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Are you looking to make your personal essay stand out from the rest of the college application pool?
Great! You’ve come to the right place.
We spoke to college sophomore, Kyne Wang, about his success in writing a personal essay and receiving multiple acceptance letters. His essay got him into the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania where he is studying biology and finance. He is originally from Vancouver as well as an alumni of BETA Camp. He talks about how he was able to get into the LSM program - a dual degree program (healthcare and management), in which only 24 students are selected each year.
Writing an exceptional personal essay is a crucial part of the college application process. It gives you the opportunity to express yourself, beyond grades and academic achievements.
A captivating and thoughtful essay can make the difference between an average application and an outstanding one. Giving you an edge over the other potential candidates.
However, many students find writing the personal essay pretty challenging.
We’re here to help.
Below we’ll talk about the key elements of a personal essay. With a few simple tips, you can craft a memorable essay for your college application that helps you stand out. You will be able to show your personality as well as accelerate your college application process.
And hopefully make you feel less stressed.
Framework to a good application
Before you start writing your college essay, you need to make a list of colleges you would like to apply to. It is important to conduct your own research on the school you want to apply to.
Find a college that is a good fit for you.
When deciding on a school consider all factors like:
- The school’s academic programs
- Where it is located
- The campus culture
- The student body
- And extracurricular opportunities
Create a list of all the application dates and additional requirements you need to submit on a Google sheet.
Do your research on rolling admissions, early decision, early action as well as restrictive action. If you choose “early decision” - It’s your one and only card to play. You cannot use “early decision” to apply to multiple colleges. And it is binding., You cannot accept offers from other colleges later on.
With early decision you typically apply in November and receive a decision in December.
On the other hand, you could go with early action, which is non-binding. With “early action” you will receive a response to your application but you do not have to commit to the college until April or May.
Make sure the list of the colleges you want to attend includes your dream college, followed by your backup schools. It is always good to have a plan B and even a plan C when it comes to applying to colleges.
Developing a compelling narrative
Admission officers are swamped with hundreds, sometimes thousands of other applications to review. You want to make sure your essay stands out from the crowd, makes an impression and captures their attention.
The first step to writing a good personal essay is to understand what the admission officers are looking for. It is not just about applying to college to study what you want. You need to have the substance to back up your application, if not - you’re in trouble.
Most students don't fully know what they want to do in their careers.
That is fine.
You don’t know what is out there.
You will learn what you want to do during college.
The starting point is to get into college.
And that’s why your application is your chance to shine and impress the admission officer.
Here comes the hard part.
Essentially, your approach to a good application should be based on the intersection of your education and your activities. The activities you took part in high school should be the basis to applying for programs you want to study in college.
NOT what you are interested in.
Say you participated in debate club and were part of the editorial team in school but you want to get into a tech program. Well, that might pose a problem when applying.
You are better set up to study English or Journalism because that’s what your extra curricular activities reflect. But if you had taken an AI course or created a productivity tool kit like our alumni Suma, these would be able to tip the scales in your favor.
You can transfer to another program once you get in. What you are keen on does not matter in your application process. Most universities do not bind you to the program you get accepted in. But what is important to admissions officers is that your persona matches the program you applied for.
Your whole story and how you present yourself is known as your application persona.
When listing your activities,do not write it in full sentences, but use bullet points instead. Add a title and description.
Do the activities you mention showcase your leadership skills or your creative skills?
Map out what you have done with your time. How have you reinvented yourself during summers. Use strong action verbs like delivered, appointed, demonstrated. Include the titles of any research papers you have written.
That being said, while being well-rounded is great, for your essay too many different interests could show that you are all over the place. You could list the 10 different clubs you took part in, but to the reviewer it might look like you’re not focussed.
Instead, pick two or three clubs and activities, even if you have joined more than that. When they read your essay it should showcase your core interest.
So if you are applying to a finance school, it would be smart to describe your experience in math clubs, economic programs and your research paper on crypto or banking. It is fine to add communication and networking activities, but telling them about your theater club or gardening won’t help you.
Writing your personal essay
When writing your personal essay, remember one thing - your story is important.
But don’t ever make up a story - inauthenticity can scream out on paper. Use a narrative that is true to yourself. Share as much as you can about yourself, your background and your personality.
What constitutes a good essay?
It is all about telling a good story.
It's all storytelling. You have to be a creative writer to tell a compelling story. Start with a hook. Use two to three sentences. The admission offices should be hooked from the beginning.
Use dialogue or descriptive imagery to get their attention. The hook should be 10% of your essay.
The next part should be sharing your story and your background. Continue storytelling by weaving how you are a global citizen, lived in multiple places, speak multiple languages, was a cadet or became a pilot or a bee-keeper. Show them your USP (unique selling proposition).
45% of your essay should be about setting up a good foundation for talking about yourself, your career and the prompt that was asked of you.
Lastly, continuing on the storytelling journey, you must answer the prompt. This marks the transition from storytelling to addressing their question to you. Like why you wanted to join this college or what made you decide to study this program. This will be the last half of your essay.
What you should NOT be doing is saying “I played basketball” or “I attended a business program.” Do not just list out everything you have done. It comes off as if you are writing a resume.
You should be showing them, not telling them, why you are perfect for their school.
Say something along the lines of this:
We reached the quarterfinals in the basketball tournament that was held in LA. It was a nail biting finish as I (or our team) shot the three pointer with 6 seconds left on the clock.
This way you show yourself as a team player, your determination, and your discipline.
Reviewing your essay
The college application process is extremely competitive. It is always good to write different versions of your essay. You can then take different parts of each and make them work for other applications.
Have your friends check your essay. We recommend getting your peers (obviously not someone in competition to attend the same college as you) to review your application. What sounds good to you, might not sound so nice to the admission officers. Especially if you are an international student and unaware of cultural differences.
And proofread your essay. Re-read it several times and use all available tools to check for spelling, punctuation and grammar.
Your essay should not have any spelling, formatting or grammatical errors. They will put you in a bad light. Mistakes show you are not detail oriented. Ask a family member to take a look or your English teacher.
Before submitting your essay
Get your teachers to give you a letter of recommendation. A very important TIP here - waive your right to view your recommendation letter. While you are legally allowed to read the letter, most colleges void it if the letter has been viewed. In their eyes it means that the letter was orchestrated to promote your application.
Another tip - do not write about COVID or being quarantined. First of all, thousands of students before you have written about it. Second, there are many different viewpoints and opinions and you don’t know if your narrative will be inconsiderate.
So there you have it, our tips to writing the perfect personal essay.
Remember, getting into college is just the beginning of your journey.
College is just a launch pad for your future.
It is up to you to make the most of it. Your ambitions and goals will determine what you get out of our college experience. College is the time for exploration, learning and growth.
It will also teach you how to clean up after yourself. You mom won’t be there to do laundry anymore.
While writing a personal essay for college application can be a daunting task, it is one of the most important parts of the admission process. It is your chance to tell your unique story.
To wrap it up – The most important aspects to writing your essay are:
- Research the colleges you want to apply to
- List your activities and interests and pick the ones that match the program
- Highlight your strengths based of the activities you have participated in
- Tell a compelling story that highlights your personality, your academic persona
- Get your peers to review it and incorporate feedback
- Try to look from their point of view and understand if they can read what you are trying to convey.
Let us know if this helped. How did your application process go? And if you need activities to add to your personal essay. Join BETA Camp - then you can really stand out by telling them you started your own business.