{"id":758,"date":"2024-06-28T14:44:40","date_gmt":"2024-06-28T19:44:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/myredkite.com\/blog\/?p=758"},"modified":"2025-08-11T11:40:42","modified_gmt":"2025-08-11T16:40:42","slug":"10-tips-for-writing-your-college-essay","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/myredkite.com\/blog\/10-tips-for-writing-your-college-essay\/","title":{"rendered":"10 Tips for Writing Your College Essay"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Jane Cooper<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n

Welcome back! This is a continuation of my Essay Analysis blog series.<\/strong> Last time around, we took an in-depth look at my personal college essay. I highlighted the strategies I used, why they worked, and how they could\u2019ve been stronger. My essay won me a cumulative $406,000 in scholarships<\/strong> (?).<\/p>\n

I wanted to put together a list of highlights<\/strong> from that analysis in order to form a general article of things to keep in mind while writing your own personal college essay. This is part one of two, <\/strong>so there\u2019s more tips to come!<\/p>\n

And I know that your brain is bursting from information overload<\/strong> at this point – there\u2019s so<\/em> many stressful variables to encounter while applying to college. For this reason, I chose to break up this article with cute photos of my cat. Her government name is Mrs. Kisses, but you can address her as Her Majesty The Queen Sovereign.<\/p>\n

Let\u2019s hit the highlights!<\/p>\n

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1. You are selling the idea of yourself.<\/h4>\n

This is the number one thing to keep in mind. Everybody\u2019s a marketing major in their college essay, but the good news is that you\u2019ve got the easiest thing in the world to sell: you!<\/p>\n

And of course, we\u2019ve all seen those scammy ads where somebody\u2019s trying to convince you that you can get paid to play mobile games. So when you\u2019re selling yourself, you don\u2019t want to come off as dishonest or otherwise shady. That\u2019s why the other nonnegotiable strategy for your essay is:<\/p>\n

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2. Tell the truth.<\/h4>\n

Mom Jane is stepping in for a sec to tell you this: if you go through life honestly, you\u2019ll have nothing to reproach yourself about, even if the worst comes to pass.<\/strong><\/p>\n

For example, when it comes to your college essay, you might feel the urge to stretch the truth <\/span>and say that you\u2019ve got more experience than you actually have. Because when you\u2019re the product that you\u2019re trying to sell, you\u2019ll naturally want to gas yourself up.<\/p>\n

But you must remember that admissions staff sit at their desks and read hundreds<\/em> of college essays. They know that you\u2019re not superhuman, so if you pretend that\u2019s the case, they\u2019ll know you\u2019re being dishonest.<\/p>\n

Now, this is the key: you need to be honest, but don\u2019t overshare.<\/strong> We\u2019ll cover this a bit more in my \u201canti-pity-party\u201d bullet point (#13 in part 2), but if you waltz in like, \u201cI have no idea what I\u2019m doing, but I really want to join your college!\u201d\u2026 that\u2019s a strike against yourself (or an \u201cick\u201d).<\/p>\n

Because you do<\/em> know what you\u2019re doing, whether you believe that or not. You\u2019ve had 12 years of school to prepare yourself for college. Be confident, and be genuine!<\/strong><\/p>\n

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3. Talk to them like people.<\/h4>\n

I know you\u2019ve written a research essay where you feel like you\u2019re speaking to a robot. \u201cThe American Civil War took place in the 6th decade of the 19th century.\u201d (Yes, I had to Google that.)<\/p>\n

You\u2019re trying to meet word counts; you\u2019re bored to tears; you hate <\/em>writing essays. And I know this because even I<\/em> hate writing essays, even though I\u2019m an English Major who reads a book a week (and obviously writes blogs for a living). The difference is in the passion. <\/strong>I\u2019m passionate about your success, not the Civil War, so let me give you a surefire way into admission: write to a human, because you are.<\/strong><\/p>\n

There is a real person reading this college essay that you\u2019re writing. And they\u2019re not this scary decision-maker who holds your future in your hands, either, even though it feels that way! It\u2019s some caffeine-addicted employee who\u2019s looking at your essay in between twenty others, and you know what they\u2019ll appreciate? Your honesty and consideration.<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cPLEASE LET ME INTO YOUR PROGRAM BESTIE I\u2019M SO COOL AND I KNOW YOU\u2019RE SO SMART-\u201d let me stop you right there, because that\u2019s not what I meant. There\u2019s a way to be both professional and thoughtful.<\/strong> All the best bosses are like that: they know how to get stuff done, and they\u2019re also considerate of their employees.<\/p>\n

So when you\u2019re writing with the person in the admissions office in mind, you want to be that boss. You\u2019re respectful of your reader\u2019s time while also being firmly confident in yourself and your accomplishments. \u201cThis is a good product, and you want this product at your school.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n

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4. Hook ’em like a fish.<\/h4>\n

That all being said, it\u2019s time to capture the admission office\u2019s attention. And you can\u2019t do that with the ole \u201cWhen I was in first grade, I decided to become a doctor.\u201d Be bold! Slap them in the face! (Metaphorically, of course\u2026) Take the best line in your essay, and stick it right at the top.<\/strong><\/p>\n

And because this is a personal essay, I can\u2019t give you an exact formula for a compelling opening, because that\u2019ll be specific to you. Your hook sets up the rest of your essay, so it has to be relevant and encompassing. By that, I mean that you can\u2019t just say: \u201cI murdered three people. Just kidding! Here are five reasons why I want to study birds in college.\u201d<\/p>\n

Let\u2019s go back to the first line of my own essay as an example. Not to say that this is the greatest opener in the history of time and space, but objectively, there\u2019s a lot<\/em> to unpack here:<\/p>\n

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While I was creating each of my novels, I had to think to myself, \u201chow do I make people who don\u2019t know me care about my work, even if they have no reason to?\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

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This is about my accomplishments (my novels), my anxieties (how, even if they have no reason to?), my goals (to make people care), my passion (I had<\/em> to think to myself), and my purpose (writing)\u2026 all wrapped into one sentence.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Now, that\u2019s a pretty ambitious task to ask of any 17-year-old, even one with a lot of writing experience. So I\u2019ll just say this – the best hooks in any piece of writing have to be:<\/p>\n