As students start working on their college essays, one of the more challenging essays students tend to face is — why this college essay. So here are three tips for approaching it.
nTreat the college like you would like to be treated. So often I see students prepare one essay and just cut and paste the name of the school. Recently, I saw a student’s draft of an essay, which was for College/College. This is a terrible way to approach this task. First of all, imagine the situations were reversed, and your application was substituted with someone else’s. You were lumped in with 10 other people who had about your qualifications, similar scores, similar activities, and were also from India, even from your own city or region.
How would you feelIJ You want the school to treat you like an individual, to learn about you and your hopes and dreams. You don’t want to be treated like an interchangeable unit, you want to be seen as you. When you write a why college essay, look at what makes this school different. Every school on your list probably shares a bunch of qualities. So what makes this one uniqueIJ What is it about the school that you haven’t seen anywhere elseIJ What is it about the philosophy of learning there that excites youIJ Does the school claim to want its students to engage strongly in the worldIJ How does it actually do that, what programs are in place for that, and how do those excite youIJ Is this a program focused on interdisciplinary learningIJ Why does that work for youIJ
nRemember that it’s not just the school, it’s the people you will meet there. So many students forget that there is going to be a whole community of people also attending school with them. These people are going to be your friends, your classmates, your collaborators, your future business partners, your fellow app developers, and your colleagues. You will learn as much from your fellow students as you will from your teachers, and they are going to be the people who really define your college experience and your educational environment. So thinking and writing about whom you want to meet in college, who you will have around you to inspire you and educate you about the world is really important. Who do you think this school will attractIJ What kinds of people are you excited to me in collegeIJ What is the average student like at this school and how does that excite youIJ You aren’t going to be in college alone. Stop writing like you are.
nProfessors come and go, but a school philosophy stays the same. Students often write about professors and classes in essays. While that’s not a terrible idea, it’s often a little off because professors leave a school. Unless they have tenure, chances are they might be moving on. If the applicant talks about loving this one teacher or one class, he is not seeing the whole picture. If there is a specific programme, a professor who is the head of a department that you love, discuss them, but reciting names shows the college that you really understand the school.
This essay should be fun. It should be a chance for you to fantasize about yourself at this amazing school.
The writer is Rohan Ganeriwala,co-founder, Collegify