How To Write A College Essay – A Complete Guide

What makes a college essay stand out? Is it the perfect grammar, a high vocabulary score, or perhaps a unique topic? While all these factors and many others are important, the most crucial ingredient is you. Your unique experiences and perspectives are what will truly captivate admission officers or teachers. 

According to an online source, 2.2 million students were enrolled in Canadian colleges and universities in the 2022/ 2023 academic year, a 0.6% increase from the previous year. This means that it is now difficult more than ever to make a lasting first impact. 

If you want to know how to write a college essay that will immediately catch the attention of your reader, then this blog is for you. Let’s learn about it together. 

Importance Of Writing A Standout College Essay 

Before we talk about how to write a college essay, we will help you understand why it is important to write a standout college application essay. The college essay is one of the most important parts of your college application. While your grades and test scores provide quantitative data about you, the essay allows assessing your personality and potential in a way that numbers cannot. 

A good college essay can be the difference between acceptance and rejection. Here are some other reasons why it is an important part of the admission process. 

1. With thousands of students applying to college each year, many students have similar test scores and achievements. A compelling essay sets you apart from other applicants and highlights what makes you unique. 
2. Admission essays provide insight into your writing and creative skills. They indicate that you are prepared for academic rigour. 
3. A standout college essay showcases your ability to reflect on successes and failures. You can add lessons you have earned from failure. 
4. Your essay also provides an opportunity to express why you are drawn to a college and demonstrate genuine interest and effort to capture the attention of the committee. 
5. The essay adds a human element to your application and showcases your voice and individuality. 
6. You can also create personal connections with admission officers by sharing honest and heartfelt stories that evoke empathy and understanding. 

How To Write A College Essay

Now that you are familiar with the importance of writing a standout college essay, let’s see how to write a college essay that will leave a lasting impression on the committee. 

General Guidelines 

It is important to adhere to the general standards set by most colleges. You can check the guidelines for different universities in Canada, such as Alberta, Toronto, Calgary, Queens, Waterloo, Windsor, and others worldwide, through their websites or read college essay examples by previous students who have been granted admissions to specific universities. 

While some requirements may vary, here are the commonly accepted formatting rules:

Formatting Tips For Online Submissions

Most colleges require that you submit your essays through online portals. If you have been asked to do it, keep these tips in mind. 

• Stick to plain formatting, as many portals do not allow features like bold and special fonts. 
• Check for line breaks to ensure that your essay does not lose its structure after pasting it into the portal. 
• Always double-check your essay in the application system. 
• Follow instructions. 

College Essay Format

The best college essays follow a clear structure. Here is a breakdown of the structure of how to write a college essay. 

1. Introduction 

The opening paragraph is extremely important as it gives you a chance to hook the reader. It should start with a compelling anecdote, question, or quote that sets the tone, and end it with a thesis statement. Additionally, you should clearly mention the purpose of your essay here. However, while doing so, make sure that you are concise. 

College essay example for introduction:

As the crowd erupted in cheers, I felt the weight of the world lifting from my shoulders – a moment that taught me the power of perseverance.

2. The Body

In this section, you have to give the details. It mostly consists of 2–3 paragraphs where you can expand your experiences and challenges. You can also show your growth and transformation. 

To write the perfect body section of your college application essay, try to use transitions to maintain a smooth flow between ideas. Moreover, avoid generic statements and be personal.  You have to ensure that every paragraph ties back to the main theme. 

3. Conclusion 

You have to wrap up your essay here. Try reflecting on the importance of the story or topic that you have discussed earlier. Write about how the experience has prepared you for college, and end your college essay on a memorable or inspiring note. 

Strategies To Help You Write The Perfect Essays

Understood how to write a college essay? What if we tell you that you can make it even better? Here are some proven strategies that will help you write a stellar college essay. 

• Before you start the writing process, take some time to understand the prompt. Identify words such as “describe” or “explain” and ensure that you address all aspects of the question. 
• Spend time to brainstorm and reflect on your life experiences. 
• If you are applying to multiple colleges, tailor your essay to the specific school. To do this, you can mention the college programs. 
• Develop a well-structured college essay with a clear introduction, body, and conclusion. Try to create an outline before writing. 
• Always start with a captivating hook statement, as it sets the tone and draws the reader in. 
• Try to be authentic and personal. Admission officers mostly want to get to know you. They do not care about general statements. Write in your own voice. Avoid clichés. 
• Instead of stating facts like “I am a hard worker,” use storytelling to convey your ideas. For example, “Every evening after soccer practice, I stayed up late, often till midnight, to craft models for my engineering class.”
• Admission officers have to read hundreds of college essays, so make sure that yours is focused and impactful. The ideal thing to do is to stick to a single idea per paragraph and avoid repetitive statements. 
• Try to get a reference letter from your old professors and attach it with the essay for credibility. 
• Revise and edit your college essay thoroughly. 

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Types Of College Essays

There are many different types of college essays, depending on the prompts and purpose. Below are the main types of college application essays you will likely have to work on. 

Personal Statement 

This is often the main essay when it comes to college applications. It is particularly for schools that use the Common Application. In the personal statement essay, you can share your story. The prompts mostly look like this:

• Tell us about yourself
• What motivated you to choose this field?

Supplemental Essays 

These essays are there to supplement your main personal statement and mostly respond to specific queries such as “How have you contributed to the community?”

Why This College Essay

This is a common essay that many colleges use to gauge how serious you are about joining their institution. The common question asked is, “Why do you want to attend this college?”

You can mention specific programs and faculty to show that you have done your research. Do not use generic answers like “It has a good reputation.”

Narrative Essays 

In these, you write less about your opinions and more about a compelling story. It is used as part of the Common Application. You are often asked, “Share an experience that has shaped who you are,” or something similar. 

Diversity Essay

Through this, you can discuss your background and culture. If you are not from the area, this gives you an edge in colleges that are looking to admit students from diverse areas. 

Scholarship Essay 

Some colleges require an essay as part of their scholarship or financial aid application. Since there are many students applying for scholarships, you have to tell why you deserve it more than the others, while maintaining academic integrity. However, you should avoid sounding overly focused on hardships. 

What Not To Add To Your College Essay?

We do not only want to tell you what to add to your college essay, but also what not to add. When told that you have to mention stories and have to be yourself in the essay, many students take it as if they can add whatever they like to the college essay. That is not the case. Here is a list of things that you should avoid.

• Clichés or generic stories like volunteer trips abroad.  
• Common sentences like “I have always worked hard.”
• Controversial topics or a rant about a political issue. 
• Too much focus on someone else. Your essay should be about you. 
• Lists of accomplishments without storytelling. 
• Pessimistic tone 
• Humour that does not land. You can use humour as long as it aligns with your tone and is not sarcastic. 
• Too much information that can make readers uncomfortable. 
• Focus on grades

Should You Write About Your Mental Health Issues In The College Essay?

Although students think that writing about their mental health struggles would get them an extra edge, this may not be the case. This is because if a student struggles too much mentally, the committee may think that the student is not ready to take on academic assignments and papers. 

Moreover, even if the officer thinks that the student is ready, there is a chance that the college may not have sufficient sources to deal with such students, and your application could get cancelled because of that. Additionally, nowadays, mental health struggles are very common. It can be hard for you to stand out from the crowd by writing about these issues, as many other students will be writing about it. 

Instead of making this a complete story, you could mention briefly in the introduction or conclusion about your mental health struggles. 

College Essay Ideas To Inspire You 

Looking for some creative ideas to get started with your college essays? You will find a list of free college application essay ideas below. 

1. Reflect on how facing your fears has changed you with time. 
2. Share a difficult decision you had to make and how you handled it. 
3. The impact cultural traditions have on your life. 
4. Talk about a mistake that taught you an important lesson and how you grew through that. 
5. Discuss an experience that may have challenged your beliefs. 
6. Share what inspires your career goals. 
7. What is your favourite subject, and how has it shaped your thinking? 
8. A research paper or experiment that fascinated you. 
9. Do you have a dream innovation or discovery?
10. How has your community impacted your identity?
11. Write about a family tradition that defines you. 
12. Who is your role model?
13. Have you experienced any personal loss? Try to write empathetically about it. 
14. Your favourite book. 
15. What does success mean to you? 
16. Discuss a time you stood up for something you believed in. 

Are you ready to start writing your college essays? Make sure to read previously written college essay examples to get a better understanding. Best of luck!