But Nothing Has Ever Happened To Me!
High school seniors all over the country are in a state of panic. Without further procrastination and with much ado, the time has come for them to write the dreaded college essay. What students find most terrifying about this portion of their application is the enormous latitude that colleges offer in terms of what students can write about. Though the wording of prompts differs from campus to campus, applicants are essentially instructed to "Tell us about you."
Yikes! Can you imagine having to craft 500-600 words on the subject of "you" without freezing up? It doesn’t help that teachers have done such a good job of making students aware how important it is to consider the specific audience for any piece of writing. The more aware 17-year-olds are of this audience, one who holds in its hands the next four years of their lives, the more freaked-out teenagers become. The first thing anyone writing a college essay needs to do is CALM DOWN.
My students wail, "But I’m just a regular person." "We go to Hawaii for vacation. How can I write about that?" "Karina is so lucky. Her sister was in a terrible accident." "Nothing ever happened to me." Instead of responding to this whining (which is in fact a genuine call for help), I ask students to take out a piece of paper. I have them put their name in the middle of the page, circle it, and then jot down all around their name qualities, personality traits, idiosyncrasies, strengths, weaknesses, virtues, vices that come to mind when they think of themselves. I then hand out highlighters and have students indicate which of these traits they want to make sure are somehow included in their essay. Whatever the subject they eventually choose to write about: that one night, my trip to Israel, getting cut from the cross-country team, the death of a beloved grandparent, falling out of a car, students want the story to illuminate these key qualities.
Before beginning their first drafts, I warn of common pitfalls:
- A listing of information about activities or achievements that appear elsewhere in the application: If a student has made the Olympic Development team for 3 years in a row, he need not restate this fact in his essay. What could make a powerful essay would be a reflection about the pressure the student felt that third time around when everyone (except maybe the player himself) expected him to qualify. Depth rather than breadth should be the goal here.
- Trying to be funny: Unless the humor comes naturally, I urge students to avoid contrived attempts at cleverness. While this seems like a way to set yourself apart from the pack, it can also backfire because though you may make your readers laugh, they often come from such essays not knowing much more about you than when they started. Few universities are looking to enroll a class of comedians.
- The other person: Some colleges specifically ask the applicant to write about a person who has had a major influence on the student’s life. Constructing such essays can be tricky because it is easy to get caught up describing the other person and forget about – or run out of space for – writing about yourself.
- The epiphany: Often students are drawn to eye-opening experiences, those ah-ha moments, as subjects for their college essays. While life-changing moments can make for good writing, applicants need not feel that they must conclude from their epiphany that they are now completely mature, fully-formed human beings. Colleges understand that high school students are works in progress. Young writers needn’t be afraid of portraying themselves as occasionally confused and somewhat inexperienced. Reviewers appreciate youthful optimism.