Why the College Essay is King
December 2023
Summary: Lots of applicants have great GPA’s, but very few have remarkable stories. The job of your personal essay is to differentiate yourself from everyone else by telling a bold, compelling and endearing story about something remarkable you’ve done, or how you’re simply built different.
It’s all about your essay.
If you want to get into a top college, you have to have two things. The first is a really strong transcript. That means you have a high GPA, taking as many advanced-level classes as you can, combined with excellent teacher references, and a high score on your SAT or ACT (unless they’re test optional).
But that’s not enough…
The other thing you have to have is something that makes you stand out: something extraordinary you’ve accomplished outside of the classroom.
That means that, on your own time, you’ve achieved something remarkable, or you’ve endured something incredible — anything that indicates to the college that you’re that rare individual with a sense of passion and purpose and drive. And the reason this matters to them is that these are the types of students who not only make campus life more interesting, but they typically go on to make a real difference in the world. They are hard-wired to be game-changers, thought-leaders, difference-makers… in other words: the leaders of tomorrow.
Enter the College Essay.
The purpose of your main college essay (aka your “Personal Statement”) is to prove to the college admissions committee that this is exactly the type of person that you are. Aside from being a great student inside the classroom, there’s a fire in you that makes you excel outside of the classroom as well. There’s something that makes you extraordinary.
And the good news is that colleges really don’t care all that much what you’ve excelled at outside of class, as long as it’s something you’ve spent an enormous amount of time doing, it’s something that you absolutely enjoy, and you’ve reached an uncommon level of success. So instead of just dabbling in a hundred different things over the course of your high school career, you really latched onto something that feeds a deep desire in you, and you’ve taken it to great heights.
Your personal passion can be almost anything…
Maybe you’re an Olympic hopeful. Or you’re a debate champion. Or you’re the best violin player for your age in North America. Or you’re already a published author. Or you’re the first person in your family to graduate high school. Or you grew up on a Native American reservation. Or you founded a nonprofit that connects at-risk youth with paid internships. This is what schools call your X-Factor. It’s something that makes you stand out from the competition, from the other 10,000 perfectly-good applications sitting on their desk. It shows initiative and drive, passion and focus, leadership and resilience, determination and grit.
And that’s exactly what you should write about for your essay.
It gives them an important “hook” to use when they talk about your application with other members of the Admissions Committee: “This is the refugee from Yemen who was profiled in the New York Times.” “This is the kid whose epic domino structures were featured on Jimmy Fallon.” “This is the track star who grew up in foster care.” “This is the kid who lobbied the Ohio state legislature for gun control.” “This is the girl who built robotic legs for her disabled brother.”
A great essay seals the deal.
Every single one of those students above is getting into their top school — whether it’s Princeton, Harvard, Stanford, or Carnegie Mellon — provided they have the academic chops to back it up, and even sometimes if they don’t. But you absolutely need a hook. A story. Think: What makes you different? What makes you special? What have you done (or what can you accomplish in the near-future) that can be considered extraordinary? Without a great hook, it’s extremely difficult to get into your top school. (Unless your family gives the school a huge donation — which is actually just another kind of hook.) So get to work.
Your Personal Statement is your chance to stand out from the crowd by telling the story of something remarkable you’ve done.
Top colleges don’t want students who just bury themselves in the library all day; they want them out there engaging with the world, making a difference, having an impact on their communities.
The job of your essay is to tap into what makes you exceptional, extraordinary, uncommon, even weird… what makes you “you.”
After reading your essay, Admissions Committees should know exactly what you’re about, and how you’ll add value to their campus.