If you’re wondering what to write about for your college essay, the first step is to decide on a topic. A personal essay demonstrates a unique perspective, and should not focus on common traits. Instead, focus on the unique aspects of your personality that set you apart from other applicants. For instance, if you were an only child, you could write about your unique upbringing, or how you overcame a personal failure.
Writing a strong hook
When writing a college essay, it is imperative that you begin with a strong hook. Your audience will be most intrigued by a surprising fact, an exaggeration, or an interesting statistic. These elements will draw them into the essay and help them understand your point of view. You can find a hook by incorporating a personal story or incident into your essay. Then, use the hook to lead them into the rest of the essay.
Some students write a college essay using a famous quote by an influential person. Although some teachers discourage this approach, there are ways to use a quote effectively. First, find a quote from a rare and influential person; don’t just copy the first one that you find. Then, in your opening paragraph, state that the quote is incorrect and contradicts a commonly accepted fact. In addition, you should use anecdotes to illustrate a point.
Choosing a topic
When choosing a topic for a college essay, think of what you’re passionate about. Often, college essay prompts ask applicants to write about something that interests them, whether it’s an interest in science or music, or a hobby. When choosing a topic, think of the sources you used to learn about it and how you pursued it. Make sure to be as specific as possible.
Try thinking about something you’ve done or experienced that relates to your personal growth. For example, if you were bullied at school, you may have learned that courage requires a lot of courage. College essay topics usually ask students to find connections between seemingly unrelated parts of their life. You can find structure and meaning in seemingly random bits of information by mind mapping. Make a mind map of the events or places that matter to you and write about them.
Finding your true strengths
When writing your college essay, your personal strengths are one of the most important factors to consider. While everyone has different skills and abilities, they all share a few common traits. Using these traits to write about in an admissions essay will help you attract admission officers. To find your personal strengths, try taking a strengths quiz or brainstorming events that you used to use your strengths. You may even be surprised by what you discover!
Try to remember that successful activity entries generally use details to illustrate their accomplishments. While writing about yourself, try to focus on specific events from your high school life that you think have helped you succeed in some way. For example, if you were a tutor, write about the impact your tutoring had on the students you impacted. For the essay, you can list your accomplishments and the progression of your work. Examples are useful to make your experiences come to life. They also show concrete effects.
Highlighting your unique perspective
Your personal statement for college should highlight your unique perspective on a particular topic. You may find it helpful to write about a specific interest you have, such as racial inequalities in health care. For example, if you have volunteered at a hospital, you can discuss how that experience affected you. Perhaps you are a doctor, and you’ve noticed the differences in treatment between the racial groups in your city. By highlighting your unique perspective on a specific issue, you’ll make your statement stand out.
When writing about yourself in college, you’re given the opportunity to choose a topic that shows the admissions committee what makes you stand out from the other applicants. Consider your unique experience or skill, and introduce it at the time you’re most excited or knowledgeable about it. However, it’s important to avoid writing about something just because it will impress the admissions committee. Rather, colleges want to see that you are interested in learning and are thoughtful of your surroundings.