Clear writing is a critical college and life skill.
Prospective students should expect that their college years will be a time of intense writing. To get the process underway, most schools include a section on the application called the personal statement. This is your first opportunity to impress the admissions office with your writing chops. Institutions place varying degrees of emphasis on what is essentially an essay intended to convince them that you would make an excellent addition to the student body. In case you aren't aware, the parameters of the statement are often broad, allowing the applicant leeway in topic selection.
Personal Interests
Though the number of particular essay questions posed on college applications nationwide number in the hundreds, most fall into a few broad categories, one of which attempts to turn your thoughts toward an assessment of a subject or activity that interests you. There are many ways to phrase the questions but, ultimately, it wants you to discuss what motivates your interest, how it has developed over your lifetime and how you plan to pursue it going forward.
Career Goals
The topic of career goals is a natural on a college application so be prepared with some solid ideas of what you intend to do in the future vocationally and how college can help you get there. Don't fret too much if you're still unclear on career direction. Pick something, pretend like it's your heart's desire and defend it to the death in writing. Don't worry though. No one will hold a gun to your head and force you to continue should your mind change.
Insight
Some colleges such as Duke (though there are others) might use the essay portion of the application to ask the student why they are interested in that school. They likely want to know if you are at least somewhat familiar with what you're getting into, whether or not it's a good match and if you've actually done any homework on this important life choice.
Tricky
The tendency is to always portray yourself in the best light when writing a college application essay. There's nothing wrong with that. It's human nature. But some schools throw something of a curve ball at you when they ask questions designed to reflect upon times when you have not been successful or about which quality in yourself you consider to be the weakest. While there certainly can be an answer the admissions office would consider weak, the whole point of the exercise is to find out how well you can organize and express thoughts. The essay is not your the enemy, but rather an opportunity to strut your language skills.
Tags: admissions office, college application