THE COLLEGE ADMISSION ESSAY
Show me the man who doesn’t like talking about himself.
Paraphrased from East of Eden
Purpose:
• To write an essay in response to a college admission application, or
• To write an essay for a scholarship application, or
• To write an essay for a job application, or
• To write a personal essay about your experiences, your influences, or your views
(Though you have choices, please use this opportunity to write the essay that will be most practical for you. And remember that even if you do not plan to go to college now, you may decide to go in the future.)
Rationale:
Most of you need to write this essay for the very real and impending approach of application deadlines. Even if you don’t, though, all of us need to work on our ability to sell ourselves and our abilities to others, whether it be to admission officers, employers, or customers. And less practically but perhaps more importantly, I hope this essay encourages you to reflect on yourself and your experiences. The process of conveying yourself to others might help you understand yourself better. For how do we know something until we put it in words?
Requirements:
o Submit a typed draft of the essay for peer editing by September 11 (A Day) and September 14 (B Day).
o Type the prompt at the top of the first page.
o Follow the directions for correct formatting and length.
o Keep the edited copy and the peer editing handout to turn in the day your final essay is due.
Submit a final, revised, edited, typed essay by September 15 (A Day) and September 16 (B Day).
o This counts as a level three grade.
o Type the prompt along the top of the first page
o Your essay is due to at the beginning of your class period on the due date. I will not grade any essays that have not been cleared through the website. Do not wait until the last minute to submit; technical difficulties do not excuse your essay from being late.
Grading:
Your essay will be graded on:
o Adherence to the prompt and its requirements
o Focus
o Organization and transitions
o Style, including effectiveness of diction, details, imagery, syntax, dialogue
o Correctness of spelling, grammar, and other conventions
o Creativity and originality
o Minimum length of 250 words (The application won't accept a response shorter than 250 words.)
o Maximum length of 650 words
Possible Essay Topics
Below are a few topics to help you get started. Be sure to look at your institution’s website, though, to view all of the specific requirements. Choose ONE of the prompts on this page based on where you are most interested in attending school.
Apply Texas: Choose one of these prompts if you intend to apply only to schools in Texas.
Essay A: Describe a setting in which you have collaborated or interacted with people whose experiences and/or
beliefs differ from yours. Address your initial feelings, and how those feelings were or were not changed by
this experience.
Essay B: Describe a circumstance, obstacle or conflict in your life and the skills and resources you used to resolve it.
Did it change you? If so, how?
Essay C: Considering your lifetime goals, discuss how your current and future academic and extra-curricular activities
might help you achieve your goals.
Essay D: Personal interaction with objects, images, and spaces can be so powerful as to change the way one thinks about particular issues or topics. For your intended area of study (architecture, art history, design, studio art, visual art studies/art education), describe an experience where instruction in that area or your personal interaction with an object, image, or space effected this type of change in your thinking. What did you do to act upon your new thinking and what have you done to prepare yourself for further study in this area?
Check the Apply Texas website to ensure that the college or university you have in mind will accept one of the prompts above. UT requires at least two essays (Topic C and a second essay in response to A, B, or D). A&M requires Topics A and B. _________________________________________________________________________________________The Common Application: Choose one of these if you are applying to a college or university outside of Texas.
• Some students have a background, identity, interest, or talent that is so meaningful they believe their application would be incomplete without it. If this sounds like you, then please share your story.
• The lessons we take from failure can be fundamental to later success. Recount an incident or time when you experienced failure. How did it affect you, and what did you learn from the experience?
• 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 problem you’ve solved or a problem you’d like to solve. It can be an intellectual challenge, a research query, an ethical dilemma – anything that is of personal importance, no matter the scale. Explain its significance to you and what steps you took or could be taken to identify a solution.
• Discuss an accomplishment or event, formal or informal, that marked your transition from childhood to adulthood within your culture, community, or family.
Check the Common Application website to ensure that the college or university you have in mind will accept one of the prompts above.
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