Writing College Application Essays: Advice From Yale

If you want excellent advice on how to write the college application essay, listen to what Marcia Landesman, Admissions Officer at Yale University, has to say.

In two paragraphs she boils the college application essay down to its essence: "Write what matters to you. Your perspective is what's important." (As you read don't be confused - Yale requires two essays but you may be writing only one. The advice still applies.)

Here's Marcia's advice:

"...Write about something that matters to you. Use your own voice. Do not worry about making a special effort to include impressive vocabulary words or overly complex sentences. If you sound like yourself and discuss something you care about, your essay will be more effective.

"We know that no one can fit an entire life story into two 500 word essays, and we don’t expect you to try. Pick two topics that will give us an idea of who you are.  It doesn’t matter which topics you choose, as long as they are meaningful to you. We have read wonderful essays on common topics and weak essays on highly unusual ones. Your perspective – the lens through which you view your topic – is far more important than the specific topic itself. In the past, students have written about family situations, ethnicity or culture, school or community events to which they have had strong reactions, people who have influenced them, significant experiences, intellectual interests, personal aspirations, or – more generally – topics that spring from the life of the imagination.

"Finally: proofread, proofread, proofread! Share your essays with at least one or two people who know you well – such as a parent, teacher, counselor, or friend – and ask for feedback. Remember that you ultimately have control over your essays, and your essays should retain your own voice, but others may be able to catch mistakes that you missed and help suggest areas to cut if you are over the word limit."

Good advice.

Sharon Epstein is owner of First Impressions College Consulting and is the recipient of a Writers Guild Award and two Emmy nominations for her writing.
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