A Sane Plan for Writing College Essays

I’m not about to win any popularity contests.

Instead of hitting the beach this summer, my advice for high school juniors is to hit the keyboard.

Summer is the perfect time to start writing college application essays.

In fact, students who work on their essays now give themselves a big head start in the entire application process. Waiting until autumn adds deadline pressures, homework, stress, and—oh, yes—more supplemental essays to write.

So, my suggestion to parents is that if at all possible, help your student carve out time to write this summer.

In fact, if you follow my plan there should be ample time for sun, sand, fun, and friends. Because it's actually a pretty sane plan.

The plan starts with The Common Application essay, which is the longest and most challenging college essay. It's the one that most students are required to write.

Click here for a list of the 2014 Common Application questions.

Then use the timeline below to work out your calendar.

Summer College Essay Writing Timeline:

1. June:

• Start thinking about Common Application topics right after school ends. Note that I said think about. Much of the heavy lifting for the Common Application essay is in the thought process. This essay demands insight and a lot of self-reflection. If you think about it, not many of us take a step back from our lives to reflect on our life-changing moments, but that’s what writing the Common Application essay is all about. Every student is asked to relate a personal story that conveys important personal qualities and learning experiences.
• Brainstorm all the possibilities. 
• Don't stop at the first answer. First answers are often the easiest answers. Keep digging. Try to find an answer for every question before deciding on a topic.
• After students decide on a topic they should immediately sketch out the essay's details so they don't forget anything when they return to work on it later.
  

• Start with a rough, rough, rough draft. It’s okay if the essay isn't organized or the sentences don’t read well. Don't judge the essay yet or get caught up in the mechanics of writing, just work on finding great content.
• Experiment with various ways to write an interesting introduction.
• Find sensory details to incorporate into the essay. Sensory details refer to how something looks, sounds, tastes, smells, or feels. Using these kinds of details makes a story come to life for the reader.
• Move on to a rough, rough draft. This is when the essay begins to look well organized.
• Keep to the point. Every paragraph should have a purpose.
• Eliminate extraneous details and areas where the story runs on and can become boring.
• The story should always feel specific to the student, never generic. By that, I mean that if 50 other students could write the same essay then the essay is not specific enough to the student’s experiences, thoughts, or ideas. Keep digging to find more details and reasons why that story is so important to tell.
• Double check that the essay addresses every part of the question.
  

• This is the time to head to the final draft.
• At this stage, the essay should be no longer than 650 words and be well organized.
• Sentences should vary in length and be well written.
• Word choices should be strong. While a college essay shouldn’t sound like a thesaurus, schools want to see a solid vocabulary. Here's a tip: look for small words like “get,” “have,” and “went,” and try to substitute stronger words in their place.
  
• Finally, and most important, the essay should be interesting to read, answer the question, and reflect the student’s good qualities and maturity.
  

• The essay should be done, or in its very last stages.
• Proofread, proofread, and proofread.