College_Specific

You must:

1. Write well
2. Write about yourself
3. Tell a story
4. Show personal growth

You're out if:

1. You clearly wrote it the night before the deadline
2. Your essay is riddled with errors and typos
3. Your essay is overtly offensive
4. You accidentally tell Duke how much you want to go to UNC

Without the college essay, all admissions officers really have to go on is the raw information from the rest of your application (grades, course selection, test scores, etc). This works for many of the large universities, which have enough beds to house anyone who meets a minimum GPA, SAT score, etc.

However, in the case of most colleges and universities, space is limited. The essay provides them with a way to gauge qualities about their prospective student body that are not necessarily evident from the rest of the application.

If you put out an ad for a new roommate, you would probably want to see their credit score, employment situation, etc. to make sure they can pay their rent on time. But you'd also want to meet them to make sure they're compatible. That's what the essay is for admissions officers: a way to get to know the person behind the application.

It might make you feel better to know that an essay rarely offsets bad grades or a weak course selection, at least in the absence of mitigating circumstances... unless that essay comes with a $10 million check for a new wing on the campus library.

Exactly. That's a deal-killer. :)

Yes. Spend the year focusing on your grades, challenging yourself in your classes, and building your college list. If you succeed academically and find a collection of colleges that fit, the rest will fall into place.

No need to start your essay now; save that for next summer.

Sorry, I got here as soon as I could! Hope your first year is going well!