The College Essay: 5 Steps for Writing the Personal Statement

Most colleges will require students to write a personal statement essay. After all, you are more than the sum of your quantitative parts, like GPA, test scores, and the number of awards, honors, and activities you have on your resume. In essence, this is your chance to introduce yourself as a human being rather than a list of statistics.

The personal statement is likely to be the college application component over which you have the most control. But it is also an intimidating task to sum up the whole of your being into approximately 650 words. Here are my tips to take this process one step at a time.

Step 1: Know the purpose of the college application personal statement essay

Colleges and universities are institutions of higher learning. Whether you are an arts & sciences, STEM, or performing-arts student, in college you will be taking classes, something you have been doing practically your entire life. At its core, the purpose of the college essay is to show college admissions committees that you will be a good and dedicated college student. Metacognition is key here. In other words, how do you approach the process of obtaining knowledge? How do you learn effectively? This is your opportunity to showcase that you have reflected upon your own learning journey up to this point. Use the essay to explain that.

Step 2: Tell it like a story

Even though this part of your college application is called an “essay,” it helps to think of it as a story instead. “The *Your Name* Story.” The most compelling essays are the ones that read like a narrative. So what is your story? What defines you as you stand today? The best stories have challenges and triumphs. What are yours? They don’t have to be over-the-top, ground-breaking tragedies. Don’t embellish. Be real.

Step 3: Gather and read the prompts

The Common Application doesn’t go live until August 1 every year, but the personal statement essay prompts are always released on the Common App blog in the late winter/early spring. Although some colleges are not on the Common App, many will at least have similar prompts. The Common App personal statement essay prompts are a good place to start, but it doesn’t hurt to take note of any colleges not on the Common App and what their prompts are. After reading the prompts, you should have a good idea of which ones resonate with you most (or which ones don’t), especially as they pertain to Steps 1 and 2 above.

Step 4: Write, write, write— even the “bad” stuff

I find that this is the stage in which most students get stuck. They have their ideas ready; they are able to verbally articulate the story they want to tell. But when it comes time to put the words on paper, they become paralyzed. The words as they want them just won’t come out the way they want them to. So they just sit there, staring at the blank page, waiting for the right words to emerge. It’s time to get out of your own way and just. write. I refer to this process as “skimming the pond scum.” You need to get the eloquent words out there, but they’re trapped by the everyday, basic language that you are afraid isn’t sophisticated enough for the college essay. Write the words anyway. The first part of writing is all about getting the ideas out. You can work on syntax and diction later.

Step 5: Walk away from it before you edit

Finishing a piece of writing only to immediately return to the top of the page to edit it is not very effective. You need to give yourself space from it before you can truly spot the changes that you may want to make. This may be harder to do if you’re up against a fast-approaching deadline, so be sure to start earlier than you think you need to. If you need to create space to “walk away from it,” but it’s due tomorrow, find a trusted friend or family member to make some edits and suggestions while you step away for at least a few hours. By the time you come back, it may look different enough to make your own changes with someone else’s help.

And hey, I’m a resource too! Reach out if you want to book a session with me to knock out your college application essays.