College Essays: The Stone Cold Truth
Last Wednesday, a parent asked a college essay question during a seminar I conducted in our new satellite office in cloudy, rainy Boca Raton:
"How can my kid write anything original?"
Common question. But the wrong question.
Your goal is not "original."
It can't possibly be, when you consider that the typical admissions officer reviews 1,000 applications per cycle, and has worked in admissions three, five or more years in many cases.
You're unlikely to come up with something she's never seen before. But don't worry about it.
Instead of original, focus on "interesting."
The vast majority of essays commit one deadly, unforgivable sin:
They're BORING.
My advice is to look at the act of applying to college as a MARKETING exercise.
A good marketer cuts through the clutter and makes a persuasive case why his audience should want or need his product.
How is that different from the college application process?
Here's what I told a student the other day:
Ryan, you're not "Ryan, random kid applying to college. You're the marketer of Ryan."
That's a different perspective. Most kids go about the process of writing essays and filling out the Common App in a narcissistic manner.
You know: "I did this. I did that. I checked this box. And that box. Blah blah blah, brag, brag brag."
Instead, college applicants must focus on is what their AUDIENCE wants.
To be sure, admissions officers want strong students and good standardized test takers. And kids who showed impact, and leadership.
(Side bar: everyone applying to college is a leader. No followers apply to college, apparently. Back to the email...)
The Thread
Here's the right way to think about college applications as far as I'm concerned:
The application, including the essays, but also the Activities Section, letters of recommendation, transcripts, etc. should be tied together by a Thread of Continuity that clearly shows the VALUE that the applicant would bring to that college community.
See how that's a different than merely bragging?
My advice: think of the personal statement as the equivalent of an interview, which most colleges don't offer any more. (I'm talking about admissions interviews, not alumni interviews, which don't count for squat.)
The Invisible Question
Your college essays are your "closing argument" to answer an important -- yet unwritten -- question on the Common Application:
"Why should we take YOU instead of these 50,000 identical applicants?"
If you can't formulate a response to that question, you have an uphill battle.
If your 2025 kiddo is struggling with how to answer The Invisible Question, check out our essay consulting service.
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"Happy" writing!
- Andy Lockwood
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*Poor word choice.
P.S. Applying to college is marketing. You must answer the question in your intended audience's minds, "Why should be pick you out of a crowd?"
The college essay is your last, best shot at persuading the admissions committee why you're The One.
P.P.S. Persuasion and self-advocacy isn't just a Get Into College Skill. It's a Life Skill.
The most successful people, in all walks of life, are usually ones that have figured out how to advocate for themselves.
P.P.P.S. Hey, that's what I'm doing with all my emails, books, occasional TV and other media appearances, seminars and other shameless self-promotion.
Your typical school counselor doesn't think this way. Because they don't have to.