Note to the Moderators: I have and always will do this for free. I am getting my MBA at the Wharton School for the University of Pennsylvania, so honestly the money that could come to me from paid services is a rounding error on my bank account. I’d appreciate it if you respect, embrace, and perhaps even encourage my presence as it’s these types of contributions that makes CC special in the first place. A title would be nice 
just sayin’
In part 5, I wrote about brainstorming essay topics from scratch over a period of weeks.
That’s. So. Damn. Vague.
Do you just write ideas on a paper? Do you watch Youtube videos to inspire you? Do you just copy/paste an old prompt from a class essay (hint: don’t do this) and force fit it? Like…how many essays should you actually write?
Good thing for you: if you’re reading this, you’re early enough in the process to brainstorm properly. We now have time to go over a comprehensive, step-by-step approach to writing essays from scratch. Why?
1) It’s stupid proof and will hand hold even the most insecure people through the process of crafting amazing essays.
2) It allows you to maximize how many essays to write from scratch.
3) It allows you to CONNECT your essays to the REST OF YOUR APPLICATION.
Step One
Write 10-15 important “things” about you. This can be an attribute, a phrase, an association, a quick summary of a meaningful memory to you, etc. etc.
Ex1: I’m fiercely loyal
Ex2: I can wiggle my ears
Ex3: I like to “dance it out” alone in my room when I’m feeling frustrated / energetic / random
Ex4: I am a first generation, multi-ethnic person with no strong ties to anything/anyone in my background
Ex5: bubbly/happy
Ex6: I can eat anything
Step Two
Identify themes from those sentences; thread together connections.
Ex1: I’m fiercely loyal
Ex2: I can wiggle my ears (I always say this at ice breakers because people always want to see it, so maybe this reflects that I’m an attention whore / I’m playful / I’m boring because I always give the same answer)
Ex3: I like to “dance it out” alone in my room when I’m feeling frustrated / energetic / random (I’m active, why don’t I dance with other people like I do alone? How did I even start doing t his?)
Ex4: I am a first generation, multi-ethnic person with no strong ties to anything/anyone in my background (what am I strongly associated with? Religion I guess, but I’m not gonna write on that. I identify with people who also work really hard and are forward-thinking?)
Ex5: bubbly/happy
Ex6: I can eat anything (I have determined this is stupid / my other points are more interesting, so scratching this out)
You see, some of the points I fleshed out. Exercise one was just to “get it on paper.” Step two is to see how relevant it is, to dive deeper, to see if you can actually learn a little bit more about yourself through this process.
Examples 2&5 connect. I can use Example 4 as my rationale for my personality type as described in Example 1. Example 6 ended up being sort of useless.
Step Three
Get the list of all the colleges you’re applying to, even the ones that you’re not sure of, and print out all their essay prompts. Cut them out, label them by college, and just organize them around on a table/floor until you find the prompts with matching themes. Here’s one small snippet from a student I recently helped with last month:
color=red. “Magis,” a Latin word meaning “more,” is often cited in reference to goals of Jesuit education, which seeks to help students become better, do more, and have as much impact on society as possible. How do you hope to achieve the Magis in your life?
(George Washington Option 1): GW students have the opportunity to make history and to create real change — in the university, in the community, and in the world. As a member of the GW Class of 2019, how will you make your own history?
(UNC Option 2): Students learn both inside and outside the classroom. What would other members of the Carolina community learn from you?[/color]
I’m going to group all 3 of those prompts as “AMBITION.” Of course, each will need slight tweaking, but the base of it can be the same.
Step Four
Let’s say you do this for 15 colleges with around 8-9 independent themes. Take your results from step 2 and match it up with the prompts.
From here, you can see which “themes” can be eliminated. For example, if you know you’re going with the AMBITION essay, you already have your supplemental for UNC, George Washington, and Boston College done, so scratch those off your master theme grid. (I may or may not have to elaborate on this more in a future blog post). Pretty soon, all the supplementals under a certain theme are scratched off by (1) process of elimination, (2) you determining that you don’t have a strong essay in that theme (3) you deciding that you just want to strategically position yourself in a different way.
If I use Example 4 as my base for my AMBITION essay to set-up, use Example 1 to show how it shaped my character, then insert a story of an accomplishment of mine…that works!
Finale
Now you can see how to minimize the number of unique base essays you have to write, while really thinking through the process of what you want to convey throughout your essays.
Doesn’t this beat the process of constantly re-writing your essays from scratch without direction or methodology? While this certainly isn’t necessary, it’s a great framework to jump start your essay writing process.
In fact…if you follow this process in depth, you might see how to connect this topic with topic 2 and really, really elevate yourself above the rest.
Also, feel free to go through my topic history to see the other 5 parts of this series.
