It’s that time of year again. For seniors, the college application process is well underway, and one of the most important aspects of it is the personal essay. This can also be one of the most vexing parts of the college application process, as pondering what to write can be very an arduous task. Moreover, as soon as a student believes that he or she has finally uncovered the perfect subject to write about, the relatively small, maximum word count inhibits one’s ability to successfully convey one’s views. Overcoming these obstacles is the challenge that must be met, and there are several strategies to make this process easier and less stressful. So for seniors who need to perfect their essays before applying to schools and for juniors who may be thinking into the not-so-distant future, here are a few suggestions to write a great college essay.

Ms. DiRe and Mr. Pugliese, two English teachers at Floral Park Memorial, composed a PowerPoint of useful tips to help students come up with a good college essay topic and write it to the best of their abilities. First, create an “Autobiography Organizer” and separate what you do into different categories such as school, work, hobbies, influences, and volunteer work. After all, colleges care about more than just how well you have performed academically in school. Using this organizer can help a student to brainstorm ideas for essay topics, thus offering colleges a better snapshot of the individual applicant. It would also help if students asked their close friends to describe their strengths and weaknesses. This part of the process can be completely within a reasonable time frame.

It is important to “show” the committee and not tell them about yourself. If you construct the essay like a story instead of a monotonous list, it will flow much more nicely and be a better read for the person whose job it is to read thousands of college essays. For this reason you should also avoid using clichés in your essay, as they are not going to make a strong impression on the reader. Other things that should be avoided when writing a college essay are generic stories, the use of too many unnecessary words to try to sound smart, trying to solve major world problems, and trying to be perfect. Nobody is perfect, so why would someone reading your college essay expect you to be? They won’t.

Once you have finally finished your essay, step away from it for a while before revisiting it. Your brain needs a break from all the work it has been doing on your essay. Only after you have taken a few days to relax after writing your essay should you revisit it to proofread and edit. It is also a good idea to get others, such as parents or a teacher, to read your essay and provide feedback.

After all of that, you will have your best possible college essays and be one giant step closer to finishing the college application process!