Tips to Show Personality and Stand Out in College Essays
Photo by João Jesus: https://www.pexels.com/photo/selective-focus-photo-of-a-red-tulip-flower-2480072/
by Michelle
Pick up your pen and cross out those lines about a 1st place science award or winning a statewide music competition. While accomplishments and academic awards may have been hard-earned, they may not show the most attention-grabbing or important parts of your personality in the college application essays.
So what are some stronger tips on how to stand out in college essays and show your unique self?
1. Describe your unique self like a character.
If you were a main character in a book, how would you be introduced?
For your appearance, what features might you use to describe yourself? (tall, short, sporty, tanned, bookish, curly-haired, dyed pink hair etc). Which personality traits do you think you could highlight? (a prankster, reserved, chatty, an explorer etc). These could be good ways to paint a quick picture of yourself in your essay.
2. Show descriptive details. Jump deeply into specifics on who you are, and likes and dislikes.
Think about questions that you enjoyed answering as a kid, like a specific favorite candy or a favorite dinosaur.
Do a similar thing, but with your high school interests and experiences. Like music? Don’t just mention you like pop albums—you might mention how you liked ‘the ‘80s rhythms and the subtle sense of irony’ of one specific singer’s album. Want to talk about your cultural background? Don’t just mention food or big holidays—go deeper into one of the unspoken foundations like your culture’s perception of the individual or a specific philosophy towards the past and future.
3.Draw inspiration from fun quizzes
What kind of plant would you be if you were a plant? Which Shakespearean character would you be in a Shakespeare play? Which Taylor Swift album are you?
There are hundreds of internet quizzes out there to take for fun, which you can also use to spark ideas for your college essay. Who knew you could procrastinate and be productive at the same time? (But seriously, you don’t want to procrastinate on writing your college essays)
After reading any quiz results, jot down notes on adjectives or personality traits that seem to match well with you, and see if you can think of experiences that connect with those traits.
With these tips, instead of sounding as bland as paper, you can make your personality jump off the page in your application essay!
For posts similar to this one, you may want to read ‘Expressing Identity in the Common App Prompts’!
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