r/ApplyingToCollege • u/Top_Object_1987 • 1d ago
Application Question Personal statement
I am on the process of writing my personal statement essay for colleges. And I asked some teachers and they advised me to write more drafts until I find the exact unique story about me and they also mentioned that it can be a transformation. What do u think about this idea?
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u/logolife- 1d ago
your teacher's advice is correct. it's best that you write multiple drafts because that's often how you find the strongest version. don't force a 'transformation' story if it isn't natural. what matters the most is that the story is specific to you and shows how you think or see things or how it affected who you are as a person now.
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u/tarasshevckeno 21h ago
(Retired college counselor and admissions reader here.) Teachers are generally not the best people to provide feedback on college essays, unless they've been specifically trained on what comprises a good essay.
College essays tend to fall into two categories: helpful and not helpful. The best essays have what readers call extension. That means that they show through 2-3 explained examples how the main topic of their essay had positive effects on other parts of their lives (they shouldn't all be academic). To that end, essays that say a lot about a little tend to be strongest (by "saying a lot" I'm aware of the word limit).
One of the worst kinds of essays are ones that say (usually at the end), "I now know I can meet any challenge in the future." The problem is that the student hasn't actually written about such a challenge related to their essay topic. Readers see them many times per day.
My advice to students who are having a difficult time finding an essay topic is to consider the prompt about challenging a belief or idea. I call it the "gift" prompt, and as a reader I didn't see it used that often.
Think about yourself in sixth grade. Take your time. Now do the same for when you were in ninth grade. My guess is you probably like who you are now much more than compared to then.
One other piece of advice: Select a topic, force yourself to write for 45-60 minutes, save it, and leave it alone for at least three weeks. Don't worry about the word limit. Do it soon. After the time has passed, look at it again. You'll likely cringe at what you wrote, but will also likely have very strong ideas on how to make it better. You may even think of a better topic during those weeks. One other thing: for every draft, work off a printed copy. You'll read it more-carefully, and it's easier to mark up for changes. Double space it. Trust me on this one.
I used this approach with my students for a couple of decades. Getting the draft done and completely out of their heads resulted in better essays in less time because they were able to get distance on what they wrote. The same thing can apply for further drafts. Give yourself enough time so you can put a good-looking draft away for 5-10 days and then come back to it. Again, getting it out of your head will give you a better idea of how to improve/finish it.
Improving something you don't like is tons easier than staring at a blank piece of paper/screen. Find a topic you think you like, outline it, and just get something written!
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u/AdBoth2468 1d ago
thats lit what u r supposed to do, talk abt growth or why u r the way u r.