College Essay Tips + Writing your Best College Essay | Real Advice from Harvard Admissions
Summary
TLDRAndrea, a Harvard psychology student, shares her insights on crafting the perfect college essay. She emphasizes the importance of choosing a unique topic that reflects personal traits, encourages breaking free from traditional essay structures, and advocates for free-form writing to capture one's authentic voice. Andrea also stresses the necessity of multiple drafts and proofreading, suggesting seeking feedback from trusted individuals. She invites prospective students to reach out to the Harvard Undergraduate Admissions Council for further guidance.
Takeaways
- 🎓 Andrea is a junior at Harvard studying psychology and will guide viewers on writing the college essay.
- 📝 The college essay should be unique and personal, not just a quirky or funny story to fit a stereotype.
- 🚀 The essay topic can be anything, as long as it fits within the 650-word limit and showcases the writer's personality or story.
- 🤔 Andrea suggests asking oneself what makes them happy to write, as this can help identify a strong essay topic.
- 📉 Breaking away from traditional essay structures, like the five-paragraph format, can lead to a more authentic and engaging college essay.
- 💡 Tools like word webs can help brainstorm and organize ideas for the essay in a free-form manner.
- ✍️ It's important to write multiple drafts, starting with rough ones, to refine the essay to its best form.
- 🔍 The essay should reflect the writer's authentic voice and perspective, allowing the admissions office to understand the person behind the application.
- 👀 After drafting, seeking feedback from trusted individuals like teachers, family, or friends is recommended to improve the essay.
- 📑 The final submission should be the writer's own work and something they are proud of, even if it means revising or starting over.
- 🔄 The college essay writing process is iterative, and it's normal to go through several drafts before achieving the final product.
- 📧 For further questions or advice, prospective students can reach out to the Harvard Undergraduate Admissions Council for guidance and insights.
Q & A
What is the main topic of the video by Andrea?
-The main topic of the video is about writing the college essay, focusing on choosing a topic, drafting, and proofreading the essay.
Why is the college essay different from other essays Andrea has written in the past?
-The college essay is different because it allows for more freedom in terms of topic choice and structure, and it does not adhere to the traditional five-paragraph essay format.
What is the 650-word limit imposed on the college essay?
-The 650-word limit is a restriction set by the college application for the length of the essay, requiring students to be concise and focused in their writing.
What is Andrea's advice on choosing a topic for the college essay?
-Andrea suggests choosing a topic that is a specific story or trait about oneself that one is proud of and enjoys writing about, as it will make the essay more authentic and engaging.
What is the significance of writing bad drafts first according to Andrea?
-Writing bad drafts first is significant because it allows the writer to get their ideas down and then refine and improve upon them, leading to a better final product.
Why is it important for the college essay to sound authentic?
-It is important for the college essay to sound authentic because it helps the admissions officer understand the student's personality, voice, and unique perspective on the world.
What is the role of structure in writing the college essay draft?
-The role of structure is to guide the writer in organizing their thoughts and ideas in a coherent manner, while still allowing for a more free-form approach than traditional essays.
What tools does Andrea suggest for encouraging free-form writing?
-Andrea suggests using tools like word webs to free associate ideas related to the topic, and writing down all potential ideas to reference and revise later.
What does Andrea recommend for proofreading and submitting the college essay?
-Andrea recommends asking a trusted person for feedback and advice, ensuring the submitted work is the student's own, and being open to revising and improving the essay through an iterative process.
How can prospective students get more advice on the college application essay or process?
-Prospective students can reach out to the Harvard Undergraduate Admissions Council through their website for advice and to hear about the experiences of current students.
What is the final piece of advice Andrea gives to viewers regarding the college application process?
-Andrea's final piece of advice is to engage with the content, ask questions, and not hesitate to reach out to the Harvard Undergraduate Admissions Council for more information and support.
Outlines
📚 Introduction to College Essay Writing
Andrea, a junior at Harvard studying psychology, introduces the topic of writing the college essay. She reflects on her own struggles with starting her essay, the challenge of creating a unique and compelling narrative within the 650-word limit, and the importance of choosing a topic that genuinely excites her. The video aims to guide viewers on selecting a topic, crafting a draft, and ultimately submitting a personal and authentic essay to college admissions.
🎯 Choosing Your College Essay Topic
This section delves into the process of selecting a topic for the college essay. Andrea emphasizes the freedom to write on any subject within the word limit and the significance of choosing a story or trait that showcases the applicant's identity. She suggests asking oneself what makes them happy to write as an indicator of a strong topic. The goal is to narrow down the vast possibilities to a focused narrative that is distinctly personal.
✍️ Drafting the College Essay
Andrea discusses the drafting process, advising to break away from traditional essay structures like the five-paragraph format. She recommends using tools like word webs for brainstorming and encourages getting all ideas down on paper before refining them. She stresses the importance of writing multiple drafts and maintaining an authentic voice throughout the essay to reflect the applicant's personality and worldview.
🔍 Proofreading and Submitting the Essay
The final part of the script covers the proofreading stage, where Andrea recommends seeking feedback from trusted individuals like family, teachers, or friends. She advises ensuring the submitted work is the applicant's own and something they are proud of, acknowledging that the essay writing process is iterative. The college application essay is portrayed as an opportunity for self-reflection and storytelling, with the Harvard Undergraduate Admissions Council offering support and advice to prospective students.
Mindmap
Keywords
💡College Essay
💡Psychology
💡Quirkiness
💡Structure
💡Word Limit
💡Draft
💡Voice
💡Proofreading
💡Authenticity
💡Harvard Undergraduate Admissions Council
Highlights
Andrea, a junior at Harvard studying psychology, shares her insights on writing the college essay.
The college essay should be unique, quirky, and reflect the student's personality.
The challenge of starting the essay and finding the path to the desired end.
Choosing a topic is crucial; it should be something that fits within the 650-word limit and is personally significant.
Asking oneself what makes them happy to write can help in selecting an essay topic.
The importance of narrowing down the vast possibilities to a focused essay within the word limit.
Breaking away from the traditional five-paragraph essay structure for a more free-form approach.
Using tools like word webs to encourage free-form writing and brainstorming.
The necessity of writing bad drafts before achieving a good one.
The essay should sound authentic and reflect the student's voice and perspective on the world.
The iterative process of proofreading and seeking feedback from trusted individuals.
The recommendation to ask for advice or feedback on the essay from parents, teachers, or friends.
The importance of submitting work that is truly one's own and of which the student is proud.
The college application essay as an opportunity for self-reflection and providing an authentic story.
Encouragement to reach out to the Harvard Undergraduate Admissions Council for further advice.
The Harvard Undergraduate Admissions Council is composed of current students eager to share their experiences.
An invitation for prospective students to engage with the council for insights into the application process and life at Harvard.
A light-hearted reminder to like and subscribe, embodying the spirit of a YouTuber.
Transcripts
Hi, everyone.
My name is Andrea, and I'm currently a junior
at Harvard studying psychology.
And today we'll be talking about writing the college essay.
So when I was writing my college essay,
I remember looking online and seeing
all these picture-perfect essays that were quirky and funny,
and they sound really smart, and all these really amazing
characteristics.
And I was like, OK, I want my essay like that.
The issue, however, is that I just
didn't know how to get there.
I knew where I wanted to end, but I
didn't know how to start or any of the path in between.
And so, hopefully, that's what we're
going to be helping you address in this video today.
Part one, choosing your topic.
So unlike an essay that you might have written in the past,
the college essay is a little bit different
in that you can write about quite literally anything
as long as it fits into the 650 word limit
that the college application imposes.
This means that it's up to you to really figure out,
is there a specific story that you want to tell?
Is there a specific trait about yourself
that you want to make sure that you show to the admissions
office?
What is it exactly that you're trying to get across?
A really critical question that you can start asking yourself
is, what makes you happy to write?
If there's a story or a quality or trait
that you think that you can really
talk about that makes you really proud and really
happy to write, that means that is probably a really good sign
that this is something that the admissions office should
see about you.
And so once you start getting into this general realm,
then there's this feeling of like,
OK, now there's so much that I could write about.
How do you really focus it back down to the 650 word limit,
and make sure that again, at the end of the day,
this is very uniquely your own essay?
Part two, writing the draft.
So once you figure out what it is that you want to say,
the question is, how do you actually go about writing it?
A big thing that you're going to have to think about
is structure.
So unlike things that you may have written for class before,
you really want to try to break out
of that five-paragraph essay structure, where you have
the introduction, the conclusion,
and three-body paragraphs that match one-to-one
with your thesis.
In this case, you want to be a little bit more free form
And to help encourage a sort of free-form writing,
there are a bunch of different tools, including,
but definitely not limited to things like, word webs,
where you start with one word and sort of just free associate
a bunch of different ideas of words that are really like,
in any way, just related to the word that you or the topic
that you have in hand.
Another thing that you could possibly do,
which is something that I actually
had chosen to do myself, is essentially just get down
all the ideas that I could potentially
have about this idea or this topic
onto paper, just so that I could come back later
and reference it again and potentially reiterate
and maybe even revise it to the point
where it'd be good enough to actually submit.
Something that I have always really stressed
when I'm thinking about these sort of essays
is that you have to write the bad drafts first before you
can get to anything good.
Everything that's online, for example, none of those
started out the way that they are,
when you see them online as the accepted essays, blah, blah,
blah.
So another thing that you want to think about
is just your voice.
You just want to make sure that your essay sounds really
authentic to who you are, that this is a story that you
can only tell in your way.
Your admissions officer should be
able to tell what kind of person you are
and how you like to approach the world in a greater sense.
Part three, proofreading and submitting.
Now that you've done your draft, you might be at a point
where you just need an extra set of eyes on it.
And so something that we always recommend people do
is to ask someone that they trust
to take a look at your essay and offer any advice or feedback
that they might have.
So this could be a parent.
This could be a teacher, a sibling, or a friend, anyone
that you think would be able to offer you
honest feedback on what you've written and hopes
of making it better.
That being said, you want to make sure
that what you're submitting to the admissions office
is your own work, and it's something
that you're really proud of.
And if that means scrapping your first draft
or your first essay, that's also completely OK.
This is meant to be an iterative process.
And, again, no one is going to get there
to the final product within a moment
or within just one draft.
At the end of the day, the application essay
is an opportunity for you to reflect on yourself
and provide an authentic story to the admissions office.
If you follow these steps, you'll
be well on your way to perfecting your college
application essay.
If you have any other questions, or want any more advice
on the college application essay or around the college
application, in general, we highly
encourage you to reach out to us at the Harvard Undergraduate
Admissions Council on our website, which
you can find at the link below.
We at the Undergraduate Admissions Council
are made up entirely of current students,
and we love talking to prospective students
both about our own application processes, why
we chose Harvard, and then also our experiences here.
So if you have any questions at all, please, please
feel free to reach out.
And we're so excited to hear from you.
Thank you for watching.
Good luck with your application and make
sure to like and subscribe.
I feel like such a YouTuber this is really exciting.
You're not a true YouTuber until you tell
them to smash the Like button.
Oh, yeah, yeah, you're right, you're right.
Smash the Like button.
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