Your college essay is a unique opportunity to present your personality, experiences, and aspirations. It’s a chance to go beyond test scores and transcripts to shine in the college application process truly. This is your moment to stand out, to show who you are, not just your achievements. It should demonstrate your ability to reflect on your experiences and learn from them; articulate your values, how they formed and how you’ll carry them into the future, or convey your enthusiasm for your chosen field of study. Finding the right college essay format for you is essential for clearly communicating with your readers.
Let’s explore the critical elements of a remarkable college essay.
The Basics: College Essay Format Guidelines
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A college application essay, or a personal statement, is a concise essay submitted with your college application before any interviews or acceptances occur. When formatting your essay, it’s crucial to adhere to any guidelines provided to you as instructions. This will ensure your essay is presented in the best possible way.
If instructions are not comprehensive, then you have some freedom to choose your format. Keep in mind that those reading these personal statements will likely read several of them in a sitting. Rather than using fancy formatting to help your essay stand out, make the content of your story the shining star. Some essays may need to be copied into a text box for online submission, in which formatting such as bold and italics may be lost. If instructions on formatting are limited, here are some guidelines to follow:
- Title (Optional): Many students skip titles, you can use one if it adds depth or creativity to your essay. If you don’t have a title that adds depth or creativity to your essay, feel free to skip it. Be sure it is bold and at the top of your page with space beneath.
- Body of Text: Choose APA or MLA format and stick to that format throughout. Since you probably don’t require citations for your personal statement, both styles provide simple, easy-to-read format options. It’s most important to be consistent in your formatting rather than choosing one over the other.
- Word Count: If provided, adhere to the specified word limit. Common application essays usually allow up to 650 words, while supplemental essays may have shorter limits. Remember that those reading your essay are reading dozens of them – longer doesn’t necessarily mean better. If you’ve written your best essay with 300 words, GREAT! Don’t try to lengthen it by adding unnecessary words or information.
- Font: Keep it simple. Times New Roman, 12-point font is still the standard. If you choose a different font, make sure it is easy to read such as Arial, Aptos, Calibri or similar. Make sure your font is consistent throughout.
Crafting Your College Essay: Approach and Structure
One of the hardest parts of writing a college application essay is choosing a theme or story. There are many great themes to choose from, but the most important thing to keep in mind is that your theme should be authentic and genuine to you. Great thought starters for choosing a theme include:
- Personal Growth: Share a significant experience or challenge in your life and how it has influenced you. Explain what you learned from it and how it has impacted your values and goals.
- Passions and Interests: Share a hobby or interest that’s significant to you and explain why it’s important and how it’s impacted you.
- Cultural Background: Share how your cultural heritage has influenced your identity and worldview.
- Academic Journey: Share a significant academic experience and how it impacted your intellectual growth and academic goals.
- Community Involvement: Describe a volunteer experience, community service project, or leadership role that has made a positive impact on others. Explain what you learned from this experience and how it has influenced your commitment to service and social responsibility.
- Future Goals: Share your future aspirations, passion for your chosen field of study or career, and how you plan to make a difference in your field.
- Unconventional Experiences: Consider writing about your unique or unconventional experiences that have influenced your perspective or identity, such as travel experiences, unusual hobbies, or overcoming unusual challenges.
- Relationships: Think about a relationship with someone important to you and how this relationship has impacted your personal growth and outlook on life.
Here’s a list of creative essay topics to help you explore more themes to format your essay around.
Paragraph Structure
There’s no fixed rule on the number of paragraphs. Some essays thrive with four, while others expand to eight or more. Use what suits your narrative or theme, while providing structure and leaving the reader with a clear picture.
- Begin with an introductory paragraph. Think of it as an introduction to the story you’re telling in the essay, not necessarily an introduction to you. They already have the information on where you’ve been spending a lot of time your last several years from your application and transcripts.
- Body paragraphs tell the bulk of your story and stem from or support your introductory paragraph. If you’re telling a story you’ll want to use a narrative structure for the body paragraphs. This is most often the case if you’re sharing a challenge you’ve overcome or a particular moment in time that has stuck with you. Narrative structure follows the story through from beginning to end, in chronological order. If you’re not telling a traditional story, but rather showcasing your interest in a topic, cultural background or future goals, you can use a different structure. It’s still important to paint a cohesive picture for your reader, so structure the body of your essay around moments, insights or what makes you unique in this area, while connecting each back to your theme.
- Conclude your essay by telling the reader how the story ends, what you learned or gained from it, and how it sets you apart. This is not a moment to be coy but to shine through and tell the reader precisely what you want them to take away from this essay. Don’t assume that they will “get it.”
- If applicable, use Dialogue. Be sure to format it properly based on your chosen style, and make sure it flows with your writing. If it enhances your storytelling, go for it.
Tips for Creating a College Essay with Impact
Here are a few tips to help you on your writing journey. A well written college essay will leave an impact.
- Start early and revise often: It’s difficult to write well under pressure. Start your essay as early as possible. Give yourself time to read it through several times. Each time, you’ll find tweaks and improvements. When the time comes to submit, you’ll be confident that you’ve put your best foot forward.
- Understand the Instructions: Read the college essay format instructions; don’t skim. You don’t want to miss critical information, such as “single-spaced” or a word limit that could derail you before someone has even had the chance to read your story.
- Create an Outline: An outline will help you stay focused on your chosen story and it will help you instill your truth throughout the story because you already have the conclusion in mind.
- Seek Feedback and Edit: Proofread it yourself and have a few others that you trust read it and provide feedback. Edit your personal essay, cut it down, and build it back up if necessary. But through this process, stay true to yourself and your voice.
College Essay Example Template
Now it’s time to put pen to paper. Here is a template for drafting a college application essay in APA format, which includes the elements discussed here.
Title: A Catchy, Creative Title That Connects With Your Story
Introduction:
Your introductory paragraph should set up the rest of your story. Start with any information the reader needs to know and set the scene for the story’s progression.
Body:
The body of your college application essay should include about 1-4 paragraphs that tell your story with enough detail to include all necessary facts and information. Remember that this is your story, so portray yourself and your feelings authentically. Share your thoughts. Be vulnerable. Include impactful dialogue. Help the reader see the story in their mind with descriptive storytelling that shows them what they need to see and how they should feel. Complete this section with the climax of your story.
Option A: If you’re telling a story about a challenge you faced or a single moment in time. Use a narrative format here. Include the challenge, its effects on you, what you did about it, and the outcome.
Option B: If you’re focusing on a theme that resonates with you, such as future goals, cultural background, or a hobby, the structure will look a bit different. Rather than following specific events, you’ll want to touch on several small factors. Focus each paragraph on one aspect. For example: if your theme is your hobby of gardening, include how you learned to garden (did you have a mentor? Why did you look up to them?), your first mistake or failure and what you learned from it, how you grew and learned to love gardening, your favorite thing to grow and why.
Conclusion:
Conclude your essay by sharing what you learned from this story and why it continues to stay with you. Share how you plan to take this learning or improvement or theme and apply it in your future endeavors. Be clear in your key takeaways for the reader. Make sure they know what they should remember from your story.
Your college essay is an opportunity to showcase your story. Be genuine, reflective, and unafraid to share your vulnerabilities. Admissions officers seek authenticity and clarity. So, write with heart, revise diligently, stick to your outline and format, and let your voice shine through. If you’re working on your college search, check out our College Match tool to help you find a perfect fit. And BONUS: you’re ahead of the game by seeking college essay format answers!
