Home > CPP’s Blog > The College Essay: ‘Impossible’ Until Students Are Confident About What to Write
February 24, 2011 No Comments

The College Essay: ‘Impossible’ Until Students Are Confident About What to Write

By Sam Rosensohn

Students should write a college essay that only they can write. To do this they must write in their own voice about what they treasure most. This will separate their essay from the others.

A strong college essay provides evidence of a student’s most important achievement, what he cares about most in the world, and why college is important to him.

“When students lament, ‘I’ve never done anything like this before,’ they’re right,” says Sarah M. McGinty, author of The College Application Essay.

An essay that asks students to define themselves is a far cry from “the short analytical papers about historical events, books, documents and lab reports,” McGinty wrote.

“We are trying as hard as we can to get a feeling for who this person is,” states the admissions office at Yale. “The pieces of paper really do represent them pretty well.” So Yale suggests: “Just try and be as honest and open as they can be.”

One way for students to breathe easier about all of this is to look at a wide variety of well-written essays.  Students can ask at school if there are some exceptional essays they can review. They can also look at The Princeton Review’s College Essays That Make a Difference (there are 89 real college essays in the book).

An excellent essay simply “shows you at your alive and thinking best, a person worth listening to – not just for the ten minutes it takes to read your application, but for the next four years,” notes Harry Bauld, author of On Writing the College Application Essay.

Bauld, a former admissions officer at Brown University and assistant director of admissions at Columbia University, encourages a student to say “what he knows in a fresh way that allows us to see for ourselves who he is.”

He discourages students from attempting to say something “startling and new, or strain to be different.”

I agree. At the moment there is a growing trend that has seniors writing highly stylized essays that are short on genuine autobiography.

I’ve watched students labor for hours over what they perceive to be catchy first sentences that convey little information about themselves.

This is not to say that a good essay shouldn’t dazzle from the opening; it’s to say that honest autobiography trumps style every time.

So before you get started, why not take a few pointers from the folks at the University of California at Berkley who put together some terrific suggestions that they’ve called Characteristics of a Good Personal Statement.

They say a good college essay …

-Is thoughtful and honest

A strong personal statement is reflective; that is, it demonstrates that you have thought about and gained a clear perspective on your experiences and what you want in your future. It gives the reader a vivid and compelling picture of you – in essence, telling the reader what he or she should know about you. Remember that the focus of the essay is you – your achievements, your obstacles, your goals, your values.

-Strives for depth, not breadth

A good essay is not a list of your accomplishments. Remember when your mom told you that it’s quality, not quantity that counts? Well, the same adage applies for your college essay. A reader will be much more interested in how your experience demonstrates the theme of your essay, not the number of accomplishments you can list.

-Follows the conventions of good writing

A good essay uses appropriate grammar and syntax, uses precise and vivid language, and does not contain any spelling errors.

-Conforms to guidelines

If the essay instructions tell you that the essay should be two pages long, on white 8.5×11 inch paper, then the essay should be two pages long, on white 8.5×11 inch paper.

-Answers the question!

A good essay is the result of a writer who has examined the essay question and written an essay that explicitly addresses that question.

-Benefits from several drafts and feedback from others

Revision allows an essay to grow. Revising is not editing; revising is the act of “re-seeing” and of looking for those parts of the essay that would benefit from more explication, more (or less) vivid language, or even deleting parts that simply don’t work to move your primary theme forward.

-Contains a catchy introduction that will keep the reader interested

It is important to recognize that essay readers will read hundreds, maybe even thousands, of essays during the application review period. That means that an essay with a catchy introduction, one that gets right to the point and uses precise language and vivid imagery, is going to stand our more than an essay that is predictable and conventional in its opener.

-Transforms blemishes into positives

It’s okay to have flaws! The essay is your chance to show how you have transformed blemishes. For example, if your essay theme is “overcoming obstacles” and you earned a poor grade in a class, but went to a community college at night to repeat the course, it is important for your reader to know this because it is an example of your perseverance.

-Demonstrates your knowledge of the major/college

No one expects you to know everything about the college or university to which you are applying. However, readers will want to know that you have done your homework. For example, if you write an essay that states your interest in becoming an engineer, but the college does not have an engineering program, then you haven’t done your homework.

-Exudes confidence–you will be successful no matter what

A good essay doesn’t beg or brag. Colleges and universities want to admit the best students, and the best students are those who can demonstrate their ability to pursue their goals regardless of where they are admitted. Think of this as quiet confidence – the kind that reveals itself through your description of lifelong interests, sustained commitment, and/or perseverance in the face of adversity.

Sam Rosensohn is the founder of College Planning Partnerships, which offers prep classes for the SAT and helps students to prepare for college and write college essays. He can be reached in Clinton at 860-664-9857 or at sam@satprepct.com

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Gary Burgard

Gary Burgard has been an educator for nearly fifty years. After graduating from Yale in 1959, he taught high school English, worked as an assistant high school principal, became Principal of Wethersfield High School, and finished his school career as Assistant Superintendent of New London Schools. More recently he has worked as a Special Education tutor at Waterford High School and as an SAT and LSAT tutor. He joined College Planning Partnerships in 2004.

Gary and his wife Cathy, also a teacher but more recently a librarian, went through the parent side of college placement with their two sons Matthew (Georgetown) and Timothy (Bucknell). Grandson Lucas and granddaughter Zoe now occupy center stage.

Gary, who was accepted at Harvard University but chose to go to Yale because of a better financial package, has an extraordinary intellect and knowledge base in all areas known to the SAT, the ACT and beyond. When there's a question - whether it's about math or grammar or science - Gary is the guy we go to. He has been instrumental in helping us to continually find more productive ways to reach our students and evaluate our programs.

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Suzanne de Jongh

Suzanne de Jongh tutors the verbal portions of the SAT and the ACT. The former New Jersey high school teacher, who now lives in Ivoryton with her husband and two children, brings exceptional insight to the writing portion of the exam. She worked as an on-line reader and scorer for the College Board. A former newspaper reporter, Suzanne brings a love of language and an exceptional ability to inform to each tutorial. She cares deeply about her students and is quick to show them how to remedy the problems they encounter. She earned her BA from Keene State College in Journalism, and her teaching certificate from Southern Connecticut State University. When not tutoring, she is busy with her children, ages 7 and 9, who are already receiving a modified version of SAT preparation! Suzanne also teaches Sunday School, volunteers in various organizations, and loves to run for exercise.

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Zachary Rosensohn

Zac is a graduate from Wesleyan University. A football player, an English major, a lover of music, Zac continues to help us to find faster and more efficient ways to bring the lessons home to students. Nearly all of our tutors are old enough to be our students' parents so it's essential that we gain a young person's perspective on how we instruct. Zac was essential in creating PowerPoint Presentations for the math that allow us to cover more ground in math in each class. Prior to this innovation there was not enough time to diagram every problem on the board. Zac was also instrumental in helping create The Essay Clinic, a self-standing online essay program. His sense of design and pace is impeccable. That, combined with his self-taught computer skills and longtime interest in teaching and business, makes for a perfect fit at CPP, and we are thrilled that he has joined us full time.

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Mike Kapernaros

Mike is a graduate from Macalester College. He took math classes at Wesleyan University when he was in elementary school. He was ranked 15th in the nation in math in the tenth grade. Despite having more math in his little pinky that most people have in their entire beings, Mike was a down-to-earth football player in college, who also happens to be a champion scrabble player with a terrific sense of humor. He has worked with us - as Zac Rosensohn has - to help us provide the easiest and most straightforward forms of instruction for high school students. He has come up with alternative ways to solve problems that many students immediately grasp. He has helped us to develop curriculum, spot quizzes, and math assessments to determine if students learned enough Algebra I, Geometry or Algebra II in school to do well on the SAT. Mike was originally a student here (he taught us a lot) and has worked with us for over three years. When Mike speaks, we listen.

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Jenny Honan-Smith

Jenny Honan Smith is a motivated, dedicated writer and teacher, who is passionate about the power of words both in literature and in writing. She helped create the content for our college essay online clinic, and as editor and writing tutor, she enjoys helping students find their voices and present their best to the admission officers at the colleges of their choice. She also instructs classes and tutors individual students in the verbal portion of the SAT. Jenny is an instructor at Albertus Magnus College, teaching classes in their associate’s, bachelor’s, and master’s degree programs including courses in literature, college and professional writing, and communications. Additionally, she is a freelance writer and is currently engaged in a 2-year website redevelopment project at WPI. Past freelance work has included articles for local newspapers, web projects, and curricula for high school and college courses. She received her BA in English from The Catholic University of America and her MA in English from Southern Connecticut State University. In the summers, she enjoys boating with her husband and two boys and manages the Thimble Islands Ferry Company, co-owned and operated by her husband.

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Emily Harris-Martinez

A native of Albuquerque, New Mexico, Emily recently returned to Albuquerque after a nine year absence. Emily attended Sandia Preparatory School and went on to Macalester College. Emily received a bachelor’s degree in psychology with a minor in sociology and an emphasis in women’s studies. Emily graduated magna cum laude and is a member of Phi Beta Kappa. Emily was president of Psi Chi, the psychology honor’s society while at Macalester. Upon graduation, Emily re-located to Arizona where she earned her master’s degree in social work and was a member of Phi Alpha, the social work honor’s society. Emily worked in child welfare with at-risk children and families in Arizona until her return to Albuquerque. When not tutoring or caring for her infant son, Emily enjoys reading, the outdoors and finding grammatical errors.

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Ann Louise Rosensohn

Ann Louise, wife of founder Sam Rosensohn, is the chief financial officer. No business decision is made without it going by Ann Louise. She does the books, pays the bills and works to keep our fees and tuitions as low as possible. As a working mom, she understands how hard it is to keep up with rising prices in a down economy. While Ann Louise is the glue and the special ingredient that keeps our enterprise smart, welcoming, cost efficient, she is a fine arts painter by profession. A graduate of the School of Visual Arts in Manhattan, Ann Louise shows her work locally. Nearly all of the art on the walls in our office has been done by Ann Louise. She is the mother of Zac, who also works in the business, and Trevor Rosensohn, a freshman at CU Boulder.

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Thomas Pipoli

Thomas is a graduate of the College of the Holy Cross and double-majored in History and Italian.He has recently achieved his master’s degree in Global, International, and Comparative History at Georgetown University. From an early age, Thomas developed a fascination for important dates, famous figures, and historical themes. He utilizes these passions to help tutor students in preparation for the AP & SAT II subject tests in World history. A specialist in global historical concepts and transnational themes, Thomas is adept at simplifying history and making it understandable for students. Outside the classroom, Thomas loves to travel and cook.

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Bill Banks

Bill Banks, a former print and online journalist, took up teaching English ten years ago in New York public schools. Since then he has taught history and philosophy at The Wooster School in Danbury, as well as literature, film and business as a private tutor. A graduate of Stanford University, he earned a master’s degree in education at Manhattanville College in Purchase, N.Y. For the past eight years, he has also specialized in teaching prep for standardized tests, including the SAT, PSAT and SSAT. Bill lives in Brewster, N.Y., with his wife of twenty years and the youngest of three kids, who foolishly insists that he can wear his hair a little long if wants to.

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Katherine Ryan

Kathryn graduated form Georgetown University with a bachelor's degree in math from Georgetown University and went on to earn a masters degree in education at Harvard University. After teaching high school math for ten years in Massachusetts and at the acclaimed Horace Mann School in The Bronx, she settled in Ivoryton, Conn., with her husband John where they are currently raising their three children. Kathryn brings intelligence, humor, insight, warmth and understanding to each and every tutorial. When not tutoring students for the SAT or the ACT, Kathryn enjoys running and swimming, and in the summer can often be found with her family sailing on the Connecticut River. She is tireless and gives her students everything she's got - and that's a lot.

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Ilana Straus

Ilana Strauss is a senior at Yale University studying English. Her recent experience with test-taking makes her a primary source of information on scoring high. In high school, she earned a 35 on the ACT (36 Reading, 36 Writing, 34 Math, and 33 Science) and a 2250 on the SAT (780 Writing, 750 Math, 730 Reading), as well as 800 in Biology M, 790 in US History, 750 in Literature. She enjoys imparting knowledge about tests like these onto high school students. Additionally, she is heavily involved in analytical reading and writing. As an English major, she spends most of her time reading books and writing essays. During summers, she has interned at various writing-related companies, such as Reader’s Digest, where she edited articles, the Scripps Howard News Wire, where she wrote features, and FX Networks, where she read and analyzed pilots, screenplays, and plays.

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Alex Gopinathan

Alex Gopinathan scored 800 on the SAT when he took it for the first time during his junior year. Originally a student at College Planning Partnerships, Alex has worked with us for the last three years, helping us to advance our math curriculum and create the signature PowerPoints we use so students can quickly visualize how to solve both verbal and math problems. Alex is completing a five year Combined Plan Program at Fordham University and Columbia University in Electrical Engineering. Alex will earn a degree in engineering physics from Fordham and a degree in electrical engineering from Columbia. Alex, a third degree black belt in Taekwondo, enjoys participating in Mixed Martial Arts. Besides offering Alex another way to express his love for math, Alex believes that tutoring fulfills a learning experience for both the student and himself.

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Malcolm McClain

Malcolm McClain is a senior Black Studies major at Amherst College. A student at a liberal arts college, he has spent a significant amount of time exploring different fields such as economics, political science, Chinese, and urban planning. As a Black Studies major, Malcolm spends most days writing essays and breezing through a couple books a week. He also enjoys traveling and has spent over a year teaching English in both Vietnam and China. With diverse work experience, Malcolm has helped write proposals for multi-million dollar investment banking deals, business plans for small start-ups, and edited official documents for a U.S. Congresswoman. With all of his reading and writing experience, Malcolm truly enjoys teaching the critical reading and essay portion of the SAT.

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Kate Paul

Kate Paul is an Economics and Asian Languages & Civilizations double-major at Amherst College. Kate spent the last two summers working in China, and was thrilled to have the opportunity to go back this past winter to teach SAT prep in Dalian. Kate enjoys teaching and watching students progress, and is particularly looking forward to her next trip to Asia and working with more online students. Kate is a captain of the Amherst Women's Tennis Team, continuing a passion she has had since a young age.

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Sam Rosensohn

Sam Rosensohn is the founder of College Planning Partnerships, a college prep company that is known for its extraordinary results and the care and attention it gives to each and every student.

Sam is a nationally recognized public school teacher. The U.S. Congress, the Connecticut State Legislature, and statewide teacher organizations have recognized Sam for excellence in the field of education.

Harvard University asked Sam to participate in a research project entitled, The College Access Collaborative. After completing a nationwide search, Yale University's School of Management chose College Planning Partnerships as a company for its graduate students to partner with.

Sam wrote a widely-read newspaper column that is entitled, College 101. The veteran public schoolteacher is a recipient of the James Madison Fellowship, issued by the U.S. Congress to one teacher annually in the state of Connecticut. The Connecticut State Dept. of Education asked Sam to help establish the standards for the statewide interdisciplinary CAPT test issued to tenth graders.

The Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History chose Sam to participate in their Summer Seminar at Brown University. He was selected as a fellow for the Amistad American Fellowship, done in conjunction with Yale University.

He is a recipient of the Connecticut Education Association's Presidential Award for Human and Civil Rights for directing a student effort that freed over 25 slaves in the Sudan. Governor Rowland and the Connecticut Senate recognized Sam for organizing a student movement that led to the creation of 16 bills to stem student violence.

President Bill Clinton and U.S. Senator Christopher Dodd recognized Sam and his students for influencing the Connecticut State Legislature on the Sheff vs. O'Neill case. He is a recipient of the Connecticut Celebration of Excellence Award.

Sam has written educational material for the New York Times Learning Network, Prentice Hall, Peregrine Publishers, and the Hartford Courant. He has a Bachelor of Arts Degree from Boston University. He was a newspaper reporter for The New York Post for 10 years, taught for five years at John Winthrop Jr. High in Deep River, served as the executive editor for five Shoreline Newspapers, and was the academic director for an educational program started by Paul Newman.

When not tutoring or working on the next innovation to help students improve their SAT or ACT scores, Sam is often on his road bike or by the water with his wife of 21 years, Ann Louise Rosensohn.

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