Master the College Application Essay

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*

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