College Essay 101: With Mrs. Dennis and Mrs. Nightingale-Burn
By: Sophia Stunkard
As a Senior here at JHS, I am sure you have heard the anxiety-riddled question, “What is your college essay about?” At face value, most college essays seem simple. Colleges tell you to slap 250-650 words onto a document and call it a day. But if you are like me, you may not have written a narrative essay since 6th grade and may feel lost throughout this process.
Jenks High School is fortunate to have skilled college and career counselors, Paula Dennis and Mandy Nightingale-Burn, who provided me with some amazing advice on preparing and writing the best essay possible. Below, I will share 4 tips and tricks to help conjure up an essay that will leave admission officers speechless.
#1- Use the “Thanksgiving Method”
Each Thanksgiving I am given the same spiel by my parents which usually goes a bit like, “Don’t talk about religion, politics, or money in front of your Great Uncle Tom”. If you are like me, there is a plethora of topics that shouldn’t be discussed at the dinner table, and college admission officers think similarly. Mrs. Nightingale-Burn expands on this topic by saying,
“Imagine that the admissions committee is sitting around the table reading your essay, just like at Thanksgiving you might not want to bring up awkward topics such as politics or religion because you don’t know if an admission officer may have a strong bias towards that topic or not”. A few topics that you may want to stray away from when conjuring up an essay could include-
Controversial Topics: Politics, Religion, and More
Relationships, Romance, and Breakups
Inappropriate situations
Personal use of drugs/alcohol
Even if you plan on writing an essay regarding one of these subjects, don’t discard the idea immediately. When covering harder situations like these, you typically want to emphasize how the experience catered to your growth as an individual, which can be difficult at times.
Still confused about whether your essay may be controversial or not? Try reading it to a college counselor, parent, or friend to see their take on it!
#2- Make your essay “recognizable”
The main purpose of writing an essay for college is so that universities get to hear YOUR voice! They want to know where you would fit in their community and your passion for pursuing an education at their institution. Writing a personal essay allows colleges to get to know you beyond grades and statistics. It is important to create a personally detailed essay and luckily Mrs. Nightengale-Burn has some great advice for you, “Pretend a college rep is carrying hundreds of essays in their hand and all of them have fallen to the ground and your best friend is told to identify your essay out from the pile.”
#3- TikTok and Instagram are your friends!
When brainstorming college essay ideas, the internet is your best friend. Mrs. Dennis shares that social media sites such as TikTok or Instagram offer a plethora of tips for cumulating the perfect essay. On TikTok, you can find many creators who are either college students, admission officers, or counselors who are willing to share what essays helped them or their students get into specific elite universities. Below I’ll leave the usernames of some popular accounts that provide excellent advice!
Gohar Khan: A graduate from MIT who provides advice on college applications, test prep, and essays. His TikTok is @goharsguide
Gohar Khan’s TikTok account that gives advice to students all around the globe.
If you are looking at a specific university, Mrs. Dennis recommends trying to find the admissions counselor on Instagram because they often provide more in-depth information about the school. An easy way to find your admissions counselor for a certain school is by looking it up on the college's website!
#4- Extra advice!
Your English teacher is your best friend! If you are a senior or even a junior, some teachers provide sign-up slots before or after school to look over your essay and give you important tips.
Don’t spend time comparing yourself to other essays or students. Instead, ask yourself- What are you most passionate/comfortable writing about/what is important to you?
Juniors, be sure to get a headstart on writing your essay because the common app prompts often remain the same for the next academic year.
Talk to someone who knows you better than yourself.
Follow the College and Career Office on Instagram!
Need more help? Visit the College and Career office in Building 6 where they can assist you with anything related to scholarships, FAFSA, or any other college and career-related questions! Also, make sure to check out their Instagram @jenkscollegecareer to keep up with college visits, career exploration events, and so much more.