Master the College Application Essay
[Pages:18]Master the College Application Essay
Using the Art of Writing and the Science of Success
A white paper by Jaclyn Corley, Founder of
Table of Contents
Executive Summary
2
Introduction
3
Impact of Recent Admission Trends on College Application Essays
How are new trends in college admissions impacting the college essay?
4
How have these changes impacted students?
6
Where are students getting guidance?
7
What are the current requirements?
8
New Findings: The Art of Writing to Admissions
Picking the right topic
9
Methods
10
Effective strategies
11
New Findings: The Science Behind a Successful Essay
Mindset and performance
14
Effectively coping with stress
15
Conclusion
16
Works Cited
17
1
Executive Summary
With frequent changes to college essay prompts, a rising number of application submissions, a studentto-counselor ratio at public schools nearly double the recommended ratio, and increasing selectivity at elite universities, it can be challenging for college applicants to navigate the complex world of writing to a college admissions audience. College applicants, teachers, guidance counselors, and advisors can benefit from understanding and implementing the strategies and principles of writing effective college application essays. The findings for this paper indicate that the best approach for mastering a college application essay is one that combines the art of writing and the science of success. This conclusion is based off of the recommendations of admissions officers, writing experts, and on scientific research on the adolescent mind.
2
Introduction
According to recent data from the National Association for College Admission Counseling (NACAC), the importance of the college application essay for admission consideration has increased in the past two decades. A well-received college application essay can make the difference between a rejection and an acceptance letter at selective universities. The college application essay refers to the essays or series of essays requested by a university as a component of a student's application for admission consideration. Although some universities may request creative pieces, this paper will focus on application essays written as personal narratives. This paper will review the recent trends in college application essay expectations and will detail common advice from admissions officers and writing experts. It will focus on the art of writing for a college admission audience, and it will demonstrate how recent findings on adolescent mindsets may be used to support applicants during the writing process.
3
How are new trends in college admissions impacting the college essay?
The number of college applications received by universities has risen exponentially, and this trend, along with increased enrollment, is projected to continue. 2
Several factors contribute to this rise including more students who plan to attend 4-year institutions, the widespread acceptance of The Common Application, and increased selectivity from top universities with acceptance rates as low as 5%. Other factors may include increased availability of online information about universities and software platforms like Naviance that assist students with college and career readiness.
The prevalence of online application submission has made it easier for students to apply to multiple universities, and they have.
"According to the National Association for College Admission Counseling (NACAC), in 1990 just 9 percent of students applied to seven or more colleges.
In the class of 2014, according to Naviance, 16.5 percent of seniors using the system said they intended to apply to 11 to 20 colleges. (Naviance did not have figures on how many applications were actually filed.)" 12
4
This increase in applications has changed the way applications are processed by admissions officers. While grades and standardized test scores are still considered the most important contributing factors for admission, there are now more students who meet the grades and scores for acceptance.
The increase in highly-qualified applicants has prompted admissions officers to place more weight on other parts of the application to make decisions. These include application essays and letters of recommendation from teachers and counselors.
According to data from NACAC's Admissions
Trend Survey, 61% of universities responded
that application essays were of considerable (22.1%) or moderate importance (39.0%).2 By
comparison, in 1994, only 14% of universities
stated that essays were of considerable importance. 1
Admissions officers use the college application essay to learn about a candidate's personality, which can help determine whether a student will fit in with a school's culture and how he or she compares with other potential applicants.
*Graph data based off surveys by the National Association for College 2
Admission Counseling*
5
How have these changes impacted students?
The NACAC's State of Admissions 2015 Report indicates that although the average acceptance rate across all ranked schools was 64.7% in 2014, admission rates have become more competitive. 2
Pressure to be accepted into selective colleges has contributed to higher levels of chronic stress in teens according to a multi-method study of teen stress at private school serving affluent students.
In one of this study's surveys, getting into college was the third leading source of teen stress behind grades (#1) and homework (#2).
Reported sources of chronic stress in teens at private schools:
Getting into college
Grades
Homework
The lead author noted that although her team chose to study private school students, there is "no doubt students in selective public high schools also experience high rates of chronic stress." 15
6
Where are students getting essay guidance?
A study by the NACAC found that the average secondary school student-to-counselor ratio was 436:1. The national recommendation is 250:1.
In the NACAC's most recent survey, there were clear distinctions between private and public school's college counseling. The following figure shows that private schools were almost 2.5x more likely to have a counselor specific for college guidance and spent twice the amount of time on post-secondary counseling. While private school counselors spent 55% of their time on college counseling, public school counselors spent just 22%. 2
Percentage of time guidance counselors spent on college guidance:
These figures correspond with a boom in the independent educational consultant industry. In 2012, families spent $400 million on college consultants. 17
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