How to Write the Best College Application Essay - BigFuture


This college essay tip is by Mike McClenathan, founder of , which has a funny name but serious resources for helping high school students excel on the standardized tests.


In crafting your college application essays, remember that your words are a reflection of your world and your experiences. The goal is to give colleges a peek behind the curtain, revealing your story, aspirations, and character. Give them a glimpse of the person they’ll find beyond grades, clubs, and transcripts. For more insights, explore available to help you stay on top of your college applications and deadlines.

My parents would have much preferred that I write about sports or youth group, and I probably could have said something interesting about those, but I insisted on writing about a particular fish in the pet store I worked at—one that took much longer than the others to succumb when the whole tank system in the store became diseased. It was a macabre little composition, but it was about exactly what was on my mind at the time I was writing it. I think it gave whoever read it a pretty good view of my 17 year-old self. I'll never know if I got in because of that weird essay or in spite of it, but it remains a point of pride that I did it my way.

Crafting an Unforgettable College Essay - The Princeton Review

The most obvious things make great topics. What do I mean? Colleges want to learn about who you are, what you value and how you will contribute to their community. I had two students write about their vehicles—one wrote about the experience of purchasing their used truck and one wrote about how her car is an extension of who she is. We learned about their responsibility, creative thinking, teamwork and resilience in a fun and entertaining way.

Our partners at Collegewise are experts in guiding students and their families through the college application process. With their “Step-By-Step Guide to Writing the Best College Essays” resource, you can take your application essays to the next level and stand out to admission officers.

This college essay tip is by Myles Hunter, CEO of , an online education platform that provides on-demand tutoring and online courses for thousands of students.

I really enjoy reading and writing (and even editing) essays, so for this post I thought I’d give you all some essay writing tips. I was initially planning to specifically focus on college application essays, but since it’s the end of the school year and many of you are probably working on final essays for some of your classes, I thought I’d broaden my advice a little bit. Hopefully you’ll find each of these tips helpful, whether you’re working on an essay for an English class or for a college application!


How to write a perfect college essay - Quora

This college essay tip is by Dr. Rebecca Joseph, professor at California State University and founder of , develops tools for making the college essay process faster and easier.

My Secret Tip for Writing an Unforgettable College Essay

Whether you're just starting to explore colleges or have already started crafting your application materials, this eBook is designed to help you navigate every step of the college application process.

College Application Essay Tips - ACT

​Another suggestion is to upload your essay prompt to an AI platform, like Bard or ChatGPT. You can request feedback on certain areas, ask for suggestions, or even have it provide grammatical touch-ups. Be sure to write your essay first before using AI services; don't use these services to craft your essay from scratch. College admissions officials are very savvy to plagiarism, AI, and non-original writing.

My Very Unofficial Tips on Writing Your College Essay | Harvard

"Don't bury the lede!" The first few sentences must capture the reader's attention, provide a gist of the story, and give a sense of where the essay is heading. Think about any article you've read—how do you decide to read it? You read the first few sentences and then decide. The same goes for college essays. A strong lede (journalist parlance for "lead") will place your reader in the "accept" mindset from the beginning of the essay. A weak lede will have your reader thinking "reject"—a mindset from which it's nearly impossible to recover.

Essay Writing Tips - UChicago College Admissions

Put a little pizazz in your essays by using different fonts, adding color, including foreign characters or by embedding media—links, pictures or illustrations. And how does this happen? Look for opportunities to upload essays onto applications as PDFs. It’s not always possible, but when it is, you will not only have complete control over the ‘look’ of your essay but you will also potentially enrich the content of your work.

How to Write a College Essay - MEFA

Giving admissions officers a window into difficult experiences can present your story in your college application, but there are other topics that can also make for a strong essay (e.g. a favorite book, a community service project). Whichever angle you select to tell your story, highlight the most important things that have shaped and continue to shape your identity.