The College Essay…Updated Prompts, But Still As Important As Ever


   For current juniors, the next year will be a whirlwind of activity during the college application process. There are numerous elements of a student’s application profile that will be scrutinized by admissions counselors across the country. The transcript, testing scores, résumé, and many others will all be submitted and reviewed. While the transcript and testing scores are important quantitative measures for students, the college essay is often the most important qualitative measure that colleges will look at while reviewing a student. Admissions counselors put a ton of emphasis on this part of the application because it gives them an inside look into who the student really is as an individual. Of course, it will help them see how the applicant is as a writer, but more importantly it hopefully will allow them to connect to the student on many levels. If the admissions counselors are impressed with the essay, it can often be the turning point for students being accepted into the institution.

   The college essay is not something students should wait to complete at the last minute. Contemplating, researching, drafting, and reviewing should all start before the senior year of high school. In a short amount of words, students should try to demonstrate their writing skills and explain something about their own life and personality that cannot be seen anywhere else in their application.

   As of last year, there were six essay prompts, one of which was topic of your choice. This will no longer be the case. As the Common Application has announced “the new prompts and the written guidance around them are the culmination of two years of discussion about the role writing plays in a holistic selection process.”  These new prompts should be reviewed in the coming months and students should choose the essay topic that will most effectively allow their voice and personality to shine.

   Besides the change in topics, there are two other important edits to the essay portion of the Common Application. 1) There will no longer be a topic of your choice, leaving five guided prompts and 2) students MUST write essays that are between 250-650 words. This will be strictly enforced and electronic uploads will not accept essays that do not meet the word specification.

   Please be on the lookout for information on the INTENSIVE COLLEGE APPLICATION PROGRAM that will run throughout the summer. There will be different sessions to best accommodate anyone interested in the program. Each program will last only two weeks (about 2 hours per day) and students will leave with a completed and polished Common Application essay and short answer, a résumé, a completed version of the Common Application, a refined college list, interview skills, college visits and a better understanding of the entire admissions process. Once the dates are finalized, information on this program will be mailed out. Space is very limited with only 40-50 spots available, so start thinking about if you would like to be part of this program now. This intensive program is a great way for students to have most of the application aspects completed before senior year even starts!   

Joseph D. Korfmacher, MA

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