ACE Your College Admissions Essay

The college admissions essay is the bane of basically all of our students’ existence for the entirety of their senior year. If the words “writing admission essay” fill you with dread, I can relate. I felt the same way not too long ago. I’ve realized though, it doesn’t have to be so hard. Here are some tips and tricks that we use to help our students write the best college essays.

How to Write a College Admissions Essay

Somewhere in your many, many years of schooling, you must have heard of themes and topics. You may also remember that they are not the same. Make sure your essay has a theme, not just a topic. For example, a topic might be “war.” A theme based around that topic could be the idea, “War does not solve problems.” That distinction is key to making sure your essay doesn’t get forgotten.

What you write doesn’t matter! It’s why it matters to you that’s most important.

The Essay That the Best Schools in the US Want to Read

There are many aspects of a successful story. The most important one for your essays is the main character. Guess who that should be? That’s right; it’s you!

Here’s how to check if you are truly the main character of your story. Do a word count check and see what percentage of sentences talk about you vs. someone else. As you can expect, most of the sentences should be talking about you.

How to start a College Admissions Essay? Know the W’s

Who was involved ?
When?
Where?
What happened, and how did you overcome it?
Why does it matter?

You might notice that the word what is missing from this list. This is intentional because most students already tend to emphasize the what. While it’s important to cover what happened, a great essay goes beyond sharing surface-level details to also provide greater insight and depth that guides readers in interpreting your big idea.

Well balanced W’s help even out your essay and convert it from that dreaded Wikipedia article into YOUR story. Your goal is to illustrate why your story matters. At the end of the day, the admission counselors want to know why they should read your essay. If you’re able to communicate that, then you’re already ahead of most submissions.

Humanize Your Essay

Use names — not pronouns

Don’t use words like “(s)he” or “they.” Almost everyone uses pronouns in almost every essay. These vague words make your essay seem less unique. If you’re worried about privacy, don’t be. You can always change the first name of the person you’re writing about without compromising the integrity of your story.

Clarify your setting

Too many times, essay narratives start in one place and time, then abruptly move to another setting without updating the reader, leading to confusion. If your story starts in 8th grade, then moves on to the 10th grade, use a transition: “In 10th grade, I…” There, that wasn’t so hard, was it?

What vs Why on a College Admissions Essay

We already discussed the importance of having well balanced W’s. In addition, I also want to talk about the ratio between the What and the Why. It’s important to explain what your story is about, but it’s even more important to outline why the story matters and why someone should read it.

As this graphic shows, increasing the percentage of your essay that discusses the why boosts the overall quality of your essay. Try identifying how many sentences in your essay communicate what you did, versus how many relate why. After that, use the word count tool to calculate the ratio of what vs. why in your writing. If less than 15% of your essay conveys why you pursued an activity or what you got out of it, it’s definitely time to add more substance to your writing.

Your college admissions essay should discuss not only WHAT you did but WHY you did it. Whether you're applying for the funnest colleges, the best colleges in the South, or top East Coast universities, follow these writing tips to boost your college essays and increase your chances of being admitted.

What vs Why ratio breakdown

Some Final Admissions Essay Tips and Pointers

First, always write your first draft without a word count. It’s easier to remove words and content than it is to add it back. When you have to add more, you may feel tempted to add meaningless statements and fluff that weaken your essay as a whole.

Next, follow the 2-sentence rule. Don’t go more than 2 sentences without using the words “I” or “me.” Remember, the story is about you, you, and you.

Finally, read it out loud. I know it can sometimes be cringey to read out your own work. This is exactly the feeling that you want to get comfortable with. Once you read it out loud, you can feel what your essay is saying and how that’s going to make readers feel.

College Admissions Consultants and University Prep

I hope that this has helped you write, edit, and polish your essays. For more advanced techniques, check out our YouTube channel, where we give in-depth examples of all of the concepts discussed here and more.

We are always posting more helpful tips and tricks to help reduce the stress of college application season. For personalized feedback on your essays plus general educational counseling from qualified ed consultants, feel free to schedule a free consultation so you can get started with an Essay Editor ASAP.

See you soon!

Sarah Gooch

Essay Editor

Q:How many total years of experience do you have in your current role, including but not limited to ReadyEdgeGo?

A: I have five years' experience in coaching student writing, but this is my first year with ReadyEdgeGo.

Q: What about working with students do you most enjoy?

A: I love helping students find depth and meaning in their own stories—but I also just love it when they make me laugh!

Q: What do you like to do in your free time?

A: In theory, I enjoy painting and writing poetry, but these days I actually spend most of my free time socializing or watching movies with my husband.

Q: What is your one piece of advice for high schoolers?

A: Don't just focus on achieving top grades and credentials because they look good on applications, or your education will be meaningless. The numbers and awards have their place, but stay connected to your sense of curiosity, discovery, excitement, and wonder so that the content you're learning is constantly transforming you—it's something you care about, something you remember after the final exam. Work on the aspects of yourself no one can measure, like integrity, wisdom, kindness, and compassion, so that you're not only developing your academic and career potential but also investing in the type of adult you're going to be, the person you'll have to live with after you clock out every day for the rest of your life.

Doing the hard inner work of building your character and learning deeply instead of just earning grades will set you up for a satisfying, well-rounded life. Strange as it sounds, it will also put you ahead in your academic and career goals, because colleges and hiring managers aren't looking for an empty set of data on a spreadsheet; they want a fully fleshed-out person marked by passion, creativity, and a story no one else has lived.

So go on studying hard for tests, but also spend some time asking yourself what matters in life and who your role models are. Read up on topics that amaze you, and build something incredible just for fun. Cultivate that spark of joy you feel when you're immersed in a subject that fascinates you. If you can hit that balancing act of doing your homework and meeting deadlines but also investing in the kind of person you want to be, then trust that all the rest will follow: schools will recognize you as a dynamic, all-star person, and you will also build a life of happiness, close relationships, and peace.

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