2020 Freshman Essay Questions

2020 Freshman Essay Questions First of all, the very purpose of the college admission essay is to tell a unique story of yours â€" a story that goes beyond academic performance narrative. It’s all about hooking the audience with your traits, passions, interests, plans for the future, and life missions. Such an essay is intended to leave a positive imprint in the admissions officer’s mind and make them feel excited about you as a person. Your admission essay lets you personalize your application. The idea behind the essay is for colleges to be able to learn something about the student that they couldn’t have learned through the rest of the application. The essay is where the college can discover what makes this particular student unique and interesting. Sadly, many students tear their ACL each sports season and then have to rehab it. Many students have volunteered in various ways, even in other countries. So, I always suggest to them that they start early, but that also, they take their time. Some of our specialized programs will have additional essays to complete, but the Penn essay should address the single-degree or single-school choice. We understand that you may be writing essays for different schools and you may want to reuse material, but read through your essay to make sure the content is relevant to the essay prompt. If they start in late June, they’ve got plenty of time to get it done before school starts, without dedicating their entire summer to writing. Instead, break the essay into parts â€" brainstorm topics one week, write an opening paragraph the next week. The following week, write the body of the paper, or even start over if the opening paragraph just doesn’t work for them. After writing the rough draft, let the essay sit for a week or so, and then go back to polish it. Find a good envelope and leave it for them to read on their own time and terms. They need to think about those snapshots that have defined them. Another way to think about an essay topic is to think about those small moments that might even seem mundane on the surface, but that have had a big impact on their life. Describe a moment where it may seem that nothing exciting was happening to an outside observer, but that meant a great deal to the student. Is there a way to find out what essay questions colleges are asking before you start the application process? Would it relieve some of your stress, or help you focus your search on fewer colleges, if you knew what essays you'll have to write? Know that many top-tier admissions essays have gone through 7-10 drafts before you have had a chance to read them. The Common Application essay prompts are often left a little vague on purpose to give you flexibility and encourage you to be creative. Unlike essays for your English class, the most important aspect of your personal statement is you. Whichever prompt you choose, college admission officers want you to tell a story that reveals your character, personality, and how you think. When you start reading through past admission essays, one of the first things you will notice is that nearly all of them tell a story. The best ones tell a specific story about an incident or moment in time that provides an insight into who the author is and how they view the world. So, it’s important for your essay to show off your unique voice and personality. I encourage kids to think about writing their essay as though they’re describing a snapshot in time. When you're finished writing your admissions essay, it's important to proofread your material. Running your essay through spell check is important, and having someone you trust read your essay to catch other small mistakes is even better. Admissions officers generally won't dock minor mistakes in punctuation, but grammatical errors always look sloppy. When you apply to Penn, you must submit your application for admission to one of our four undergraduate schools. In the Penn-specific essays, be precise when explaining both why you are applying to Penn and why you have chosen to apply to that specific undergraduate school. Give yourself plenty of time to think through the topics and brainstorm writing points. Some universities will give you specific prompts to answer. Others will ask you to tell your story and how it led you to university. No matter what the university asks you to write in your submission, remember that admissions officials are not simply looking for your ability to use big, frilly words. In your essay, remember to be yourself and speak in your voice. Then, to reiterate, wine and a walkâ€"very important. Easily avoidable mistakes, like not checking that the entire essay is copied into the application, can harm your application prospects. When an admissions officer doesn't get the whole story or notices a sloppy mistake, it changes how schools perceive you. Sometimes students neglect to copy over their entire essay into an application and only submit a portion of their work. When Warren was asked about haphazard mistakes students make, he recounted one college essay example.