How to Write a Personal Essay for a Typical College Application
Starting college applications is exciting, but writing a personal essay can be intimidating. The good news is that the best personal essays all share certain traits, and with practice, you can write your own show-stopper.
When Should You Start Writing Your College Essay?
Before we begin, let’s set expectations. An excellent personal statement will take multiple drafts. You will need time to fine-tune your ideas and should have a few people review your essay. If you have the budget, connect with a writing coach for invaluable guidance and feedback. These action items will produce the best personal essay but will take time. Start early whether you aim to write either a concise 250-word essay or a more detailed 500-word essay. Both cases will take time, but counterintuitively, short essays are often the toughest because you need to fit a lot of information in just a few lines.
What is a Personal Statement?
A personal statement typically means “tell me who you are and what you value.” Your academic records provide context on who you are as a student, not a person. It's your chance to share your personality, goals, and anything else that doesn’t appear on a transcript. Whether you are writing a 250-word essay or a longer piece, your goal should be to make your story come alive to the admissions committee.
How do you choose college essay topic ideas?
There is no right or wrong way to construct or format a college essay. Everyone will organize and write differently. However, your personal statement should always incorporate a few main points.
Vulnerability
Legendary writer Maya Angelou said, “I’ve learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.” Readers need to feel your writing. The only way to get this reaction is to show some feeling yourself. Expressing emotion is particularly important when you aim to create impactful college essay hooks, making your story come alive and feel more relatable. Check out this short article about the power of vulnerability.
Conciseness
Combat your limited word count and maximize the impact of your words by reminding yourself to be concise and specific. Can you convey that same message in one less sentence? Challenge yourself! When writing a personal statement, less is often more.
Cohesiveness
Personal statements will push you to cram a lot of information and feelings into a small package. Having an essay that feels overstuffed, chaotic, or unorganized is common. Make sure your stories and details all connect. Every sentence should provide supporting details or progress the story by describing an action.
Focus on Fit
Ultimately, admissions use personal statements to determine how well you fit at their university. Before you start your essay, write down why this college is a good fit for you. Emphasize your academic and professional goals, personality, or family history. Keeping “fit” in mind ensures your story communicates that you belong at their university.
How to End a College Essay
Every admissions officer reading your essay will ask themselves, “So what?” as they near the end of your statement. “So that happened to you, and you did this, so what? What does this have to do with you coming to our college?” An effective ending to your personal statement will clearly tell the reader why your story matters. Are you curious about how to start a college essay? You’ll need to get familiar with college essay hook examples, and we've written a post, “How to Write a College Essay Hook,” to guide you.
Remember: Readers Do Not Know Unless You Tell Them
Leaving out key details is an easy mistake to make. You’re not used to writing narrative essays or discussing your topic in a narrative structure. A practical method to remedy this is to jot down the “must have” supporting details your story needs before you start writing. This outline gives you a reference while you write. You won’t forget critical information; the admissions reader will have all the context needed to understand your essay thoroughly.
Here is an effective 650 word personal narrative essay example that the writer used on an application to Johns Hopkins University (spoiler: the writer got accepted!):
I’ve been the “handyman” of the house for as long as I can remember. I started out, armed with a roll of duct tape looped around my chubby child arms as I marched about the house, waiting for my mother to call on me. In those days, I didn’t know much about the technical details but knew the phrase “duct tape fixes everything.” My dad would say it as I helped my mother fix tears in folders, boxes, and even a picture frame.
I picked up sewing around third grade, when my younger sister had started to get a bit too rough with her stuffed toys. I had gotten the gist, practicing on scrap fabric, before opening shop to the slew of well-loved but torn stuffed toys me and my sister shared. My stitchwork became so good, my mother would ask that I mend and alter some of her clothes. I remember the feeling of the pin pricking my finger every time I let the needle slip, but I also know the feeling of accomplishment as the mended toys were returned to my sister, and the altered clothes fit my mother like a glove.
Carpentry became my next venture, thanks to our two large dogs, Jake and Elwood. They were lovable oafs that would try to peek through the fence at passersby. However, since they were the size of grown men, they wore down the boards and eventually broke through the fence. My father and I spent the weekend removing worn boards, measuring, obtaining new wood, and skillfully cutting and nailing replacements. The project taught me to handle larger materials. I even challenged myself to build an outdoor table and seat using the remaining boards, taking care to stain the wood and sand sharp edges. I felt a jolt of victory when my dad had sat down and the wood had not collapsed beneath him.
Entering high school, my desire to continue building led me to the school’s robotics team, introducing me to 3D modeling and printers. Proficiency in CAD and the school’s printers fueled my ambition to expand my skills beyond school projects. After extensive research and persuasion, my dad invested in a 3D printer, enabling me to create replacements for furniture, hooks, and even crafting personal items like a sock drawer organizer and a cat toy. Requests from friends, like modeling and printing a vacuum switch replacement, added a new dimension to my handiness.
My handyman journey extended to auto mechanics in sophomore year when I took the reins of the family’s aging 1993 Ford F250. Despite its challenges—poor mileage and years of wear and tear—I refused to let it fail. Not long into driving the truck, the speedometer stopped working, and there was a clunking sound when it drove. After heavy inspection, we found that the speed sensor had come apart and lodged itself in the rear differential. As my father was getting old and not as spry as he used to be, he relied on me to open the differential and grab the piece, before flushing out metal shards and installing a new sensor. A year after the sensor failure, the suspension started to fail, requiring new shocks. The truck was a cycle of things breaking and being fixed, but it also taught me the more common skills of routine oil changes and how to jump start the battery.
In the end, my journey as the household “handyman” has been a continuous evolution. From early days with duct tape to mastering sewing, carpentry, 3D printing, and auto mechanics, each skill acquired has not only enhanced my technical prowess but also cultivated a sense of responsibility and determination. The diverse challenges I’ve tackled have molded my growth, instilling a resilient spirit that thrives on the joy of learning through hands-on experience.
The sample above is an excellent example of how to format a college essay, and this personal statement is packed with vulnerability and supporting details. Remember, vulnerability doesn’t have to be dramatic and intense. The essay hook is excellent. Also, the essay has strong cohesion. Every sentence connects to an idea and moves the story forward. Crucially, the reader can easily see what this student values. This clear, firm conclusion is precisely how to end a college essay. Whether you have to write a 500, 250, or 300 word essay, this example has traits that work at any length for any essay topic.
Conclusion
Writing a good personal essay is challenging – but doable. You just need a lot of practice and some direction.
Wanting more support and guidance on crafting a high-quality personal statement is normal. Whether you’re writing a 300 or 500 word essay, our writing coaches specialize in personal essays and statements. Whatever support you need, our college essay readers and coaches can help you. Schedule a free consultation with a college essay coach today!
About the Author
