<p>This isn't so much a Top 5 tip as a "When All Else Fails, You Don't Know What to Write and Your Mom Won't Stop Nagging You to Get the Damn Thing Done" tip: if you've written a good personal essay for school, dig it up and rework it, if necessary, so that it says even more about you. My oldest d's college essay came from one she'd written for a creative writing class about a hideous haircut she received when she was 9 years old. People thought she was a boy all summer long. It was very funny and probably not something the adcoms read about in every 6th application.</p>
<p>I suppose this would be a Top 5 tip: use humor in your writing (if you're good at it). Here's where having several adults - teachers, mentors, parents - read the essay could help a great deal.</p>
<p>My only suggestions to S was to offer an example and to edit a few lines. </p>
<p>Because S decided to apply as a junior in middle of Dec., he had not visited most of the colleges. I think this hurt him when answering Q of "Why this college?" He only attended one local presentation, and he mentioned specifics in that essay. He was admitted to that college.</p>
<p>One of S's main essays was on recent deaths of grandparents. I discovered CC after S applied to schools, & then learned that this was not a good topic choice.</p>
<p>So, my suggestions would be to research schools and be specific about why you like that college and why you would fit in. Also, choose essay topics carefully. I don't think the theme needs to be profound; something small that shows your personality can be better.</p>
<p>Style, approach, topics, etc. are all over the map, but you finish reading these essays and get the sense that you know something significant about the writer.</p>
<p>MarathonMan
Thanks for posting those ideas. Essays truly showed insight into the kids. Very serious topics. I suspect different ad committees have various sensitivities.</p>
<p>Just by way of underscoring that it's the look-into-the-world (or mind) of the applicant that is the goal:</p>
<p>My D actually wrote 2 essays. She happened to use more often the simpler, less polished of her 2 essays (because of the topic), even though the other essay was more impressive. She was accepted to all of her reaches with the "imperfect" essay, which one Ivy liked so much that they added a hand-written note about it on her acceptance letter.</p>
<p>My advice to juniors is to start NOW by jotting down some essay topics and a few related thoughts. Keep adding to it throughout the summer. It's comforting to have a list to use when you feel drained of all creativity.</p>
<p>My daughter found Fiske's book of college essays helpful, mostly because it gave her ideas for topics that she hadn't thought of on her own. Once she decided on an essay type, the writing came pretty easily. Also, her guidance counselor was pretty brutally honest about her first few efforts, which forced her to keep trying until she had a winner. It was upsetting at the time, but the later attempts were much better than the early ones.</p>