Communicating Your Story: Ten Tips For Writing

Powerful College Application Essays

Palisade Charter High SchoolThursday, September 15

Rebecca Josephgetmetocollege@gmail.com@getmetocollege@allcollegeessay

http://tinyurl.com/palisades0915

Overview of Shifting 2016 American

Admissions Landscape

How Important Are Personal Statements?

What do American colleges look for?1. Grades2. Rigor of Coursework, School3. Test Scores4. Essays/Personal Statements*5. Recommendations-Teacher and/or Counselor6. Activities-Consistency, development,

leadership, and initiative7. Special skills, culture, connections, talents,

and passions

Essays Are One Piece of The Applicant’s Quilt

Test Scores

Grades

Rigor of Coursework

Activities

Rec Letters

Unique passions and potential

Demonstrated Interest

The Power and Danger of Essays

1. Give me two reasons why admissions officers value college application essays.

2. Give me two reasons why they often dread reading the majority of them.

Essays=Opportunity

ShareReflectStand Out

So….Tip 1

Tip 1. College essays are fourth in importance behind grades, test scores, and the rigor of completed coursework in many admissions office decisions. Don’t waste this powerful opportunity to share your voice and express what you really offer to a college campus. Great life stories make you jump off the page and into your match colleges.

A New Paradigm

Tip 2. Develop an overall

strategic essay writing plan.

College essays should work together to help you communicate key qualities and stories not available anywhere else in your application.

Ultimately…admissions officers want to know your…

Impact Initiative

University of California

Fall 2017 application opened yesterday.

Introduced new format and prompts for both freshman and transfer essays

Applicants must write 4 short 350 word max essays.

Freshman can choose from 8 prompts.

UC Freshman Personal Insight Questions

Freshman Personal Insight Prompts: Answer any 4 of the following 8 questions: What do you want UC to know about you? Here’s your chance to tell us in your own words. Which questions you choose to answer is entirely up to you:  But you should select questions

that are most relevant to your experience and that best reflect your individual circumstances.1. Describe an example of your leadership experience in which you have positively influenced

others, helped resolve disputes, or contributed to group efforts over time.2. Every person has a creative side, and it can be expressed in many ways: problem solving,

original and innovative thinking, and artistically, to name a few. Describe how you express your creative side.

3. What would you say is your greatest talent or skill? How have you developed and demonstrated that talent over time?

4. Describe how you have taken advantage of a significant educational opportunity or worked to overcome an educational barrier you have faced.

5. Describe the most significant challenge you have faced and the steps you have taken to overcome this challenge. How has this challenge affected your academic achievement?

6. Describe your favorite academic subject and explain how it has influenced you.7. What have you done to make your school or your community a better place?8. What is the one thing that you think sets you apart from other candidates applying to the

University of California?

UC Focus

LeadershipChanging communitiesCreativityAcademic Passions and AchievementsOvercoming ChallengesInitiative

http://tinyurl.com/palisades0802

Great UC Guidance

Questions & guidanceRemember, the personal questions are just that — personal. Which means you should use our guidance for each question just as a suggestion in case you need help.  The important thing is expressing who are you, what matters to you and what you want to share with UC. 

1. Describe an example of your leadership experience in which you have positively influenced others, helped resolve disputes, or contributed to group efforts over time.  Things to consider: A leadership role can mean more than just a title. It can mean being a mentor to others, acting as the person in charge of a specific task, or a taking lead role in organizing an event or project. Think about your accomplishments and what you learned from the experience.  What were your responsibilities? Did you lead a team? How did your experience change your perspective on leading others? Did you help to resolve an important dispute at your school, church in your community or an organization? And your leadership role doesn’t necessarily have to be limited to school activities.  For example, do you help out or take care of your family?

Need more help?Download the worksheet for freshman applicants [PDF]See our writing tips & techniques

Great Strategy

Start with UC application. Fill out the application including activity section

5 Honors 5 Non A-G Courses 5 Work/Jobs 5 Community Service 5 Extracurricular

Then go to short insight questions. Really focus on four pieces of additional evidence you want to share with UCs about what you offer.

These are practical, literal short essays.

Current CA 2015-2017 Prompts250-650 Words (2015-2016 percentages)

1. Some students have a background, identity, interest, or talent that is so meaningful they believe their application would be incomplete without it. If this sounds like you, then please share your story. (49%)

2. The lessons we take from failure can be fundamental to later success. Recount an incident or time when you experienced failure. How did it affect you, and what did you learn from the experience? (17%)

3. Reflect on a time when you challenged a belief or idea.  What prompted you to act? Would you make the same decision again. (4%)

4. Describe a problem you’ve solved or a problem you’d like to solve. It can be an intellectual challenge, a research query, an ethical dilemma-anything that is of personal importance, no matter the scale. Explain its significance to you and what steps you took or could be taken to identify a solution. (10%)

5. Discuss an accomplishment or event, formal or informal, that marked your transition from childhood to adulthood within your culture, community, or family. (22%)

Four Major Application Types: 2. The Common Application

Many private and some public American use the centralized Common Application with their own Writing supplements

More than 700 colleges use it. www.commonapp.org Don’t start writing any essays until you see all the essays

required for your top schools. My app-All College Application Essays has the requirements.

Common Application Writing Supplements

Some long– U Penn, U Chicago (300-650 words)

Some medium—Stanford Some small— Columbia, Brown

Four Major Application Types: 3. Private college specific applications

Fewer and fewer major private universities are not on the common application

But there are still holdouts.Georgetown and MIT to name a view.

Make sure you don’t write unnecessary essays as Georgetown essays are like The Common Application.

Four Major Application Types:4. Other systems

Some large public systems have their own applications which do not require long, if any essays. Yet their applications for financial aid or academic support programs add in those requirements. Washington State, for example, several short essays which they share with other state systems.

The Universal Application is another system. It has fewer colleges on it than The Common Application.

Develop A Master Chart

Tip 3. Keep a chart of all essays required by each college, including short responses and optional essays. View each essay or short response as a chance to tell a new story and to share your core qualities.

I recommend three sheets. 1. Major deadlines and needs. Break it down by the four

application types 2. Core essays-Color code all the similar or overlapping essays. 3. Supplemental essays. Each college has extra requirements

on the common application. Again color code similar types: Why are you a good match for us? How will you add to the diversity of our campus?

Write the Fewest Yet Most Effective Essays…

Tip 4. Find patterns

between colleges essay requirements.

Use essays more than once.

Where to Begin: Brainstorm

Positive Personality Traits

5. Other Brainstorming Tips

Help them brainstorm1.Make a resume. 2.Start With UC Prompts3.Reading model essays from actual college websites4.Looking at other college’s essay prompts-U Chicago, Tufts5.Creating a letter to future roommate or an amazing list of what makes you you.6.Looking at 5 top FB and Instagram Pictures7.Reading models from other students8.Do culture bags

Great Strategy

Start with UC application. Fill out the application including activity section

5 Honors 5 Non A-G Courses 5 Work/Jobs 5 Community Service 5 Extracurricular

Then go to short insight questions. Really focus on four pieces of additional evidence you want to share with UCs about what you offer.

These are practical, literal short essays.

Individual and Collaborative

What Did You Do Last Summer?

Into, Through, and Beyond Essay Approach

Tip 7. Follow Dr. Joseph’s Into, Through, and Beyond approach.

It is not just the story that counts.

It’s the choice of qualities a student wants the college to know about herself

Into, Through, and Beyond

Into

It’s the way the reader can lead the reader into the piece—images, examples, context. Always uses active language: power verbs, crisp adjectives, specific nouns.

Through

What happened…quickly…yet clearly with weaving of story and personal analysis Specific focus on the student Great summarizing, details, and images at same time

Beyond

Ending that evokes key characteristics Conveys moral Answers ending prompts of two UC essays

UC 1”and tell us how your world has shaped your dreams and aspirations.” UC 2 “What about this quality or accomplishment makes you proud and how does it relate to the person

you are”

Goal of Into Through Beyond

Share positive messages and powerful outcomes.

Focus on impact, leadership, and initiative.If you want to include challenges, lead

quickly to who you are now.Some states can use only socio-economic

status, but not race, in admissions, but in your essays, your voice and background can emerge.

 

 

Tip 8. Use active writing: avoid passive sentences and incorporate power verbs. Show when possible; tell when summarizing.

Tip 9. Have trusted inside and impartial outside readers read your essays. Make sure you have no spelling or grammatical errors.

Take the Time With These Essays

Final Thoughts

Tip 10. Most importantly, make yourself come alive throughout this process. Write about yourself as passionately and powerfully as possible. Be proud of your life and accomplishments. Sell yourself!!!

Students often need weeks not days to write effective essays. You need to push beyond stereotypes.

Admissions officers can smell “enhanced” essays.

You can find many great websites and examples but each student is different.

Contact Dr. Joseph

Rebecca Joseph, PhD Professor, Cal State LA Founder, Get Me To College

and All College Application Essays

Current 2016 Unsung Hero, LA County

http://tinyurl.com/palisades0915

Contact getmetocollege@gmail.com@getmetocollege @allcollegeessay