What Makes a Great Personal Essay
A great personal essay has at least four characteristics. It is:
Authentic. The whole point is to be yourself. Admissions officers want to know you and they can’t do that if you are using smoke and mirrors to tell them what you think they want to hear.
This student didn’t have a flashy resume. Instead of trying to impress, she embraced her strengths and was admitted to a school with a 9% acceptance rate. Read Flugelhorn.
Honest. Avoid cliché. It’s so tempting to rely on formulaic writing, and I (and I’m sure many admissions officers) am allergic to it. We work to find novel ways to introduce common/cliche points/notions.
This student avoided tropes when telling the story of his recovery from anorexia. Read Dive.
Humble. The tendency to brag is never a good idea. Sharing vulnerability – revealed through an unexpected or unique story or phrasing – is always powerful.
This kid could have written about her extraordinary achievements, but chose instead to approach her successes through a lens of humility. She was accepted ED to her first choice school and wrote only ONE application. Read Ubuntu.
Simple. Yup. Let's focus on and explore one idea rather than trying to fit your biography, or worse, your entire resume, into the essay.
This student identifies one of his character strengths, and keeps his essay focused on what it means to be bold. Read Survivor.
Because his activities section covers the fact that he was student body president and countless other impressive achievements, this student uses his personal statement to tell a simple, focused story about his lifelong passion. Read WNBA.
