Brainstorming Worksheet for the College Essay



Name____________________________ Brainstorming Worksheet for the College Essay

If you were writing an autobiography right now, what would be the five to ten events or things that would have to be included? It will be easiest to think over your life chronologically.

1.________________________________ 6. ________________________________

2.________________________________ 7. ________________________________

3.________________________________ 8. ________________________________

4.________________________________ 9. ________________________________

5.________________________________ 10. ________________________________

Ask a friend and a family member to pick five adjectives or personality traits that characterize you. List them here:

Friend or Family Member #1 Friend or Family Member #2

1.________________________________ 1. ________________________________

2.________________________________ 2. ________________________________

3.________________________________ 3. ________________________________

4.________________________________ 4. ________________________________

5.________________________________ 5. ________________________________

List four accomplishments you have made over the last four years. (Don't limit yourself to those for which you have been formally recognized. The most interesting essays are often based on accomplishments that gain significance only when placed within the context of one's life.)

1.________________________________ 3. ________________________________

2.________________________________ 4. ________________________________

List three to four areas in which you consider yourself very knowledgeable.

1.________________________________ 3. ________________________________

2.________________________________ 4. ________________________________

List your most important extracurricular or community activities.

1.________________________________ 3. ________________________________

2.________________________________ 4. ________________________________

List four people whom you respect and admire. They can be real or fictional, dead or alive.

1.________________________________ 3. ________________________________

2.________________________________ 4. _______________________________

What is your favorite book or movie? ______________________________________

Who is your favorite musician? _________________________________

List two times you failed miserably:

1.________________________________ 2. ________________________________

Ask your parent(s)/guardian(s) for five event(s) in your life that s/he/they will always remember:

1.________________________________ 2. ________________________________

2.________________________________ 3. ________________________________

5.________________________________

If you were marooned on a desert island, what five things (besides the necessities) would you want to have with you?

1.________________________________ 2. ________________________________

2.________________________________ 3. ________________________________

5.________________________________

When you are choosing a topic for your college essay, consider the big picture -- the overall impression that your transcript, your letters of recommendation, your list of activities, your summer experiences, your employment experience, your standardized test scores, all the rest of the packet you are sending in -- and then consider what aspect of you and your life is missing. Aim to convey that missing piece in your essay. (Maybe your sense of humor? An emotional or intellectual discovery you made?)

Also, try to think of your essay not as a "barrier" or "requirement" but as an "opportunity," an extra card in your deck that you can play the way you want to. So many other aspects of your application are partly controlled by other: your grades, letters of recommendations, test scores. You control what you talk about and how with the essay.

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