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12 Tips for Answer Georgia College and State University Personal Essay Questions

Wednesday, August 28, 2024

Writing a strong personal essay is an essential component of the application process when you apply to Georgia College and State University (GCSU).  In the personal essay questions , the  themes of career goals, personal growth, and community service are often emphasised. The university asks the students to elaborate on why they are interested in a particular field of study or recount a challenging situation they went through and how they managed to resolve it. 

Students can demonstrate their skills, achievements, and values by using real-life experiences as examples. In addition, the university’s personal essay questions require students to strike a balance between self-reflection and storytelling. Students must also present clear knowledge of how their experiences and prospective goals relate to the institution’s values. 

However, some students do not have enough skills to effectively answer such questions while  applying to university. So, this guide is for such students. Here,  we will provide tips on  writing a personal statement and answering such essay questions in your university application. 

How to Answer Georgia College and State University Personal Essay Questions?

Georgia College aims to extend education outside of the classroom to support students' critical thinking abilities. Thus, they have incorporated such questions into the enrolment applications. Below are the 12 tips that will provide  assistance with your essay  questions and improve your chances of having your application accepted.

1. Know the Best Ideas for Your Essay

The personal essay questions Georgia College and State University are meant to add more insight into your application. In addition, the response to such personal essay topics helps the admission committee to know more about you. To write a strong essay, make sure that your thoughts are coherent and reflect your own experiences. 

Here, we are providing you with some tricks to come up with amazing ideas:

• Understand the prompt.
• Read the question carefully.
• Get the core ideas.

Ideas Brainstorming

• Recall life events that have shaped who you are today.
• Think about how your social, academic or cultural backgrounds have influenced you.
• Remember times when you overcame challenges or achieved milestones in life.
• Focus on strengths or areas of passion for you.

Your ideas must:

• Be relevant to the prompt.
• Be realistic.
• In line with what the university stands for.

2. Reflect on Your Experiences

As you prepare to apply to university, remember the experiences that have contributed to shaping you the way you are now. Your essay should show how these developments, interests, and objectives align with the university's mission and values.

Think about the following points while you reflect on your experiences:

Obstacles and Challenges

What barriers or hurdles have hindered your progress in the past, and what methods did you capitalise on to go beyond them? Which abilities were sharpened from these experiences? How did these experiences affect your outlook towards life and your goals?

Positions and Duties in Leadership

Retrace your steps and recount what you acquired. Restate lessons you learned from playing a leading role.

Academic Accomplishments and Interests

Reverse the positions, think about yourself, and concentrate on your various achievements in class. How did you develop an interest in these areas, and what have they done to help you reach your goals?

Development of the Self and Self-Awareness

Apart from considering one’s personal developments, consider the times when challenges or disappointments were faced and dealt with. When and how did you confront these challenges? What did you learn about yourself while doing so?

As you think about these events, think about the following questions:

• What skills did this encounter assist me in developing or improving?
• What changes has this encounter brought to my ambitions and goals?
• In what way does this experience relate to my aspirations and objectives?
• What values or principles did this experience instil or reinforce in me?
• What precise moments or stories can I draw on?

3. Don't Tell them a Story They Want; Tell them What You Want

When crafting your essays for applications, it is easy to get into the comfort zone of writing in a way that seems pleasant to the members of the admissions committee. This approach, however, often fails to showcase your point. Instead, it is advisable to be unapologetically bold and tell the story you want to tell, regardless of who it will appeal to. Understand that it is very important to be real in your essay.

When writing your personal statement, consider these points:

• Focus on how the engagement aspects of your essay have been drawn from your unique experiences. 
• Explain how being unique comes from expressing yourself on your own rather than what you believe the college would prefer to hear.
• Explain why authentic stories are more interesting as they are true and emotional.
• Argue that for your essay to capture attention, it is important to be free, vulnerable, and take risks in your narrative.
• Expressing your wishes reveals more about your true self, and that is what the college is looking for.

4. Be Authentic

Finding one’s values, beliefs, and passions is the heart of authenticity. This starts in the inner space where you try so hard to know yourself and decide which of your values are the most important. There is authenticity in overcoming the temptation to conform to other people’s expectations or remain true to one’s core beliefs. This offered a foundation of integrity and formed the basis of all other forms of honest living.

Here are some remarkable aspects of authenticity:

5. Keep it Concise

A well-developed statement is probably an important component of your university application. Therefore, this comprehensive guide is an opportunity to demonstrate your unique features, life history and aspirations to the admission committee.

Moreover, when it comes to providing an essay that stands out, there is a need to ensure that it is written interestingly and coherently and let it remain on topic. Here are some of the suggestions that can help you achieve this:

• Ensure that there is no room for ambiguity.
• Provide your readers with relevant examples.
• Avoid needless information.
• Choose simple and straight-to-the-point words.

6. Think Outside the Box!

Do not restrict yourself with commonly known details about yourself but be brave and include little more creativity in your paper.

Here are a few helpful hints that will assist you in doing so:

• Refusal may be miserable, but reluctantly tell the admissions committee your fabulous and unique achievements.
• In ways that are explosive to emotions or stretch one's imagination, draw a picture on the spare part of the essay and tell a story instead of better structuring it.

Most people approach the task of doing something different as a way of trying to succeed personally and professionally.

7. Use Proper Grammar and Spelling

In a personal statement, an applicant must pay attention to the structure of the essay, including spelling and grammatical conventions. To eliminate such mistakes, it is recommended to:

• Carry out a basic form to improve the writing of the essay.
• Utilise online resources for grammar and spell check.
• Seek feedback.

With these guidelines, students make sure that there will be no errors in answers to personal essay questions about grammar. It is also necessary to organise the document properly to be favourable to the admission board. In addition, you can also get samples from  legit essay writing firms in the UK   to understand the structure of personal essays for university applications. 

8. Revise Often and Edit

Here, we are going to look into the need to edit and revise the answers we have written for the personal essay questions. By following these strategies, you can make your essay stand out.

• Remove unnecessary elements and improve the organisation of your work.
• Make your arguments and their supporting evidence stronger.
• Improve grammatical errors and sentence fluency.
• Express more of who you are through words and speech.
• Rectify gaps and inconsistencies in your narratives.

Editing your essay requires you to also look at the spelling, grammar or punctuation of the essay. When doing so, particularly pay attention to grammar, punctuation, length of sentences, word choice, and consistency. 

How to start Editing your Essay?

Essay revision is checking the content, structure, and flow of the essay. While undertaking this process, take into consideration the following:

• Am I clear and focused in my thesis statement?
• Does the flow of my answers make sense?
• Do my anecdotes and examples of work support my points?
• Am I able to use the same voice/tone throughout the essay?
• Is there anything else that I could include to give more details?

9. Highlight Your Strengths

To stand out from other applicants, highlight your strengths in the essay. Before you put your pen on paper, spare a minute or two and try to recall particular events, achievements, and traits. To focus on your academic achievements, ask yourself:

• What are the specific achievements I have attained and the strong skills I possess in university?
• What are the objectives and aspirations I have about my career?
• What factors make me different from other people?

To highlight the strong points in your answer to personal essay questions, you can use examples and narratives. In addition, it is also advisable to highlight your soft skills and let your readers feel your passion and excitement.

10. Demonstrate Your Fit

A powerful piece detailing your personal experiences only works when you show how you fit into Georgia College and State University, its beliefs, and its aim. In addition, add the following salient features to your response to personal essay questions:

Background in Academia 

Talk about your academic history first, highlighting any academic projects that show your readiness for the school you are applying to. Give details of any awards, competitions, or activities that underscore your achievements in your area of study.

Experience That Matters

Mention any planned internships or previous work experience which is relevant to the degree or course you are looking for. Explain how these experiences shaped your career goals.

Link to the University

Why do you want to study at Georgia College and State University? Justify why you believe this particular university is the most suitable for you. Explain how you will be useful to the school community considering the faculty members, research facilities and university culture. 

Long-term Vision

Explain what the future is going to hold for you, particularly how you see the contribution you will make to the field of your choice after you finish the degree. Mention how your university education and experiences will create opportunities for you to achieve these goals and promote positive change as well. You may make arguments that positively reinforce yourself in terms of why you are a strong prospect for the program you are applying to. 

11. Get Started Early

It is very important to start dealing with the Georgia College and State University personal essay questions as soon as possible. If you plan early, you will have sufficient time to arrange and write the essay content and predictably proofread it. This is why it is necessary to commence at the earliest point.

Why, then, should you get started early? Here are some of the reasons:

• Stress is decreased when you start early!
• You'll generate more ideas if you give yourself more time to brainstorm!
• You may demonstrate to the admissions committee that you are serious about attending the university.  
• You are prepared to put in the time and effort to learn more about it by researching it and its core values.
• You'll have more time to proofread, edit, and refine your responses.

12. Seek Help When Needed

Assistance seeking is very important, particularly when responding to a personal essay question. One can feel immense pressure to perform well, and this is understandable. Furthermore, it’s important to recognise when you are stuck and need help. 

A teacher, mentor, or guidance counsellor offers support to craft a good paper. You can also  purchase your essay  from online resources that will lead to successful admission to your desired university. 

How to answer Georgia College and State University Personal Essay Questions?

Here are the tips for answering these question types;

• Do not be afraid of making your voice heard. 
• Structure a clear and interesting essay.
• Make use of the words and writing skills that you already have.
• Write about yourself. But don't try to encapsulate your whole life!
• Answer the question that has been asked.
• Read it over again!
• Write on the internet in a networked word processor.

What should be included in College and State University Personal Essay Questions?

It is best to talk about both positive and negative matters, a humiliating experience, or a quality or interest that exemplifies your values. If you are honest about the issue, character flaws, or sad childhood events, the reader will find it far more credible. 

In addition, it will exhibit your personal life experiences that the admission panel wants to know. So, by including all the information, you can fulfil the true objective of such essay types in application forms. 

The importance of the personal essay questions in the Georgia College and State University application process enables candidates to make the best impression and talk more about themselves. An effective essay can provide a student’s perspective to the admission committees, which are usually standardised, and help to distinguish them from everyone else. 

Moreover, students can show in their essays how well they will integrate themselves into the programs by spinning a good and well-organised narrative. Finally, submitting an excellent personal essay shows that the candidate is open and honest. In addition, the applicant understands what the university is all about and its values. 

Students who follow such practice can write a good manuscript, which allows them to develop their competencies and increase their chances of being accepted into university. Thus, they can begin their developmental, educational, and achievement-oriented journey and fulfil all their academic and career ambitions.

Chris Bates

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Read the college essay a Harvard grad wrote about McDonald's that landed him offers from Harvard, Yale, and Princeton

• Cofounder of AI company Exa Jeffrey Wang wrote his college application essay about McDonald's.
• The Harvard graduate said he wanted to make his essay authentic and entertaining.
• Wang said he got into Yale, Harvard, and Princeton using the same essay.

When Jeffrey Wang was a high-school senior in Connecticut in 2014, he wasn't sure what to write about for his college application essay.

He thought about writing his essay on a subject he enjoyed at school or a project he'd worked on. But he knew others would have the same idea .

Wang told Business Insider he grew up in a middle-class family in the suburbs of Cheshire, CT. He felt he didn't have anything extraordinary to write about.

"I hadn't spent any summers abroad, and I hadn't done any fancy programs," he said.

He wanted to show his personality

He read Harry Bauld's book, 'On Writing the College Application Essay,' which made him realize college admissions officers wouldn't have time to read each essay diligently.

He said he realized his primary objective should be to entertain the admissions officer reading his essay .

"For the most part, they're just looking for character," Wang said. He decided to write about studying at McDonald's.

He told BI he thought it might pique an admissions officer's interest and illustrate his character: someone who did well at school but also hangs out at a McDonald's.

Wang said he also wanted to use his essay to challenge assumptions admissions officers might have. "I'm an Asian-American with a perfect SAT score. Maybe that looks pretty cookie-cutter on paper," he said.

Authenticity is key

The essay summarizes how Wang discovered his local McDonald's was an ideal place to study and meditate. He mentioned he liked interacting with different community members and how it was a more efficient and affordable study space than other options. The underpinning message is finding joy or peace in unusual places.

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"For the most part, it was a pretty authentic essay," Wang said, adding that he included a few "intellectual references," such as a novel and a physicist, to show the admissions officer he was smart. He said if he were to write it now, he'd leave out the big words and references.

His parents were worried the topic was too risky, but Wang said he felt confident, and if an admissions officer didn't like it — the school wasn't the right fit.

He got into Yale, Harvard, and Princeton

Growing up, Wang dreamed of attending Yale in his home state of Connecticut. He applied to Yale under early decision , using his essay about McDonald's.

Wang received an offer of financial aid from Yale, but he told BI he wanted to see if he could get more from other colleges.

He applied to Harvard, Duke, Princeton, MIT, and others with the same essay. He got into both Princeton and Harvard, and received offers of financial aid from them both. Business Insider has verified these offers with documentation.

Wang chose to study computer science at Harvard in 2015 because he said it was the best for STEM subjects, and he wanted to be further away from home.

He still tries to live authentically

Wang said if his friends read his essay now, 10 years after he submitted it, they'd recognize his personality in it. It shows his "scrappy" attitude to life, he said.

After graduating from Harvard in 2019, he started working as a software engineer for a tech company in San Francisco. He quit in 2022, and cofounded his startup Exa, a search engine for AI, in 2023.

Wang believes that prioritizing authenticity helped his success since college. "If you do things that you feel are authentic or that are right, you'll be rewarded for it," he said.

Do you have a college admissions success story? Email Ella Hopkins at [email protected] .

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• The Education Gradebook

New College moves to fire top librarian over book disposals

• Divya Kumar Times staff

Days after a public outcry over images of thousands of discarded books in a dumpster, New College has moved to fire the dean of the college’s library.

In a letter dated Aug. 16, the university’s general counsel sent Shannon Hausinger a letter saying a preliminary decision to fire her was made after they deemed her responsible for the improper disposal of 13,000 books.

The letter claimed Hausinger “deleted or failed to maintain notes relating to the reasons or justification that each book was selected for disposal.” The letter said that Hausinger sent a link to the library’s weeding policy to General Counsel for review on Aug. 14, but that the dumpster had arrived on campus on Aug. 13.

Hausinger was given 10 days to reply to the letter before a final decision would be made. New College did not immediately confirm if a decision had been made as of Tuesday.

In a statement Monday, university spokesperson Nathan March said the books in the library that were disposed of were separate from the hundreds of books in the Gender and Diversity Center — the removal of which received praise from the likes of trustee Chris Rufo and spokespeople for Gov. Ron DeSantis.

“There is no connection between the New College Library and the books that were removed from the Gender and Diversity Center,” he said. “As previously stated, the Gender and Diversity Center was in a separate building, and the books were never a part of the library’s collection. Those books could have been claimed at various times, and finally were claimed and donated; (they) were not discarded.”

Faculty and students have contested that characterization , saying they had no warning to claim the books and that it is unclear how many of those have been saved.

Divya Kumar is the higher education reporter. Reach her at [email protected].

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Key things to know about U.S. election polling in 2024

Confidence in U.S. public opinion polling was shaken by errors in 2016 and 2020. In both years’ general elections, many polls underestimated the strength of Republican candidates, including Donald Trump. These errors laid bare some real limitations of polling.

In the midterms that followed those elections, polling performed better . But many Americans remain skeptical that it can paint an accurate portrait of the public’s political preferences.

Restoring people’s confidence in polling is an important goal, because robust and independent public polling has a critical role to play in a democratic society. It gathers and publishes information about the well-being of the public and about citizens’ views on major issues. And it provides an important counterweight to people in power, or those seeking power, when they make claims about “what the people want.”

The challenges facing polling are undeniable. In addition to the longstanding issues of rising nonresponse and cost, summer 2024 brought extraordinary events that transformed the presidential race . The good news is that people with deep knowledge of polling are working hard to fix the problems exposed in 2016 and 2020, experimenting with more data sources and interview approaches than ever before. Still, polls are more useful to the public if people have realistic expectations about what surveys can do well – and what they cannot.

With that in mind, here are some key points to know about polling heading into this year’s presidential election.

Probability sampling (or “random sampling”). This refers to a polling method in which survey participants are recruited using random sampling from a database or list that includes nearly everyone in the population. The pollster selects the sample. The survey is not open for anyone who wants to sign up.

Online opt-in polling (or “nonprobability sampling”). These polls are recruited using a variety of methods that are sometimes referred to as “convenience sampling.” Respondents come from a variety of online sources such as ads on social media or search engines, websites offering rewards in exchange for survey participation, or self-enrollment. Unlike surveys with probability samples, people can volunteer to participate in opt-in surveys.

Nonresponse and nonresponse bias. Nonresponse is when someone sampled for a survey does not participate. Nonresponse bias occurs when the pattern of nonresponse leads to error in a poll estimate. For example, college graduates are more likely than those without a degree to participate in surveys, leading to the potential that the share of college graduates in the resulting sample will be too high.

Mode of interview. This refers to the format in which respondents are presented with and respond to survey questions. The most common modes are online, live telephone, text message and paper. Some polls use more than one mode.

Weighting. This is a statistical procedure pollsters perform to make their survey align with the broader population on key characteristics like age, race, etc. For example, if a survey has too many college graduates compared with their share in the population, people without a college degree are “weighted up” to match the proper share.

How are election polls being conducted?

Pollsters are making changes in response to the problems in previous elections. As a result, polling is different today than in 2016. Most U.S. polling organizations that conducted and publicly released national surveys in both 2016 and 2022 (61%) used methods in 2022 that differed from what they used in 2016 . And change has continued since 2022.

One change is that the number of active polling organizations has grown significantly, indicating that there are fewer barriers to entry into the polling field. The number of organizations that conduct national election polls more than doubled between 2000 and 2022.

This growth has been driven largely by pollsters using inexpensive opt-in sampling methods. But previous Pew Research Center analyses have demonstrated how surveys that use nonprobability sampling may have errors twice as large , on average, as those that use probability sampling.

The second change is that many of the more prominent polling organizations that use probability sampling – including Pew Research Center – have shifted from conducting polls primarily by telephone to using online methods, or some combination of online, mail and telephone. The result is that polling methodologies are far more diverse now than in the past.

(For more about how public opinion polling works, including a chapter on election polls, read our short online course on public opinion polling basics .)

All good polling relies on statistical adjustment called “weighting,” which makes sure that the survey sample aligns with the broader population on key characteristics. Historically, public opinion researchers have adjusted their data using a core set of demographic variables to correct imbalances between the survey sample and the population.

But there is a growing realization among survey researchers that weighting a poll on just a few variables like age, race and gender is insufficient for getting accurate results. Some groups of people – such as older adults and college graduates – are more likely to take surveys, which can lead to errors that are too sizable for a simple three- or four-variable adjustment to work well. Adjusting on more variables produces more accurate results, according to Center studies in 2016 and 2018 .

A number of pollsters have taken this lesson to heart. For example, recent high-quality polls by Gallup and The New York Times/Siena College adjusted on eight and 12 variables, respectively. Our own polls typically adjust on 12 variables . In a perfect world, it wouldn’t be necessary to have that much intervention by the pollster. But the real world of survey research is not perfect.

Predicting who will vote is critical – and difficult. Preelection polls face one crucial challenge that routine opinion polls do not: determining who of the people surveyed will actually cast a ballot.

Roughly a third of eligible Americans do not vote in presidential elections , despite the enormous attention paid to these contests. Determining who will abstain is difficult because people can’t perfectly predict their future behavior – and because many people feel social pressure to say they’ll vote even if it’s unlikely.

No one knows the profile of voters ahead of Election Day. We can’t know for sure whether young people will turn out in greater numbers than usual, or whether key racial or ethnic groups will do so. This means pollsters are left to make educated guesses about turnout, often using a mix of historical data and current measures of voting enthusiasm. This is very different from routine opinion polls, which mostly do not ask about people’s future intentions.

When major news breaks, a poll’s timing can matter. Public opinion on most issues is remarkably stable, so you don’t necessarily need a recent poll about an issue to get a sense of what people think about it. But dramatic events can and do change public opinion , especially when people are first learning about a new topic. For example, polls this summer saw notable changes in voter attitudes following Joe Biden’s withdrawal from the presidential race. Polls taken immediately after a major event may pick up a shift in public opinion, but those shifts are sometimes short-lived. Polls fielded weeks or months later are what allow us to see whether an event has had a long-term impact on the public’s psyche.

How accurate are polls?

The answer to this question depends on what you want polls to do. Polls are used for all kinds of purposes in addition to showing who’s ahead and who’s behind in a campaign. Fair or not, however, the accuracy of election polling is usually judged by how closely the polls matched the outcome of the election.

By this standard, polling in 2016 and 2020 performed poorly. In both years, state polling was characterized by serious errors. National polling did reasonably well in 2016 but faltered in 2020.

In 2020, a post-election review of polling by the American Association for Public Opinion Research (AAPOR) found that “the 2020 polls featured polling error of an unusual magnitude: It was the highest in 40 years for the national popular vote and the highest in at least 20 years for state-level estimates of the vote in presidential, senatorial, and gubernatorial contests.”

How big were the errors? Polls conducted in the last two weeks before the election suggested that Biden’s margin over Trump was nearly twice as large as it ended up being in the final national vote tally.

Errors of this size make it difficult to be confident about who is leading if the election is closely contested, as many U.S. elections are .

Pollsters are rightly working to improve the accuracy of their polls. But even an error of 4 or 5 percentage points isn’t too concerning if the purpose of the poll is to describe whether the public has favorable or unfavorable opinions about candidates , or to show which issues matter to which voters. And on questions that gauge where people stand on issues, we usually want to know broadly where the public stands. We don’t necessarily need to know the precise share of Americans who say, for example, that climate change is mostly caused by human activity. Even judged by its performance in recent elections, polling can still provide a faithful picture of public sentiment on the important issues of the day.

The 2022 midterms saw generally accurate polling, despite a wave of partisan polls predicting a broad Republican victory. In fact, FiveThirtyEight found that “polls were more accurate in 2022 than in any cycle since at least 1998, with almost no bias toward either party.” Moreover, a handful of contrarian polls that predicted a 2022 “red wave” largely washed out when the votes were tallied. In sum, if we focus on polling in the most recent national election, there’s plenty of reason to be encouraged.

Compared with other elections in the past 20 years, polls have been less accurate when Donald Trump is on the ballot. Preelection surveys suffered from large errors – especially at the state level – in 2016 and 2020, when Trump was standing for election. But they performed reasonably well in the 2018 and 2022 midterms, when he was not.

During the 2016 campaign, observers speculated about the possibility that Trump supporters might be less willing to express their support to a pollster – a phenomenon sometimes described as the “shy Trump effect.” But a committee of polling experts evaluated five different tests of the “shy Trump” theory and turned up little to no evidence for each one . Later, Pew Research Center and, in a separate test, a researcher from Yale also found little to no evidence in support of the claim.

Instead, two other explanations are more likely. One is about the difficulty of estimating who will turn out to vote. Research has found that Trump is popular among people who tend to sit out midterms but turn out for him in presidential election years. Since pollsters often use past turnout to predict who will vote, it can be difficult to anticipate when irregular voters will actually show up.

The other explanation is that Republicans in the Trump era have become a little less likely than Democrats to participate in polls . Pollsters call this “partisan nonresponse bias.” Surprisingly, polls historically have not shown any particular pattern of favoring one side or the other. The errors that favored Democratic candidates in the past eight years may be a result of the growth of political polarization, along with declining trust among conservatives in news organizations and other institutions that conduct polls.

Whatever the cause, the fact that Trump is again the nominee of the Republican Party means that pollsters must be especially careful to make sure all segments of the population are properly represented in surveys.

The real margin of error is often about double the one reported. A typical election poll sample of about 1,000 people has a margin of sampling error that’s about plus or minus 3 percentage points. That number expresses the uncertainty that results from taking a sample of the population rather than interviewing everyone . Random samples are likely to differ a little from the population just by chance, in the same way that the quality of your hand in a card game varies from one deal to the next.

The problem is that sampling error is not the only kind of error that affects a poll. Those other kinds of error, in fact, can be as large or larger than sampling error. Consequently, the reported margin of error can lead people to think that polls are more accurate than they really are.

There are three other, equally important sources of error in polling: noncoverage error , where not all the target population has a chance of being sampled; nonresponse error, where certain groups of people may be less likely to participate; and measurement error, where people may not properly understand the questions or misreport their opinions. Not only does the margin of error fail to account for those other sources of potential error, putting a number only on sampling error implies to the public that other kinds of error do not exist.

Several recent studies show that the average total error in a poll estimate may be closer to twice as large as that implied by a typical margin of sampling error. This hidden error underscores the fact that polls may not be precise enough to call the winner in a close election.

Other important things to remember

Transparency in how a poll was conducted is associated with better accuracy . The polling industry has several platforms and initiatives aimed at promoting transparency in survey methodology. These include AAPOR’s transparency initiative and the Roper Center archive . Polling organizations that participate in these organizations have less error, on average, than those that don’t participate, an analysis by FiveThirtyEight found .

Participation in these transparency efforts does not guarantee that a poll is rigorous, but it is undoubtedly a positive signal. Transparency in polling means disclosing essential information, including the poll’s sponsor, the data collection firm, where and how participants were selected, modes of interview, field dates, sample size, question wording, and weighting procedures.

There is evidence that when the public is told that a candidate is extremely likely to win, some people may be less likely to vote . Following the 2016 election, many people wondered whether the pervasive forecasts that seemed to all but guarantee a Hillary Clinton victory – two modelers put her chances at 99% – led some would-be voters to conclude that the race was effectively over and that their vote would not make a difference. There is scientific research to back up that claim: A team of researchers found experimental evidence that when people have high confidence that one candidate will win, they are less likely to vote. This helps explain why some polling analysts say elections should be covered using traditional polling estimates and margins of error rather than speculative win probabilities (also known as “probabilistic forecasts”).

National polls tell us what the entire public thinks about the presidential candidates, but the outcome of the election is determined state by state in the Electoral College . The 2000 and 2016 presidential elections demonstrated a difficult truth: The candidate with the largest share of support among all voters in the United States sometimes loses the election. In those two elections, the national popular vote winners (Al Gore and Hillary Clinton) lost the election in the Electoral College (to George W. Bush and Donald Trump). In recent years, analysts have shown that Republican candidates do somewhat better in the Electoral College than in the popular vote because every state gets three electoral votes regardless of population – and many less-populated states are rural and more Republican.

For some, this raises the question: What is the use of national polls if they don’t tell us who is likely to win the presidency? In fact, national polls try to gauge the opinions of all Americans, regardless of whether they live in a battleground state like Pennsylvania, a reliably red state like Idaho or a reliably blue state like Rhode Island. In short, national polls tell us what the entire citizenry is thinking. Polls that focus only on the competitive states run the risk of giving too little attention to the needs and views of the vast majority of Americans who live in uncompetitive states – about 80%.

Fortunately, this is not how most pollsters view the world . As the noted political scientist Sidney Verba explained, “Surveys produce just what democracy is supposed to produce – equal representation of all citizens.”

• Survey Methods
• Trust, Facts & Democracy
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Scott Keeter is a senior survey advisor at Pew Research Center .

Courtney Kennedy is Vice President of Methods and Innovation at Pew Research Center .

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Kamala Harris has put the Democrats back in the race

Guide to The NY Times’ Five Best College Essays on Work, Money and Class

So, you might ask, “What can I learn from this year’s crop of college essays about money, work and class? And how can they help me craft my own memorable, standout essays?”  To help get to the bottom of what made the Times ‘ featured essays so exceptional, we made you a guide on  w hat worked, and what you can emulate in your own essays to make them just as memorable for admissions.

• Contradictions are the stuff of great literature . “I belong to the place where opposites merge in a…heap of beautiful contradictions,” muses Tillena Treborn in her lyrical essay on straddling rural and urban life in Flagstaff, AZ, one of the five pieces selected by t he Times this year. Each of the highlighted essays mined contradictions: immigrant versus citizen; service worker versus client; insider versus outsider; urban versus rural; poverty versus wealth; acceptance versus rebellion; individual versus family. Every day, we navigate opposing forces in our lives. These struggles—often rich, and full of tension—make for excellent essay topics. Ask yourself this: Do you straddle the line between ethnicities, religions, generations, languages, or locales? If so, how? In what ways do you feel like you are stuck between two worlds, or like you are an outsider? Examining the essential contradictions in your own life will provide you with fodder for a fascinating, insightful college essay.  
• The magic is in the details — especially the sensory ones. Sensory details bring writing to life by allowing readers to experience how something looks, sounds, smells, tastes, or feels. In his American dream-themed essay about his immigrant mother cleaning the apartment of two professors, Jonathan Ababiy describes “the whir,” “suction,” and “squeal” of her “blue Hoover vacuum” as it leaps across “miles of carpet.” These descriptions allow us to both hear and see the symbolic vacuum in action. The slice-of-life familial essay by Idalia Felipe–the only essay to be published in The Times’ Snapchat Discover feature–opens with a scene: “As I sit facing our thirteen-year old refrigerator, my stomach growls at the scent of handmade tortillas and meat sizzling on the stove.” Immediately, we are brought inside Felipe’s home with its distinctive smells and sounds; our stomach seems to growl alongside hers. Use descriptive, sensory language to engage your reader, bring them into your world, and make your writing shine.
• One-sentence paragraphs are catchy . A one-sentence paragraph, as I’m sure you’ve gleaned, is a paragraph that is only one sentence long. The form has been employed by everyone from Tim O’Brien to Charles Dickens and, now, the writers of this year’s featured Times college essays. “I live on the edge,” Ms. Treborn declares at the beginning of her poetic essay on the differences between her mother and father’s worlds. “The most exciting part was the laptop,” asserts Zoe Sottile, the recipient of the Tang Scholarship at Phillips Academy in her essay about the mutability and complexity of class identity. Starting your essay with a one-sentence paragraph—a line of description, a scene, or a question, for example—is a great way to hook the reader. You could also use a one-sentence paragraph mid-essay to emphasize a point, as Ms. Treborn does, or in your conclusion. A one-sentence paragraph is one of many tricks that you have in your writing toolkit to make your reader pause and take notice.
• The Familiar Can Be Fascinating. The most daring essay this year, a rant on the imbalances of power embedded in the service industry by Caitlin McCormick, delivers us into the world of a family bed and breakfast with its clinking silverware and cantankerous guests demanding twice-a-day room cleanings. In Ms. Felipe’s more atmospheric piece, we enter her home before dinnertime where we see her attempting to study while her sisters giggle and watch Youtube cat videos. These are the environments these students grew up in, and they inspired everything from frustration at glaring class inequalities to gratitude for the dream of a better life. Rather than feeling like you have to write about something monumental, focus on the familiar, and consider how your environment has shaped you. How did you grow up—in the restaurant business, on a farm, in a house full of artists, construction workers, or judges? Bring us into your world, describing it meticulously and thoughtfully. Tease out the connection between your environment and who you are/what you strive for today and you will be embarking on the path of meaningful self-discovery, which is the key to college essay success.

About Nina Bailey

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Written by Nina Bailey

Category: advice , Essay Tips , Essay Writing , New York Times , Uncategorized

Tags: advice , college admissions , college admissions essay , college essay , college essay advisors , common application , tips , writing

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‘When Normal Life Stopped’: College Essays Reflect a Turbulent Year

This year’s admissions essays became a platform for high school seniors to reflect on the pandemic, race and loss.

By Anemona Hartocollis

This year perhaps more than ever before, the college essay has served as a canvas for high school seniors to reflect on a turbulent and, for many, sorrowful year. It has been a psychiatrist’s couch, a road map to a more hopeful future, a chance to pour out intimate feelings about loneliness and injustice.

In response to a request from The New York Times, more than 900 seniors submitted the personal essays they wrote for their college applications. Reading them is like a trip through two of the biggest news events of recent decades: the devastation wrought by the coronavirus, and the rise of a new civil rights movement.

In the wake of the high-profile deaths of Black people like George Floyd and Breonna Taylor at the hands of police officers, students shared how they had wrestled with racism in their own lives. Many dipped their feet into the politics of protest, finding themselves strengthened by their activism, yet sometimes conflicted.

And in the midst of the most far-reaching pandemic in a century, they described the isolation and loss that have pervaded every aspect of their lives since schools suddenly shut down a year ago. They sought to articulate how they have managed while cut off from friends and activities they had cultivated for years.

To some degree, the students were responding to prompts on the applications, with their essays taking on even more weight in a year when many colleges waived standardized test scores and when extracurricular activities were wiped out.

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NYTimes Annual College Admissions Essays on Money (Not Bad Things!)

Looking for more college admissions essay examples that tell a good story and effectively reflect on their anecdotes AND aren't about tough or traumatic topics?

Every year, the NYTimes publishes college admissions essays around particular themes. This year's essays around the topic of money are here .

Reading these essays is a great way to think about how you might take an ordinary topic or compelling anecdote and write engagingly about it -- and then reflect strongly on it. Telling a good story and telling why that story matters are the two most important parts of the college admissions essay!

Here are a few quick notes about why these essays work so well:

*Zoya Garg writes about another person (a supposed no-no) but we clearly see her own commitments (to feminism, to family, to helping others) shine through so this essay reveals as much about herself as it does about her mother.

*Adrienne Coleman's opening line is wrenching and infuriating to read. She follows it up with pointed and whip-like supporting anecdotes and brief, one-liners that encapsulate her fury, struggles to balance her beliefs with a world that doesn't give her that space, as she explores how these experiences help her to understand herself.

*Hoseung Nam's essay really caught me in one of his last paragraphs -- there's a long sentence that expertly balances his academic knowledge with his deepest worries and life experiences. The sentence starts out with a lot of economic jargon -- academic and very distant from his immediate experiences -- but then he concludes with a straight-forward and simple mathematical principle that shows how this academic knowledge reflects real-world problems. (The sentence starts "Although I can now conduct t-tests.")

*Neeya Hamed balances two stories -- the community she left behind in Sudan and the simultaneous welcome and repulsion she feels in America. There's a moment when she stops to reflect "I learned, however, that sometimes the color of my skin speaks before I can." It's a powerful, single line that conveys so much. This is the best way to include reflection in a story -- to tell a story, simply and engagingly, and then, almost casually, throw in the zinger that makes your audience sit up taller and listen harder than they were before. This is also a story about immigration, about feeling like you are in two places and want the best form both, but it doesn't focus on pain but on resilience.

*Chaya Tong nails the hook. She builds on it throughout her essay -- her line about being the "memory keeper" is outstanding. Her ability to not just see other people but to see herself in them, her compassion, is immediately compelling as is her absolute conviction that the ordinary matters, should be celebrated, should be remembered, and should be told.

Each of these essays avoids listing their accomplishments but instead reveals their writer's core values and shows how they demonstrate those values in their everyday. When they step back to reflect, they don't add a solid block of analysis (i.e. 'this is what I think,') but they add one-liners and asides that show us exactly what they are thinking and why that matters.

Hope you find reading these essays helpful as you think about how to share your own experiences and figure out how to be you in 650 words!

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New York Times Opinion Guest Essays

Learn more about New York Times Opinion guest essays, including how to submit a guest essay for review and publication.

New York Times Opinion guest essays deliver an argument in the author’s voice, based on fact and drawn from expertise or experience. Our goal is to offer readers a robust range of ideas on newsworthy events or issues of broad public concern from people outside The New York Times.

We welcome ideas for submissions in all media, including audio, illustration, data and visualization . 

If you’d like to submit a video guest essay , please visit New York Times Opinion Video guest essay for more information on the submission process. 

Select an option below to learn more: 

What is a Guest Essay?

Opinion guest essays were known as Op-Eds because they appeared in print opposite the editorial page. At its core, an Opinion guest essay provides an argument defined and substantiated with evidence. Rich discussion and debate, combined in a unique way, offer New York Times readers a better understanding of the world. Inviting “intelligent discussion from all shades of opinion” has been core to the work of The Times since 1896, when our publisher Adolph Ochs declared it part of the newspaper’s mission.

We believe in the value of creating space for people who aren’t journalists and who often have no institutional affiliation with The New York Times to speak directly to readers instead of being mediated through a reporter. By design, these arguments and voices often contrast with or challenge those of our newsroom and our own Opinion columnists and editorials . 

Guest essays should provide New York Times readers with the most robust, wide-ranging and distinctive collection of arguments and ideas available.

Guest essays can take many forms, such as: 

• A place for experts to share knowledge and offer illuminating counterarguments: Where experts can present findings, highlight problems and propose solutions to the public and to one another. We seek out essays from experts in which they make an original, robust argument based on their unusual or deep expertise. Economists, lawyers, doctors, teachers, psychologists, playwrights and many others may have expertise on a given topic that can advance an important argument.
• First-person accounts: Where everyday people can share their experiences in their own words, often coupled with reporting or research, in a way that compels readers to see the world in a different light.
• A platform for public officials: Where public officials can make their case, explain their position or tell their stories. Because these individuals already have significant platforms, their essays are held to especially high standards and offer readers newsworthy insight.

We discourage essays that are fundamentally responses to other Opinion articles, columns or editorials. The best forum for responses is the Letters page. To send a letter, email [email protected] .

What Makes a Guest Essay Great?

This is an ever-evolving question because what we look for depends on the news and the issues in public conversation at any given moment. 

The best Opinion essays: 

• Challenge and engage audiences that do not necessarily agree with the writer’s point of view. 
• Give specific and original insight into complicated problems or thorny ideas. 
• Anticipate readers’ questions and even confusion around news that has an impact on their lives and the world. One important role of a guest essay is to clarify and explain the stakes of changes and world events.
• Start conversations, influence policymakers and have an impact far beyond the pages of Times Opinion. 
• Delight readers with great writing and originality and open a window to a world they might not otherwise see.
• Have a word count typically from 800 to 1,200 words, although we sometimes publish essays that are shorter or longer.

Our Standards

Originality: Essays must be original and exclusive to The New York Times — meaning they cannot have appeared elsewhere in any form in print or online.

Ethics and conflicts: Guest writers are expected to avoid any conflict of interest or the appearance of such conflict and comply with The Times’s policies on ethical journalism .

Fact-checking: Before we publish your article, it must be fact-checked. If an essay is accepted for publication, the guest writer will be asked to submit an annotated copy of the essay, listing the relevant sources for each factual assertion.

• We focus our checking on verifiable facts (for example, the number of Americans without health insurance, the median household income, the date a law was enacted).
• We also investigate broader factual assertions (for example, “No one named to the court in the postwar period was as conservative as Justice Scalia or as liberal as Justice Brennan,” “Laos is one of the world’s most corrupt nations”) that may need to be qualified, explained or stated with greater precision or nuance.
• We look at the factual evidence cited to verify that the methodology is sound and that the data is presented with precision and balance. 
• We prefer primary sources (for example, an N.I.H. research paper) to secondary ones (a news article about the paper’s findings).
• If we determine that a particular fact cannot be verified, we will not publish it. 

We will work to verify the facts in your article, but as the writer, you bear the ultimate responsibility for the accuracy of your work. We cannot fix anything after publication without appending a correction, and corrections are permanently archived. Past errors are a factor when we consider whether to accept future work from a writer.

How Do I Submit an Opinion Guest Essay?

To submit your guest essay, please complete this form . 

When submitting your essay: 

• Explain the professional or personal background that connects you to the argument or idea in your essay. 
• Include sources (in hyperlinks in the text or in parentheses) for key assertions made in your essay. 

A member of our staff will read and review every submission, but because of the large number of messages we receive, we may not be able to respond to everyone individually. Unfortunately, we have to reject many excellent essays and ideas. If you do not hear from us within three business days, you should feel free to submit your work elsewhere.

How Do I Contact Other Teams?

• To contact the Editorial Page editor, email [email protected] . 
• To report a factual error in a news article, email [email protected] . All letters asserting factual errors will be forwarded to the appropriate editors.
• To contact Op-Docs, email [email protected] . 

To send a letter to a specific Sunday section :

• Book Review: [email protected]  
• Magazine: [email protected]  
• Metro: [email protected]  

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The learning network | getting personal: writing college essays for the common application.

Getting Personal: Writing College Essays for the Common Application

Language Arts

Teaching ideas based on New York Times content.

• See all in Language Arts »
• See all lesson plans »

Overview | How can reading The New York Times help students practice for the new college essay prompts on the Common Application? What tips on college-essay writing can they learn from The Choice blog? In this lesson, students will explore the open-ended topics for the 2013-14 Common Application essays through writing and discussion. Then, they will identify and examine Times pieces that might serve as “mentor texts” for their own application essays. Finally, they will craft their own college admissions essay in response to one of the new prompts, using advice from Learning Network and The Choice Blog.

Materials | Student journals

Warm-Up | Prior to class, post these prompts at the front of the room, or prepare to project them. Do not tell students that they are the new prompts for the Common Application essay.

When students arrive, ask them to form two concentric circles, facing one another. During the activity, the students forming the inside circle remain still, which the students in the outside circle will travel to their left when given the signal. Explain to students that you are going to do a “speed-dating” activity.

Project or unveil the first prompt and tell students that they will talk about the topic with the person across from them for five minutes. Within that time, each student should play the role of speaker and listener. Set a timer for five minutes and signal that they should begin. Once time is up the outer circle rotates left. Unveil a new topic and begin the process again until students have discussed each topic, rotating to new discussion partners with each prompt. Then, ask students to return to their seats.

Alternatively, depending on the nature of your class, you could post the topics up around the room and ask students to take their journals and form small groups by each topic. Then, conduct a free-writing marathon. Have students free-write using the topic they are standing in front of as a starting point. Tell them they have five minutes and set a timer. At the conclusion of the time period, ask students to rotate to the next topic and begin free-writing. Repeat this process until students reach their starting point. Then, ask them to return to their seats.

Open discussion by asking the following questions:

• Which of these topics did you find the easiest to discuss? Why?
• Which of these did you find difficult? Why?
• Which of these prompts did you want to continue talking (or writing) about?

Then, invite students to share a story or a favorite free-write effort with the whole group.

Finally, share with students that these are the new essay topics for the common application essay and ask them what they think. Are these good topics? Is there something here for everyone? Do some help colleges get to know students better than others? Do they fuel or lessen anxiety about the college application process? You might use some of the comments in response to The Choice post to spark discussion.

Related | In Common Application Releases New Essay Prompts , Tanya Abrams unveils the new Common App essay topics for the 2013-14 admissions season.

The new Common Application — which received some criticism a few months ago for removing the “topic of your choice” essay prompt — has released five new essay prompts for the 2013-14 admissions season, Inside Higher Ed reports. Students who plan to use the Common App, a form that allows students to apply to multiple colleges and universities simultaneously, are advised to keep these essay prompts in mind. Savvy juniors, and regular readers of this blog, know that the earlier a college applicant starts drafting his or her essay, the more prepared they are. Here are the new essay prompts: Some students have a background or story that is so central to their identity that they believe their application would be incomplete without it. If this sounds like you, then please share your story. Recount an incident or time when you experienced failure. How did it affect you, and what lessons did you learn? Reflect on a time when you challenged a belief or idea. What prompted you to act? Would you make the same decision again? Describe a place or environment where you are perfectly content. What do you do or experience there, and why is it meaningful to you? Discuss an accomplishment or event, formal or informal, that marked your transition from childhood to adulthood within your culture, community, or family.

Questions | For discussion and reading comprehension:

• Why did the Common Application receive criticism several months ago for its essay prompts?
• Do you miss the “topic of your choice” option? Why or why not?
• Why would The Choice publish these topics now?
• What do the new topics have in common??
• How do you feel about the new word count?

RELATED RESOURCES

From the learning network.

• Lesson | Going Beyond Cliché: How to Write a Great College Essay
• Student Opinion | What Mundane Moments in Your Life Might Make Great Essay Material?
• Lesson | Getting Personal: Creating Your Own College Essay Prompts

From NYTimes.com

• Common Application is Removing a Surprising Essay Topic
• Juniors: In the Quiet of Summer, Start Your Essays
• Your Admissions Essay, Live on Stage

Around the Web

• Juniors and Common App Essays: Wait to Write Them
• TeenInk College Guide: Today’s Best College Essays
• >MIT Admissions: How to Write a College Essay

Activity | Tell students that they will have the opportunity to expand on the ideas they discussed at the beginning of class by drafting an essay in response to one of the prompts, but first, they are going to comb The New York Times for models of each topic and look closely at them to see how others have told their stories and what they might learn about how to effectively tell their own. ( Note: Many of the pieces we’ve chosen as “mentor texts” below, are either by or about young people, but some are not. Please use the choices as suggestions only: there are many, many pieces in The Times weekly that fit the Common App prompts well.)

Assign pairs or groups of students each one of the new Common App essay topics and ask them to search the Times (and elsewhere) for essays that might serves as models. Give each group the following articles, essays, or columns to use as starting points. Each group member should find at least one additional model and bring in the clipping or Web site to class for analysis and discussion.

Some students have a background or story that is so central to their identity that they believe their application would be incomplete without it. If this sounds like you, then please share your story.

• It’s O.K. to Put Yourself First : An essay in which a writer meditates on the impact of a serious illness on her life and family.
• My Son and the City : A woman moves to New York City with her son, who has serious medical challenges and developmental disabilities–and, she writes, “in a place famous for its anonymous crowds, [he] has been learning about people.”

Recount an incident or time when you experienced failure. How did it affect you, and what lessons did you learn?

• A Rat’s Tale : A writer discusses her failure to be the sister her brother wanted and what she learned.
• Pancake Chronicles : An entertaining account of a disastrous first job.
• A Heartbroken Temp at Brides.com : After a groom changes his mind, his would-be bride, with “no money, no apartment, no job” takes a position at a wedding Web site.

Reflect on a time when you challenged a belief or idea. What prompted you to act? Would you make the same decision again?

• From Tehran to the B Train : A young woman stands up to a mugger on the subway.
• Winning Essay: Win a Trip Contest : An essay about fighting injustice all around the world.
• I Found My Biological Parents, and Wish I Hadn’t : “I’d expected to find more common ground,” writes the author of this essay.

Describe a place or environment where you are perfectly content. What do you do or experience there, and why is it meaningful to you?

• Yes, I’m in a Clique : A Student from Columbine High School discusses the comfort of a clique.
• My Manhattan; A Lifetime of Memories and Magic : A meditation on Central Park
• My Home in Africa : An American feels at home in the Republic of Benin.

Discuss an accomplishment or event, formal or informal, that marked your transition from childhood to adulthood within your culture, community, or family.

• A Life Plan for Two, Followed by One : An essay about young love and loss of innocence.
• Forbidden Nofruit : A reflection on junk food, family, and rebellion.
• Bitter Sweets : A young man who has “a hard time” with his Chinese-American identity looks for an apartment with his white girlfriend.

Generally speaking, the following Times sections offer good models for personal essays:

• Lives Columns
• Modern Love Columns
• The Townies series

In addition, the following Learning Network features pull together high interest pieces that make good models for student writing.

• Great Read-Alouds From The New York Times
• Teenagers in the Times
• Using Opening Lines From the Magazine’s ‘Lives’ Column as Writing Prompts
• 10 Personal Writing Ideas

When students identify the models, ask them to analyze them as models for writing, using the following questions:

• How does the writer begin the piece? Is it effective? Why or why not? What advice would you give an essay writer based on how this model begins?
• Where do you see the writer demonstrating what he or she is saying? In other words, where is he or she showing, rather than telling?
• What words does the writer use that really make his or her voice come alive for you?
• How does the piece end? Is this an effective technique? Why or why not?
• Finally, try “reverse outlining” the piece to see how the writer organized and developed his or her ideas.

Help students explore more Times models and advice for writing well with this lesson . For expository essay models that go beyond the personal, try this one .

Going Further |

After exploring Times models, students are now ready to craft their own essays. Ask students to choose a topic that intrigued them during the warm-up and draft an essay, using Times Resources to help them.

They might start with the three articles we’ve pulled drawings from to illustrate this lesson plan:

• Common App 4.0
• The Almighty Essay
• Returning Favors With Neighborly Advice

Then move on to specific advice offered by The Choice blog:

• On College Essay, Write About Something That Made You ‘Feel Deeply’”
• A Plea From the Admissions Office to Go for the ‘Dangerous’ Essay
• What the New Dean at Pomona Looks for in an Essay

• Hearing the Voice of a 51-Year-Old Man in the Essay of a 17-Year-Old Girl
• Treating a College Admissions Essay Like a First Date
• Crafting an Application Essay that ‘Pops’
• Tip Sheet: An Admissions Dean Offers Advice on Writing a College Essay
• Advice on Whittling Your Admissions Essay

Students who are having trouble coming up with ideas might browse the responses to our Student Opinion question What Mundane Moments in Your Life Might Make Great Essay Material? or this tip sheet from The Choice blog.

Teachers wishing to develop this lesson into a more complete unit on the college essay might focus more on crafting the essay itself using this lesson on Going Beyond Cliché: How to Write a Great College Essay” coupled with the resources from this 2009 lesson . Students might also find this advice useful.

Once students have completed their drafts, ask that they use the College Essay Checklist (PDF) to evaluate their essays either individually or in pairs.

Common Core ELA Anchor Standards, 6-12

Reading 1. Read closely to determine what the text says explicitly and to make logical inferences from it; cite specific textual evidence when writing or speaking to support conclusions drawn from the text. 4. Interpret words and phrases as they are used in a text, including determining technical, connotative, and figurative meanings, and analyze how specific word choices shape meaning or tone. 5. Analyze the structure of texts, including how specific sentences, paragraphs and larger parts of the text (for example, a section, chapter, scene or stanza) relate to each other and the whole. 6. Assess how point of view or purpose shapes the content and style of a text. 10. Read and comprehend complex literary and informational texts independently and proficiently.

Writing 3. Write narratives to develop real or imagined experiences or events using effective technique, well-chosen details and well-structured event sequences. 4. Produce clear and coherent writing in which the development, organization and style are appropriate to task, purpose and audience. 5. Develop and strengthen writing as needed by planning, revising, editing, rewriting or trying a new approach.

Speaking and Listening 1. Prepare for and participate effectively in a range of conversations and collaborations with diverse partners, building on others’ ideas and expressing their own clearly and persuasively.

Language 1. Demonstrate command of the conventions of standard English grammar and usage when writing or speaking. 3. Apply knowledge of language to understand how language functions in different contexts, to make effective choices for meaning or style, and to comprehend more fully when reading or listening.

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What a great resource you are, and to think that until last week I had no idea you even existed! Thanks to your post, I just followed up on The Choice’s suggestion to add additional helpful essay-starting exercises of my own. “What’s in your room?” has long been the prompt I use to get things rolling – even before the Common App posted its new questions. And look: Question 4 readily lends itself to that train of thought.

Your suggestions have also been a good way for me to refine an area where I don’t quite agree. I’ve never found it useful to have students look at model essays written by other people, in the same way I don’t (usually) find it a good idea when students begin their essays with someone else’s lofty quotation. I’d much rather give them the strategies to look deeper within themselves to provide both the text and, more importantly, the subtext. In fact, I don’t feel that even the Common Core heeds the omnipresence of a deeper intuitive logic within the writing process. In the college essay I believe the chief goal should be to get students to realize they are the only authority they may need when it comes to making, then sharing, the amazing, unique connections they have arrived at based on experiences they alone are qualified to speak of. =)

Thanks so much for letting us know, Maxene! (And consider inviting your students to do our Summer Reading Contest , too!) –Katherine

This chart is very use fol for students

This is one of the most extensive and helpful posts I’ve read on how to write college admissions essays. My feeling is that most English teachers know their great literature, but are not as versed on teaching writing–especially narrative style pieces. I agree that the best place to get ideas for unique topics, as well as learn how to structure these more informal essays, is by reading what others have written. You have collected a wonderful assortment of sample essays. Reading excellent writing, especially the New York Times, is also very helpful, especially feature-style articles that use creative writing techniques, such as anecdotal leads and descriptive details. I try to share similar writing advice on my blog, Essay Hell.

Excellent resource, thank you.

I am in the process of writing my common application essay, and this is served as inspiration.

It was very useful for me.

Is the essay you write just as important as your SAT scores?

This will help me immensely when I begin writing my college essay prompt.

Some students have a background or story that is so central to their identity that they believe their application would be incomplete without it. If this sounds like you, then please share your story. //www.essayhelpcollege.blogspot.com //writingcenter.unc.edu/handouts/application-essays/

Common Application will retain the current set of first-year essay prompts for 2014-15, without any edits or additions. //dartmouth.edu/writing-speech/ wwwbuyessay.co.uk

I saw some sources about relationship. Is it okay to write about your love and how in has influenced you to become a better person?

Hi, these tips are really helpful to write my personal statement for law school. I was feeling overwhelmed to compose my personal statement.

Found your blog very useful & informative. Thanks for such a nice post.

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College Essay Examples, Why They Worked, and Essay Tips

• By Debbie Schwartz

Published July 21, 2023 | Last Updated April 20th, 2024 at 03:51 pm

Your application essay is pivotal in distinguishing yourself from other candidates in the competitive college admissions landscape. College essays offer a unique opportunity to showcase your personality, experiences, and aspirations to admissions officers. 

This article explores why college essays matter, presents examples of successful college essays to inspire and guide you, and provides tips for writing yours.

Why College Essays Matter

College essays can make you stand out from the crowd. College admissions officers review countless applications, and a well-crafted essay can help you leave a lasting impression.

While your grades and extracurricular activities provide valuable information, your essay offers a glimpse into your character, values, and potential contributions to the campus community. It allows you to showcase your individuality and make a personal connection with the admissions committee.

Admissions officers seek essays demonstrating your ability to think critically, communicate effectively, and present who you are. They seek a compelling narrative showcasing your self-awareness, maturity, and growth. Additionally, they want to see evidence of your passion, intellectual curiosity, and unique perspective. You can tailor your essay to meet their expectations by understanding what admissions officers seek.

How to Use Essay Examples Effectively

When writing college essays, some people debate whether it’s helpful or not to read other students’ college application essay examples for inspiration.

It’s worthwhile to read essay examples ONLY if there’s a critique of what worked or didn’t work in the essay. Otherwise, reading other students’ essays can be confusing since you won’t know if it was their style, topic, or approach that worked with admissions officers.

Helpful College Application Essay Examples

In particular, we’re huge fans of Johns Hopkins articles on “Essays That Worked,” since admission officers detail why they thought the college admission essay examples were effective.

Also included is some general advice on answering the “Why This College” essay, as it’s important for students to explain why a particular school can be a good fit for them.

• Tufts Essays That Worked
• How to Answer “Why This College?”Essay: Part 1
• How to Answer “Why This College?”Essay: Part 2
• How to Answer “Why This College?”Essay: Part 3

For the past few years, The New York Times has invited students to share their college admissions essays on money, class, working, and the economy, followed up with reactions and thoughts on the essays’ effectiveness by Ron Lieber.

• 2018 essays: Standout College Application Essays
• 2019 essays: Standout College Application Essays
• 2020 essays: Standout College Application Essays
• 2021 essays: Standout College Application Essays
• 2022 essays: Standout College Application Essays
• 2023 essays: Standout College Application Essays

In summary, here are Lieber’s main points about why he liked these essays:

• “They took brave and counterintuitive positions” on their topics.
• They were all “talking openly” about issues that are “emotionally complex and often outright taboo.”
• They had “an appetite for risk.” (One student wrote about the application process itself, a topic that is usually discouraged.)
• They were bold (with their ideas, language, and opinions).
• They kept their edges (meaning, they didn’t allow parents or counselors or editors to over-edit their pieces and retained their unique, though sometimes rough, teenage voices).

How to Write a Strong College Essay

Do your research first. Review examples that explain why the essay worked. Reflect on that, and then choose your topic. It should reflect your core values and make you stand out from the crowd. Be specific. Use details, not vague generalities. Finally, edit and proofread.

Here are the details on how to write a standout college essay:

• Review examples and why they succeeded: Use the above examples for precisely this reason. They explain why they worked. Without explanations, it’s too easy to get confused.
• Pick a meaningful topic: Choose one that is meaningful to you and allows you to showcase your personality, values, or experiences. Consider significant moments, challenges you’ve overcome, or transformative experiences that have shaped your outlook on life. Selecting a topic that resonates with you will make it easier to convey your emotions and capture the reader’s attention.
• Keep the focus on you: While it’s important to mention external experiences or people that have influenced you, remember that the essay should primarily focus on your own thoughts, reflections, and growth. The admissions officers want to understand who you are and how you navigate the world. Be introspective and demonstrate self-awareness throughout your essay.
• Use specific details and examples: General statements can dilute the impact of your essay. Instead, use vivid descriptions, specific examples, and anecdotes to illustrate your points. By providing concrete details, you paint a vivid picture that engages the reader and helps them understand your experiences more deeply.
• Reveal something unique about yourself: Admissions officers read countless essays, so it’s crucial to stand out. Highlight your distinctive qualities, perspectives, or skills that make you unique. Avoid clichés and focus on what sets you apart from other applicants. Show your passion, originality, and authenticity.
• Tell a story: Craft your essay as a compelling narrative that captivates the reader from beginning to end. Engage the reader with a powerful opening, maintain their interest through a well-structured middle section, and leave a lasting impression with a memorable conclusion. A compelling story showcasing your personal growth or transformation will have a lasting impact.
• Edit and proofread: Writing a strong essay is the first step; revising and proofreading are equally important. Review your essay for clarity, coherence, grammar, and spelling errors. Seek feedback from trusted teachers, mentors, or family members who can offer constructive criticism. Make sure your essay is polished and error-free before submitting it.

Other Resources

Look at Big Future ‘s (via College Board) advice and answers to frequently asked college admissions essay questions.

• College Essays: FAQs
• Tips for Writing and Effective Application Essay

And if professional help is needed, check out our 1:1 essay coaching sessions.

– Contributor Jackie Palochko contributed to this report.

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