Have you procrastinated those sneaky college supplemental essays? Don’t worry… you are not alone! There are 5 supplemental essay tips that my students use most often to quickly get them done. If you are applying to colleges with specific prompts, these shorter essays are equally important for you to answer in a well-thought-out manner.
1. Every Word Counts
The words you choose to express yourself and how you string them together actually matter. Keep in mind, writing well is a skill, not a talent, and that means good writing can be learned! Don’t worry if you feel like writing doesn’t come naturally; we can help students turn good ideas into great writing.
2. Know Your Deadlines
If your college list is already within the Common App, it’s time to click on each school to find out how many supplemental essays you need to write, along with each deadline. If one of your schools is not found on the Common App, go to each school’s website and search for that same information. In fact, the prepared students create their own spreadsheet of due dates and pertinent application information.
3. Create An Outline
For any prompt, think about what admissions is hoping to learn about you that makes you a good fit for their school. To clarify, you are not writing an English essay, you are writing a personal story to illustrate your experiences that speak to the prompt. Try organizing your story or theme with interesting or amusing anecdotes, in bullet-point format, into a clear beginning, middle, and end. This is your outline.
4. Address What’s NOT on Your Transcript
5. Include Specific Details
While considering your anecdotes, focus on specific details and really flesh out the scene. You won’t have enough space to tell your entire life story, so if you focus on a couple of examples, it will create a vivid essay and make it come to life.
If you need help thinking through potential essay prompts and brainstorming anecdotes, contact Write Coach today. The majority of early decision deadlines are either November 1st or November 15th, in other words, just around the corner. You got this!
