reveal something about their character, values, and life that aligned with the culture and values at Hopkins.

Read essays that worked from Transfer applicants .

Hear from the class of 2027.

These selections represent just a few examples of essays we found impressive and helpful during the past admissions cycle. We hope these essays inspire you as you prepare to compose your own personal statements. The most important thing to remember is to be original as you share your own story, thoughts, and ideas with us.

Ordering the Disorderly

Ellie’s essay skillfully uses the topic of entropy as an extended metaphor. Through it, we see reflections about who they are and who they aspire to be.

Pack Light, But Be Prepared

In Pablo’s essay, the act of packing for a pilgrimage becomes a metaphor for the way humans accumulate experiences in their life’s journey and what we can learn from them. As we join Pablo through the diverse phases of their life, we gain insights into their character and values.

Tikkun Olam

Julieta illustrates how the concept of Tikkun Olam, “a desire to help repair the world,” has shaped their passions and drives them to pursue experiences at Hopkins.

Kashvi’s essay encapsulates a heartfelt journey of self-discovery and the invaluable teachings of Rock, their 10-year-old dog. Through the lens of their companionship, Kashvi walked us through valuable lessons on responsibility, friendship, patience, and unconditional love.

Classical Reflections in Herstory

Maddie’s essay details their intellectual journey using their love of Greek classics. They incorporate details that reveal the roots of their academic interests: storytelling, literary devices, and translation. As their essay progresses, so do Maddie’s intellectual curiosities.

My Spotify Playlist

Alyssa’s essay reflects on special memories through the creative lens of Spotify playlists. They use three examples to highlight their experiences with their tennis team, finding a virtual community during the pandemic, and co-founding a nonprofit to help younger students learn about STEM.

More essays that worked

We share essays from previously admitted students—along with feedback from our admissions committee—so you can understand what made them effective and how to start crafting your own.

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Get Accepted: What Is A Good GPA For Getting Into College?

Updated: Nov 9, 2023, 1:10pm

The higher your high school grade point average (GPA) is, the easier it will be to gain admission to the college of your choice. That’s a simple fact. However, the college admissions process is more nuanced than that. Standardized test scores, extracurricular activities, personal essays, letters of recommendation, and the rigor and variety of your high school classes all play a role in whether you will be admitted. But as more colleges and universities go test-optional , your GPA remains one of the most important factors in the admission process.

Read on to learn more about the role GPA plays in the college admissions process and then contact your admission counselor for more assistance.

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What Are the GPA Requirements for College?

Each college sets its own requirements and expectations for GPA. ACT® reports that the average high school GPA has risen from 3.22 in 2010 to 3.39 in 2021, demonstrating a trend of grade inflation. As a result, the value of a GPA is not as clear-cut as many students would like.

Most community colleges only require a high school diploma or GED® certificate for admission. If you want to attend a four-year school, however, having a GPA higher than 3.0 is ideal. Schools with more mid-level admissions selectivity may set minimum GPA requirements, usually asking for a minimum 3.0 GPA.

Surprisingly, highly selective Ivy League universities such as Harvard and Yale do not list minimum GPA requirements, but you usually need a 4.0 GPA or higher to get into one of these universities.

Wondering how you can do better than a 4.0 GPA? That’s where weighted GPAs come in. We’ll explore that more in the next section.

How Do Colleges Calculate High School GPA?

Calculating GPA can be both straightforward and complex. The traditional GPA is calculated on a four-point scale that converts grades such as A, B, C, D and F into scores of 4, 3, 2, 1 and 0, respectively, and divides the total score by the number of graded classes.

However, because classes like Advanced Placement® (AP) and honors courses are considered more academically rigorous, many high schools give extra weight to those grades. Weighted GPA scales exceed a 4.0. If your high school weights AP class grades with an extra point, for example, a B in that class would be worth a 4.0 rather than a 3.0. An A would be worth a 5.0.

Colleges may require applicants to self-report their grades and provide transcripts. Even so, every college’s admission board will calculate each applicant’s GPA according to their own scale.

A holistic GPA includes grades from every high school course you took, but there are other ways to calculate your GPA. Some colleges may exclude your electives and look just at your grades earned in core courses such as English, math, science and social studies. Other colleges may look more intently at your math and science courses, especially if you’ve applied for an engineering program or another STEM major.

What Is a Good GPA To Get Into College?

A “good” GPA for college admission depends on which college you’re applying to. Like we discussed above, if you want to get into an Ivy League university, your GPA should probably have a minimum 4.0 GPA. But most schools are not that selective.

To see how your GPA stacks up against the competition, research admissions data for your prospective colleges. The College Board provides a college search tool that allows you to view typical GPA ranges for most admitted students at a given college. You’ll see what percentage of admitted students had a GPA of 3.75 and above, 3.50 to 3.74, 3.25 to 3.49 and so on.

Can You Get Into College With a Low GPA?

If you don’t feel particularly confident about your GPA, there are other ways to make your college application stand out. You can still get into college with a lower GPA, but you’ll have to give extra care to other parts of your application. Here’s what to do.

Aim for High Standardized Test Scores

Although many colleges and universities no longer require applicants to submit SAT® or ACT® scores , scores are still welcome, and high scores can give your application a boost.

Colleges see high SAT scores , for example, as an indication that a student can excel in college-level classes regardless of their high school grades. High scores on either the SAT or the ACT can sway a college admissions board to look more favorably upon a low GPA.

Write a Memorable College Essay

Crafting a college essay that stands out involves writing skills, creativity and vulnerability. In some ways, the essay may be the hardest part of the application process since it’s not based on quantitative numbers like your GPA or AP exam scores.

The essay gives you a chance to show colleges who you are in your own words. And if your GPA misses the mark because you faced personal challenges that prevented you from doing well in your high school classes, the essay gives you a chance to explain your circumstances.

For students from traditionally underrepresented backgrounds, the essay has taken on even greater weight after the U.S. Supreme Court banned the use of race-based affirmative action in the college application process. The college essay is your chance to discuss how personal identity markers such as race might have contributed to your academic journey.

Commit to Your Extracurriculars

As numbers-driven as the college admissions landscape can be, admissions boards still want to know about each applicant’s passions. When students invest their time and energy in extracurricular activities , they showcase their interests outside of class.

Whether they partake in the Spanish Honor Society or the lacrosse team, students can use extracurriculars to showcase their strengths. By committing to a club or sport for several years, and by taking on leadership roles, students demonstrate their potential to become reliable leaders in and beyond college.

Apply to Less Competitive Colleges

Given that there are nearly 4,000 colleges and universities in the United States, as reported by the National Center for Education Statistics , you have plenty of schools to choose from. Be realistic about your chances of admission to your schools of choice based on your GPA and overall high school performance. Make sure to apply to at least a couple of schools that you’re confident will admit you.

Prestigious public universities and student-focused liberal arts colleges are increasingly seen as desirable options for incoming college students who want a solid education without constantly worrying about maintaining a perfect GPA.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) About College GPA Requirements

What gpa do you need to get into college.

Though some individual colleges set minimum GPA requirements, there is no overall minimum GPA for college. Even if you have a lower GPA, you can gain admission to a good college.

Can a 2.5 GPA get you into college?

Yes, if you apply to a less selective college or a college with open admissions. Most community colleges, for example, require just a high school diploma or a GED certificate for admission. Many public and private universities set more relaxed admissions policies as well.

What GPA do most colleges require?

A general rule of thumb is that a 2.0 GPA, or a “C” average, is required for admission to most colleges and universities. This minimum GPA can also be a requirement for financial aid, scholarships and graduation. Keep in mind that different colleges set different minimum GPA policies, and many colleges do not require any particular minimum GPA.

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Anyone else kinda fed up with the whole "good essays and writing gets you in" stuff

IDK after getting through the process and getting rejections/acceptances/etc. it all just kinda feels like BS, especially with the essays.

Like I tried so hard on my essays for places that "really value" essays and I get rejected, then I submit some shitty supplements that I scrapped together 1 hour before the deadline and get into those schools?

The entire idea also just seems stupid af. Like we all know how admissions works, so why tf would an essay actually make a difference unless it's some sort of monumental life story/insane upbringing story.

Also, I've literally never seen a single normal person get into schools "just because of an essay" yet a lot of optimistic people on this sub and around college admissions, in general, seem to keep propagating the idea that your essay can like make or break your app (obviously in extreme cases it can, I suppose), but at the same time at least for me there appears to be almost an inverse correlation.

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Top 70 No Essay Scholarships in June 2024

Will Geiger is the co-founder of Scholarships360 and has a decade of experience in college admissions and financial aid. He is a former Senior Assistant Director of Admissions at Kenyon College where he personally reviewed 10,000 admissions applications and essays. Will also managed the Kenyon College merit scholarship program and served on the financial aid appeals committee. He has also worked as an Associate Director of College Counseling at a high school in New Haven, Connecticut. Will earned his master’s in education from the University of Pennsylvania and received his undergraduate degree in history from Wake Forest University.

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One of the biggest misconceptions about scholarships is that they all require an essay. This is not true. In fact, there are many great scholarships that don’t require an essay at all. These no essay scholarships can range from quick scholarships that you can apply to in a few minutes to other scholarships that are focused on students with a specific talent.

Some no essay scholarships focus on art or other creative achievements. Still other no essay scholarships focus on students with a talent in more specific areas, such as filmmaking, physics achievement, or even duck tape prom creations! Whether you are a prospective high school, college, or graduate student, there are sure to be some “no essay” scholarships that are right up your alley!

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The Scholarships360 Research Team reviews all scholarships individually and strives to exclude any scholarship where any of the below applies:

• The scholarship requires a fee to apply
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• The scholarship seems primarily used for lead generation** or idea harvesting purposes***
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If you believe a scholarship has been published in error, please reach out to [email protected] and we’ll take a look!

* There are certain exceptions to this, for example if the sponsoring organization is a major corporation or nonprofit with its own scholarship application system. ** Lead generation scholarships will require students to sign up for an app or website and require minimal (if any) application requirements. ***Idea harvesting scholarships will require students to submit blog posts or other materials that companies may use for marketing purposes.

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Top 5 no essay scholarships

Our editors hand-picked the following 10 no essay scholarships with an eye for large awards, prestigious organizations, and scholarships that are open to a wide variety of students. Apply with confidence to the following no essay scholarships:

• Coca Cola Scholarship – $20,000 scholarship for college-bound high school seniors
• Dell Scholars Program  – For Pell Grant-eligible high school seniors who participated in a college readiness program. Worth $20,000 with 500 scholarships awarded every year. Recipients also receive a free laptop, textbooks, and more
• Taco Bell Live Mas Scholarship  – Video scholarship for students between 16 and 26 with a passion for the field they are pursuing. Worth up to $25,000
• Burger King Scholars – Scholarship for high school seniors worth up to $50,000
• Doodle for Google Scholarship – Scholarship for K-12 students who submit a Doodle to be featured on Google’s homepage. Worth up to $55,000

Tips for students applying to no essay scholarships

Look for competitions rather than randomized drawings.

No essay scholarships are alluring because they do away with the pressure that comes with writing an essay for your application. Between your other academic responsibilities, extracurriculars, and other commitments, these essays can present a big roadblock for applicants.

However, you should bear in mind that you are not the only student with this idea. Many applicants are attracted to opportunities that are easy to apply to, and since many no essay scholarships are essentially scholarship sweepstakes, that means you have a very low chance of actually winning.

This is not to say that you should not apply to these opportunities, but that you should seek out scholarship opportunities that assess some materials submitted by applicants. Whether this is a video submission, a portfolio, or a photograph you took, it can help your chances greatly.

Be wary of scholarship scams

No essay scholarships are very popular with students because they typically don’t take much time to apply to. Unfortunately, this makes them all the more popular with scammers. 

Before applying to any scholarship, and especially no essay scholarships, ensure that you are not giving away any personal information that could be used to steal your identity. Additionally, you should never pay a fee to enter a scholarship competition. For more information on how to avoid scholarship scams, check out our article on how to spot them .

If at first you don’t succeed…

Many no essay scholarships, especially the random drawings, select a winner each month and then reopen. To maximize your chances of winning, make sure to check back each month to throw your hat back in the ring.

Check out similar scholarship categories

If you are looking to apply for scholarships without putting too much time into essays, check out our lists of video scholarships and easy scholarships . While some of these may include short essays, they are generally much less of a commitment than typical scholarship applications.

Don’t over-rely on no essay scholarships

No essay scholarships can be a great no-effort way of applying for educational funding, but make sure that your overall scholarship strategy makes use of all potential funding sources. Make sure especially to seek out local scholarships through community organizations and your high school counselor.

Don’t forget financial aid

If you have demonstrable financial need, there is one source of free funds for your higher education that is even easier to get than no essay scholarships. This is federal financial aid, including the Pell Grant . Make sure to fill out the FAFSA on-time and send your results to your school in order to gain eligibility for federal, state, and institutional financial aid.

Apply to affordable schools

In addition to scholarships, it’s a good idea to ensure that you apply to some colleges that are known for offering an affordable education to their students. In-state public schools offer steep tuition discounts to their students, and tuition reciprocity agreements extend these benefits to some neighboring states as well. We also have a list of the best schools in the country for affordability . These schools are known for charging low tuition, offering generous financial aid, and offering a good value to their students.

Frequently asked questions about no essay scholarships

Are “no essay” scholarships legit, how can i increase my chances of winning a no essay scholarship.

• For scholarships with a creative or artistic element, make sure that you put all of your effort into your project! Remember, your application will be completely assessed on your creative project as there is no essay required.
• For scholarships that have minimal requirements, you should apply to them as often as possible to increase your odds. However, these types of scholarships should not be the only part of your application strategy.

Who can apply for no essay scholarships?

What qualifies as a no essay scholarship, are there gpa requirements for no essay scholarships.

Also see: How to write a scholarship resume

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Sat / act prep online guides and tips, 11 places to find great college essay examples.

College Essays

 Sure, you might know the theory behind what a college essay is supposed to sound and look like . But just like reading a description of the Golden Gate Bridge pales in comparison to seeing it in person, there’s no replacement for seeing actual college essays written by students just like you. Well, almost like you – they’ve since gotten into college.

But where do you find good sources for reading sample college essays? How can you make sure that these resources will actually strengthen and improve your writing? And what is the best way to use the college essay examples that you do find? In this article, I’ll go over the best books and websites for finding essays, I’ll point out a few to avoid, and I’ll explain how to make the most out of other people’s essays while avoiding common pitfalls.

Why Look At College Essay Examples?

There are some very good reasons for wanting to check out how other people have handled the college admissions essay.

First, because you'll be able to get a better sense of what colleges are looking for, you will necessarily broaden your own topic brainstorming past your first, easiest, and most c lichéd i deas . It's one thing to hear that a completely mundane topic is way better than one focusing on your greatest sports moment. But once you see other students writing about a family meal, or an obsession with a particular board game, or a love of cultivating cacti, you'll be convinced to find your essay in the small moments of your life.

Second, you'll see how your life and writing compares to that of your peers . The great diversity of voices, topics, tones, points of view will show you just how many things you could possibly write about, and how to keep the essay connected to your personality and your voice.

Finally, if you really do have a good story to tell about something that gets written about a lot, like divorce, pet death, a community service trip, or winning the big game, you can get ideas for how to approach a potentially lackluster essay topic in a novel and striking way .

What Makes A Good Sample College Essay Resource?

First, the basics. A source is only as good as its content, so make sure you're reading  college essays that worked, from people who actually got into the schools they applied to . Also, it's best to focus on new essays (not older than 10-15 years), so you are reading what has worked in the most recent past, rather than seeing outdated ideas and historical perspectives.

Next, what you really want is diversity in voice and perspective . Make sure the essays featured come from many different kinds of students: either from applicants to both top and lower-tier schools; or from students with different ethnic, economic, and racial backgrounds; or from writers using both formal and more experimental essay techniques.

Finally, the best sources of admission essays will feature explanatory material . This will give each essay some kind of context: commentary on what makes the essay good, explanations of the drafting process, or, at least, biographical information about students. Without commentary or context, it’s hard to know what you’re supposed to learn from the essays you read.

Where to Find Great College Essay Examples

Here are my recommendations for excellent resources, as well as some warnings about resources that I think you should avoid. 

College Essays Collected in Books

I've taken a look at many of the books that collect college essays, so here are my recommendations. I've divided them into three categories:

• Excellent  – meaning  having really diverse essays or very helpful commentary on each essay, or both
• Worthwhile  – meaning either a helpful collection of essays without a lot of context or commentary, or some great advice but a narrow selection of essays geared toward one particular type of school
• Don't Bother   – not useful either as a source of college essays or as a source of essay-writing advice and explanations

Also, please note that although I’ve listed the Amazon prices for all the books, you should definitely check your school and public library for copies before buying them. And even if your library doesn't have a copy, ask them to request one either from another library in the same system or even from the Library of Congress through interlibrary loan .

Excellent Books

Heavenly Essays: 50 Narrative College Application Essays That Worked

Written by Janine W. Robinson, who blogs about college essays at EssayHell , this book features great sample essays. But it's Robinson's precise and clear explanations of how to use a narrative style in your essay to tell a story about your life that make the book really outstanding. Through long and detailed commentary on each essay, Robinson shows why narrative is exactly the kind of structure that works best for personal essays. You can check out sample sections from the book on her blog. The book retails for $10 new on Amazon.

On Writing the College Application Essay, 25th Anniversary Edition: The Key to Acceptance at the College of Your Choice

Harry Bauld used to be an admissions officer at Brown, so he certainly knows what he is talking about when he writes about  how and why to avoid clichés and explains how to find and keep your specific voice . Bauld demonstrates his points with sample essays, showing how they go from first to final draft. The book is easy to read, uses humor to make points, and his advice will carry over into your college writing as well. It is $12.50 new on Amazon, but there are much cheaper used copies available there as well.

The Berkeley Book of College Essays: Personal Statements for California Universities and Other Select Schools

This compilation features college admissions essays written by seniors from Berkeley High School (which is not affiliated with UC Berkeley). Because the city of Berkeley is economically, racially, and ethnically very diverse, these essays are about many different interests, perspectives, and experiences, and are written in many different styles and tones . Although there is no commentary for the essays, this collection is a great way to get a sense of the broad array of essay possibilities.

Also, because many of the students from Berkeley High apply to UC schools, this collection separates out UC application essay packages. (If you are interested in UC, also check out our own guide to writing excellent UC essays !) This book is currently $15 on Amazon. 

50 Successful Harvard Application Essays: What Worked for Them Can Help You Get into the College of Your Choice

Edited by the staff of the Harvard Crimson, this is a great collection of essays from a not particularly diverse group of students. It is very useful to see how the very top students approach the college essay, as long as their best effort neither intimidates nor stymies you. The contextual material is excellent, with helpful explanations of what makes each essay work well. This book retails for $12 new on Amazon, with much cheaper used copies also available.

Worthwhile Books

College Essays That Made a Difference, 6th Edition

This Princeton Review guide is mostly distinguished by its introductory material, which has detailed interviews with many different colleges at many different tiers about what role essays play in college applications, what kind of mistakes are okay, and what to write and not to write about. The sample essays themselves come without commentary, but each features a very short bio of the student, including test scores, GPA, a list of colleges where the person applied, and a list of colleges where the person got in. Right now, it's $11.50 new on Amazon, but there are cheaper used copies as well.

50 Successful Ivy League Application Essays

This collection of of college essays that worked, edited by Gen and Kelly Tanabe, has somewhat spare, but insightful, commentary explaining what each essay does well and what it could have done better . It also includes an interview with an admissions officer explaining how essays are used in admissions decisions and some comments from students about the writing process. The link above is to a downloadable PDF file.

50 Successful Stanford Application Essays: Get into Stanford and Other Top Colleges  

If you like the Tanabes' approach (they are the authors of the previous book), then you will find this one useful as well. The narrow diversity of essay content and the style of commentary (thoughtful, but not particularly detailed or expansive) is very similar. It's priced at $13.25 new on Amazon with some used options as well.

Fiske Real College Essays That Work  

The "Fiske" of the title is Edward Fiske, who used to be the Education editor of the NY Times, and who therefore has some experience with what colleges want from their applicants. The book itself features an introduction with some helpful essay-writing tips, a diverse selection of essays built around narrative, but unfortunately has very little commentary to go with each essay . It retails for $12.50 new on Amazon, with cheaper used options available.

2015 Elite College Application Essays

Although there's almost no commentary or discussion of what makes these essays work, this book is a reasonably good collection of essays from students who are now enrolled at Ivy and other top-tier schools. What's particularly appealing about this college essay compilation is how very new these essays are: all are from students who became freshmen in 2015 . The book is $14 new on Amazon.

Don't Bother

100 Successful College Application Essays

I'd recommend not spending your time on any of the editions of this collection. The essays are decades old in some cases, the topics are clichéd and boring, and there is little to no commentary to make any of them useful. 

College Essays Published Online

I'll split my recommendations here into "worthwhile" and "don't bother" categories. There aren't any truly great collections of sample college essays online.

Individual College Websites . There are many essays published online by the various colleges where these students now go. This means these essays are guaranteed to be real, authentic, and to have worked on someone's application . Some of the essays even come with brief commentary by admissions officers about what makes them great. (The link will take you to our list of over 130 essays from more than 15 different colleges.)

Teen Ink Magazine . Teen Ink publishes all sorts of writing by teens, including college admission essays, which are split off into their own section on the site. The essays necessary feature a wide range of experiences and perspectives, so this is a great place to get a broad sense of what other students are writing about. The essays don't have any context except comment sections that run the gamut from generic “this is good” comments to some insight. Readers also get a chance to vote on which essays are featured as #1, #2, etc., which may be misleading because readers of Teen Ink aren't admissions officers.

Don't Bother 

Watch out for paid websites like AdmitSee, CollegeMapper, and Acceptional, which claim to give you access to college essays for a monthly or fixed fee. Because of the paywall, there's no way to verify the quality of the essays these sites have. Also, there are enough books that you could borrow from your library that you don’t need to pay monthly fees to these places. Finally, I would particularly stay away from AdmidSee, which uses Amazon reviews for other essay resources as a marketing platform.

The Best Ways To Use College Admission Essay Samples

So now that you've rounded up a bunch of sample college essays, what should you do with them? Here are some tips for your next steps.

When Should You Read Essay Examples?

I'd advise waiting until after you've done some brainstorming of your own before you start immersing yourself in other people's work and ideas. (If you're not sure how to brainstorm, check out our guide to coming up with great college essay topics .)

This way, you can use other people’s essays to think about different possibilities for writing about your own topic. For example, looking at how other people tackled their life experience can show you:

• how to focus on a different detail in your own story
• how to change the insight you want to draw from your story
• how to think about different ways to start and end your narrative

What Can Good College Essays Teach You?

There are both broad and specific learning opportunities to be found in reading other people's work.

Broadly speaking, seeing how other people are approaching the problem of writing a college essay can jog your own creative process. Likewise, reading a diversity of thoughts and voices will show you that even the most normal and boring seeming experiences be made into riveting essays.

More specifically, if you find essays from applicants to your target school, you can get some sense of the level of sophistication they expect to see from your writing. 

Finally, good context and commentary on the essays can show you how they are put together and what makes them work. You can then put this advice to use when rewriting your essay later.

Pitfalls To Avoid

Of course, being surrounded by other people's work, especially when some of that work is much better than what you think you can manage, has its share of temptations. So what do you need to guard against when looking at sample essays?

Plagiarism. This one is basic and obvious. Do not copy these sample essays! Admissions officers have seen them all, read them all, memorized them all – you will not get away with it.

Copying and mimicry. Think of this as a softer kind of plagiarism. Even if you really like someone else’s style, don’t borrow it. Even if someone’s life sounds more exciting than yours, don’t steal a piece of it for your own essay. Why? Because if you don’t sound like yourself, it will be visible to an experienced reader (and guess what, admissions officers are very experienced readers). Also, if you’re writing about experiences that aren't yours, your unfamiliarity will show through the lack of believable details.

Resources for Essay Writing Advice

In researching this article, I came across books and websites that don't necessarily feature a lot of sample essays, but that give really excellent advice on writing your own college essay. I strongly recommend you spend some time checking them out.

Essay Hell blog . This great resource is written by Janine Anderson Robinson, an English teacher and a journalist, whose book Heavenly Essays I recommended above. The blog posts feature lots and lots of well-explained, detailed, easy to understand advice about how to write your essay, and are broken down into easy to understand, bite-sized nuggets of usefulness.

Slate 's Getting In podcast . The entire series is an interesting look at the college application process, with useful tips and explanations about all aspects what seniors are going through. Check out Episode 2: The Essay , in which a student gets feedback in real time on their essay from a former Princeton director of admissions and a panel of experts talk about essay dos and don’ts. The episode is 26 minutes long.

The College Essay Trap: Rescue Your College Application Essay From the "Maybe" Pile

This is incredibly concise and excellent explanation of what not to do and what to avoid when writing your personal statement. It's short, sweet, to the point, and is praised to the skies by legendary Princeton admissions dean Fred Hargadon. Currently $12 new on Amazon.

The Bottom Line

• Look at college essay examples to broaden your own topic brainstorming and get ideas for fixing lackluster topics.
• Look for resources with diverse and recent essays, from many different kinds of students and with explanatory material that explains what makes each essay good.
• Look at essay samples after you’ve generated some of your own ideas to think about different possibilities for writing about your own topic.
• Seeing how other people are approaching the problem of writing a college essay can jog your creative process.
• Avoid both actual plagiarism and “borrowing”: don’t use someone else’s style, voice, or life experiences as your own.

What’s Next?

If you’re starting to work on college essays, check out our article laying out every single kind of essay prompt out there and a step by step guide to writing a great college essay .

Are you working on the Common App essay? Read our breakdown of the Common App prompts and our guide to picking the best prompt for you.

Or maybe you're interested in the University of California? Check out our complete guide to the UC personal statements .

Working on other pieces of your college applications? We’ve got guides to choosing the right college for you ,  writing about extracurriculars , and requesting teacher recommendations .

Thinking about taking the SAT one last time, or prepping for your first run at it? Read our ultimate guide to studying for the SAT and make sure you're as prepared as possible.

These recommendations are based solely on our knowledge and experience. If you purchase an item through one of our links, PrepScholar may receive a commission.

Anna scored in the 99th percentile on her SATs in high school, and went on to major in English at Princeton and to get her doctorate in English Literature at Columbia. She is passionate about improving student access to higher education.

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EssayPro has been providing top-quality essay writing services for over a decade. This means managing our customers’ assignments and helping them reduce their workloads. So, why do clients keep choosing our services?

We carefully handpick all our paper writers to ensure that each of them demonstrates the highest level of professionalism, expertise, and dedication. This approach allows us to deliver authentic and highly original papers for everyone who turns to us with a "write my essays" request.

Our experienced essay help team specializes in crafting a variety of paper types at varying levels of complexity. From a simple one-page essay to a thorough and complex dissertation - EssayPro has you covered.

Thanks to our vast experience, we create papers tailored to every customer’s unique needs. And we’re ready to handle any learning challenges you are facing. When you turn to us for help, you will receive the best quality of service within your specified timeframe!

How can hiring an expert essay writer help me?

You're probably contending with a number of different challenges, such as combining studies with sports and other extracurriculars. On top of that, maybe you have a side hustle or even a full-time job to cover your expenses. So, if your life is intense and fast-paced, having a trusted assistant by your side can't hurt. And that’s why EssayPro is here!

By hiring professional essay writers, you're allowing us to take some of the load off your shoulders. When you are busy with a job, sports, family commitments, or anything else, all it takes is to say, “please write my essays for me,” and we will help you get your papers done right and without hassle.

We offer different services and features to ensure your "write my paper" request is completed exactly how you need. Whether you need an essay or any other paper - we’ll take up the challenge. When your papers are due in a week or in just 3 hours - we’ll deliver them on time, or you will receive a refund in accordance with our Refund Policy. And, if you have other things to do or simply want to rest from your struggles - try our essay writer help to regain control of your life!

The fastest way to "write my essay for me"

Our paper writing service team knows that a learner’s life often involves juggling lots of responsibilities and pursuing several important goals at once. But what if you’re constantly drained? You might feel overwhelmed trying to manage your workload, even though you're doing your best.

We’ve been there - it’s not your fault. The thing is, there almost always isn't enough time to handle all your assignments properly. This can put a lot of pressure on you, causing you to be too hard on yourself just to tick all the boxes on your list. Pushing yourself to achieve unrealistic goals makes matters worse, introducing the likelihood of burnout and even depression.

Our "write my paper for me" service was created to help you avoid this. With our essay writing help, every learner can delegate their tasks to professionals who will complete them right on time while following the requirements you provided. Starting from just $11 per page, we give you an opportunity to save your energy for things that matter. And that’s not all!

We realize that you can be in a tight spot when there is no time to complete a paper due in just a few days. The good news is that you can hire an essay writer to deal with this challenge for you. Even if you’re in a rush, we can deliver your paper ASAP without compromising on quality!

Say “write my paper” and get help from top-rated writers

Whether you have a last-minute essay or some extensive research work that you are dealing with, you shouldn’t worry about it when there’s EssayPro by your side. Our essay writing service is always here to give you a helping hand, with top-level professionalism guaranteed.

Our service collaborates with the best paper writers. Our experts hold Bachelor’s, Master’s, and even Ph.D. degrees, and each of them has vast experience crafting papers in their respective fields.

Before we let a new partner work on your "write essay for me" orders, we put them through several rounds of verification and tests to ensure their qualifications are high enough to deliver results at an academic standard. And we require them to study and follow our thorough quality control procedures for the best results.

What else allows us to reach almost 100% satisfaction? Apart from selecting the best authors, we also work with seasoned managers who will supervise their work. We believe that effective supervision is the key to ensuring consistently high quality for every paper we deliver. So, when you pay for essay with us, you always have a quality guarantee.

To reap these benefits, just start an order with our service and pick your perfect expert. Our service operates 24/7, so you can reach us whenever you need.

Once your order is placed and assigned to an expert, they will complete it per your instructions. Our experienced authors will tailor every paper to your unique requirements. And, once the order is ready, you can always download and check it before releasing payment.

Lastly, we give every client 14 or 30 days after an order's completion to request amendments for free.

All these factors make us one of the best writing service providers for you. So, don’t waste any time and get your professional assistance now!

A professional paper writing service you can afford

Whether requesting an essay, or any other type of assistance, with EssayPro, you can afford it! When you place your "write my essay online" order with us, you get:

• User-friendly interface and seamless ordering process
• The best paper writers for hire
• Professional assistance with a variety of paper types
• Customer-centered approach
• Round-the-clock support
• On-time delivery
• Amendments until you consider your paper flawless
• And we make all of it affordable for every learner!

The price for our "write paper for me" services starts from as low as $11 per page. What’s more, we always provide generous discounts while putting those precious hours back into your life. For instance, the further your completion date - the lower the price.

Also, the more pages you order, the more cost-effective our service is.

EssayPro is the perfect balance of accessibility and professionalism. With us, everyone can afford to hire an expert essay writer. It's an investment in the future that results in better performance with less stress. So, don’t miss this chance!

Pick the paper writer you like most

At our essay writing help service, you will find a large pool of qualified essay writers ready to lend you a helping hand. What’s more, when you pay for essays with us, you have the opportunity to select the author that best suits your needs.

Choosing your perfect expert is simple. You can browse specialists by their field of expertise and experience. You will also be able to see their bios, rate of success, customer reviews, and overall ratings, so it’ll be much easier to make the right choice. In addition, you’ll be able to chat with professionals bidding on your order. This way, you can find out even more information about the person who’ll work on your paper.

Need extra help? Don’t worry! Our friendly support team is there for you 24/7. Just drop them a line saying, “I want to pay someone to write my paper,” and they will tell you how to order and pick the most suitable author.

Exceptional "write my essay" experience

We want every customer to have the best experience when they hire an online paper writer. Our paper writing service team does everything possible to deliver a positive client experience. To make good on this commitment, we made our service's interface extremely user-friendly. It is easy to navigate and intuitive, so even new customers can quickly place their "do my essay" orders in minutes.

Apart from this, our support team operates 24/7. This allows customers to ask their questions, receive prompt assistance, and place their “write a paper for me” orders at any time.

We provide high-quality guarantees, collaborate with the best authors, and offer a wide range of other benefits. So, if you are looking to pay someone to write your essay, there is no better place than EssayPro!

What if I’m not satisfied with my "write my essay for me" order?

Although dissatisfaction is rare with our professional essay writers, as we always strive to follow all your instuctions, there may be additional adjustments that you want to make in your paper. And that’s okay!

Sometimes, especially when your "write my paper" order is complex and comes with a broad set of requirements, you may have the need for extra edits. Our team is always open to this. After your order's delivery, you can request unlimited amendments free of charge. So, if it turns out that the final draft of your paper doesn’t align with your initial instructions, don’t hesitate to ask for corrections.

To request edits, you only need to contact the author who completed your paper and explain your concerns. Then, along with our expert QA team, the author will make all the necessary edits to ensure everything meets your requirements from our essay writing service online.

If it turns out that you are completely dissatisfied with the work, which is rare, refunds are possible according to our Refund Policy. If you pay for an essay and are not happy with its quality, you can request a refund within 14 or 30 days upon the completion of your order, depending on your order type.

Do my essay perfectly!

Ready to get top-quality "write a paper for me" assistance? With EssayPro, you are in good hands! All you need to do is say, “please, write my paper for me,” and we will do everything possible to support you!

To ensure that learners can delegate any type of assignment to us, we partner with qualified paper writers with experience in different fields of study. We can easily handle any order regarding business, literature, chemistry, marketing, etc.

Choosing your ideal essay writer online is also easy. We keep our experts’ profiles and ratings publicly visible. So, it never takes too long to find the right professional for your order.

Regardless of the type of help you need and the author you select, with our essay service, you can always expect the best results. All our experts are native English speakers and each of them is capable of:

• Performing in-depth research and finding credible sources
• Completing even the most complex assignments on time
• Meeting the client halfway
• Keeping customer requirements and comments in mind
• Coping with any paper's topic within their area of proficiency

Get help from an online essay writer now

Want to request professional essay writer help and get it right this moment? We have you covered! Just reach out to us and say, “write my paper,” and we will do it for you, regardless of whether it’s due in a week or a day.

Here is how you can make the most of our essay writing service.

Create a personal account

To join EssayPro as a customer, simply provide us with your name and email address or phone number. Then, come up with a password for your account and verify your email.

Give us your requirements

When your personal account is ready, place your "do my essay" order right from the dashboard. It only takes a few moments to fill out the order form and tell us about your assignment.

Assign a suitable author

Check our database of professionals and choose one based on their field of expertise, rating, success rate, and customer feedback. Or just drop a line saying, “I want to pay someone to write my essay” to our customer support and let us find the right expert for you.

Communicate your last-minute requirements

Forgot to mention something important in your "write an essay for me" order? No problem! Use the direct chat feature to contact your author and pass on any last-minute requirements that you have for your paper. Our experts keep your comments in mind when working on your assignment.

Stay in touch

Keep in contact with your assigned expert at every stage of the order process. Use the direct chat feature to monitor your paper's progress, provide additional requirements, or ask any questions that pop up along the way.

Get your tailored paper

When your order is done, you will find a notification in your mailbox. You will be able to download the final draft and ensure that the author has followed all your instructions. If you are happy with the result, pay for your order. And if there is anything that needs to be fixed or changed, feel free to ask for amendments.

That’s how easily you can get help from us!

Get more done with an expert essay writer by your side

Are you completely overwhelmed with work? Struggling to handle daily work and other responsibilities? You've come to the right place as we're set up to alleviate your worries. Make a "write my paper" request and we will make hundreds of qualified and experienced writers available to you. Pick a writer, send them your requirements, and use the opportunity to catch up with your work or other duties, safe in the knowledge that you are getting a tailored paper before your due date.

When you leave us your "do my essay" request, you are assured of highly original work based on the requirements you provided to our essay writing service. We put all our papers through the most commonly used originality software. You can request this report upon order completion to confirm your work's authenticity.

The choice is simple. Get an expert to do your paper writing and give yourself room to breathe. Rest assured, your comfort and confidence in our services remain our top priority. So if you want to "pay someone to write my essay," you've come to the best place. The final result is tailored, highly original writing that is affordable and will help you save time and avoid headaches!

Essay writing service that keeps your data safe

Getting paper writing help is not a shameful practice, yet we understand the wishes of our customers to keep their personal information safe. That's why we only partner with world-renowned payment gateways, which implement the highest levels of encryption, ensuring that both your personal data and card information are in safe hands.

Say "help write my essay" knowing that you won't be exposed and that your data is protected using bank-level security standards. Hire essay writers and work with real pros. Gain access to a unique set of bonuses and enjoy more free time for what you love!