How to Write a College Essay About Yourself? Tips

Learn how to impress the admissions committee when writing a college essay about yourself.

The majority of applicants to elite universities have stellar academic records, standardized test results, and extracurricular involvement. What criteria do admissions officers use to select applicants from among all of these outstanding students? The college essay is one way.

The admissions committee can better understand who you are—the real you—by reading your personal statement in conjunction with other qualitative considerations like teacher recommendations. So it goes without saying that writing a great one is crucial.

Before you begin, review our detailed instructions on how to write a college essay about yourself.

How to Write a College Essay About Yourself?

Even though your test results are important, your character says a lot more about your potential for success than your grades. Because of this, admissions committees for colleges place a high value on your essay.

Because of this, you must learn how to write a strong, sincere, and memorable college essay about yourself.

Tips for Writing An Essay About Yourself

Choose a Topic That’s Meaningful to You

The first step in writing an excellent essay is choosing a subject that has personal significance for you. The reader will sense your passion if you write with it.

Alternatively, picking a subject that isn’t particularly important to you but that you believe the admissions committee will be interested in won’t result in a strong essay because it will be clear that you aren’t very invested in it.

Show Your Personality

Your college essay should emphasize your personality, among other things. The essay will allow admissions officers to learn more about you as a person in addition to your transcript and list of accomplishments. Make sure every part shows off your personality.

Picking your essay out of a pile of unidentified papers should allow your friends to read it, and identify it as being written by you. In the same vein, after reading your essay, a complete stranger ought to feel as though they have a good understanding of who you are.

Write in Your Own Voice

You must use your own voice when writing your essay if you want it to sound authentic. Don’t overdo the formality (but also don’t let it go too far). Do not present a stiff or stilted version of yourself to the reader; you want them to get to know the real you.

Feel free to employ vocabulary that comes naturally to you, include dialogue, and use contractions.

Use Specific Examples

Your essay will come alive if you use real-world, practical examples and stories. Your narrative will gain color from them, which will pique the reader’s interest. The goal is to interest your audience, which is the admissions committee.

Don’t Be Afraid to Show Off

Always put your best foot forward; after all, the purpose of your essay is to sell yourself to colleges. This is not the time to be modest about your successes, abilities, or qualities.

While Also Maintaining Humility.

But when talking about your accomplishments, be modest and avoid boasting. The author mentions her accomplishments in the aforementioned example, for instance, while still mentioning that her parents continued to view her as a young child.

This is a fantastic way for her to demonstrate humility while still highlighting how she was able to disprove her parents.

Be Vulnerable

Humility and authenticity go hand in hand with vulnerability. Don’t be afraid to look into how your experience affected you and the emotions you felt. This will also aid in giving life to your story.

Don’t Lie Or Hyperbolize

The subject of this essay is the real you. Lying or exaggerating to sound better will weaken your application as well as your essay, which will become less authentic as a result. It will almost certainly be obvious that you are at least exaggerating.

Additionally, if universities later discover that you lied on any part of your application, you risk having your acceptance revoked or, if you’ve already matriculated, being expelled.

Avoid Cliches

Your personal experience with the COVID-19 pandemic. A sporting triumph as a symbol of your journey. How losing a pet changed the way you think. The number of essays on these subjects that admissions officers have read is unimaginable. It’s best to stay away from them unless you have a truly original angle.

Proofread

This action is crucial. Even a minor mistake can ruin an otherwise excellent essay. For your own peace of mind, make sure you read it thoroughly and get a second (or third, or fourth) pair of eyes.

How Long Should My College Essay Be?

The best college essays, according to a quick Google search, are between 500 and 650 words long.

You have a lot of freedom to highlight your accomplishments, making it the perfect length for a college essay. In addition, the 650-word limit will force you to move on from a topic after a limited amount of time has passed.

In short, the admission committee wants you to-

• Share only the important bits of your life
• Highlight what’s necessary, and
• Use your words economically

Personally, we advise you to introduce yourself in the first 580–600 words. Highlight your contributions to the campus community in the remaining paragraphs.

Conclusion: Write a College Essay About Yourself

In a field of qualified candidates, as you might expect, your college essay will help you stand out. If it works, it will also give the admissions panel a better idea of who you are so they can determine how you’ll interact with and contribute to the student body and institution.

Furthermore, it will demonstrate to the school that you possess the written communication skills necessary for most careers, regardless of where you end up, which include the ability to express yourself convincingly and clearly.

It can be intimidating to write a college essay about yourself, but once you know how to approach it, it’s really not that bad. You’ll be all set if you follow these advice. Start writing now!

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