This document provides tips and guidance for writing effective college application essays. It begins by having the reader make lists of their most proud accomplishments, examples of leadership, and artistic experiences to draw from for essays. It then discusses how admissions officers value essays as an opportunity for applicants to share their voice and life stories, while also dreading poorly written essays. Additional tips include developing an overall essay writing plan, understanding the various types of applications like the Common Application versus public university applications, and focusing essays on sharing qualities and stories not found elsewhere in the application. Specific essay prompts and examples are also provided.

1. Writing Great College Application
Essays That Pop: Orange County
School of the Arts!!!
Rebecca Joseph, PhD
rjoseph@calstatela.edu
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Application Essays
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2. To get us started
On a piece of paper, list
your (or your child’s)
 Three activities or
accomplishments of
which you are the most
proud?
 Three major ways you
have shown leadership
or initiative?
 Three artistic
experiences you are
most proud of?

3. The Power and Danger of Essays
1. Give me two reasons why admissions officers value
college application essays.
2. Give me two reasons why they often dread reading
the majority of them.

5. Essays=Opportunity
Share
Reflect
Stand Out

6. How Important Are Essays?
1.Grades
2.Rigor of Coursework, School
3.Test Scores
4.Essays*
5.Recommendations-Teacher and/or Counselor
6.Activities-Sustained consistency, development,
leadership, and initiative
7.Special skills, talents, awards, auditions, portfolios,
community service and passions

7. Do College Admissions Essays Matter?
 Essays are “not a substitute for a rigorous curriculum, good
grades and evidence that you're going to do well,”
 Still, the essay can make a difference.
 The first challenge for the writer: picking
a topic.
 Any topic can work — or fail.
 The biggest problem for students is
starting with too wide a focus. "By
the time they get to the details,
they run out of space. I'm all for
cutting to the chase."

8. So….Tip 1
Tip 1. College essays are fourth in importance
behind grades, test scores, and the rigor of
completed coursework in many admissions office
decisions. Don’t waste this powerful
opportunity to share your voice and express
what you really offer to a college campus.
Great life stories make you jump off the page and
into your match colleges.

9. A New Paradigm
Tip 2.
Develop an overall
strategic essay writing
plan.
College essays should
work together to
help you communicate
key qualities and
stories not available
anywhere else in
your application.

10. Essays = Opportunity
 Take control over the highest ranked non-academic aspect of
the application
 Share their voice
 Express who they really are
 Show (not tell) stories that
belong only to them and help them
jump off the page
 Challenge stereotypes
 Reflect on their growth and
development, including
accomplishments and service
 Seek to understand what the admission officer is looking for

11. What DO Admissions Officers Seek?
Context
Values
Commitment/Depth of
Interests
Interaction with and/or
perception by others
Special talents and
qualities
Realistic self-appraisal

12. Ultimately…admissions officers want to
know your…
Impact Initiative

13. Understand the Different
Types of Applications
Help students understand the landscape:
1)The Common Application
2) Large Public Universities
3) Private College Specific Applications
4) Other Systems (Conservatories, Universal
Application, etc.)

14. Four Major Application Types:
1. The Common Application
 Many private and some public American use the centralized
Common Application with their own Writing supplements
 More than 650 colleges use it.
 www.commonapp.org
 Don’t start writing any essays until you see all the essays required
for your top schools. My app-All College Application Essays has the
requirements.

15. 1. Common Application Essays
One Long/ 250-650 words –Paste in.
1. Some students have a background, identity, interest, or talent that is so meaningful they believe their
application would be incomplete without it. If this sounds like you, then please share your story.
2. The lessons we take from failure can be fundamental to later success. Recount an incident or time when
you experienced failure. How did it affect you, and what did you learn from the experience?
3. Reflect on a time when you challenged a belief or idea. What prompted you to act? Would you make
the same decision again.
4. Describe a problem you’ve solved or a problem you’d like to solve. It can be an intellectual challenge, a
research query, an ethical dilemma-anything that is of personal importance, no matter the scale.
Explain its significance to you and what steps you took or could be taken to identify a solution.
5. Discuss an accomplishment or event, formal or informal, that marked your transition from childhood
to adulthood within your culture, community, or family.
Activities: The Common Application leaves room for 10 activities
Additional Information: The Common Application allows you to add additional information. Accepts
up to 650 words.
Supplemental Essays
They range from one line to 500 words. Some schools have one, while other have three. They can overlap.
If it says optional, view it as mandatory.

16. Common Application Writing Supplements
Some long– U Penn, U Chicago (300-650 words)
Some medium—Stanford
Some small— Columbia, Brown

17. Evan Common Application
I was speechless when I saw my name on the cast list. I thought that there must have been a typo. After
looking again, I realized that it was true, especially since all of the girls vying for parts were glaring at me.
Without success, I tried to explain that I had no power over this decision.
The fact that I, a 5’ 9” 160 pound man, was cast as the Queen of Hearts in Alice in Wonderland, one of the
two leading female roles, began when my theatre class was reading through a student-written version of
the play. I was almost through with a semi-long monologue when my teacher interrupted me to talk about
his personal life. My class and I had formed a great relationship with him and we always talked back to
him, even though we knew that talking back to a teacher usually meant bad news. So, I told him to be
quiet, and he told me that if I talked like that one more time, he would cast me as the Queen of Hearts. I
didn’t put much thought into this, but I kept my mouth shut anyway.
When I got to the audition room, I read for the Mad Hatter and the Caterpillar, the two characters that all
the guys were trying out for. I started to head out when the teacher, who was also directing the show, told
me to read for the Queen. I hesitated for a moment because that was the part that all of the girls were
trying for, that and Alice. He explained that he thought it would be funny for the Queen to have a deep
voice and hairy legs. I eventually read for her, but joined in with the rest of the cast when they thought it
was all a joke.

18. After getting cast as the Queen, I quickly began to see what my teacher meant when he told me that it
would add humor to the show if a boy were the Queen. I surprised myself at how much of the character I
made my own. In fact, when the teacher came up to me one day and told me that a lot of my part was
going to be improvised, I didn’t feel nervous at all; if it was any other part I would have felt that I couldn’t
do it, but I felt so comfortable with the character that it didn’t scare me.
Eventually, the first night of the performance came, and I felt completely ready. I put on my huge
costume, luckily without heels, and went to my teacher. The makeup took about two hours to complete,
and all I could think about was how happy I was that my teacher decided not to put me in roller-skates
because of the amount of times I fell over my long dress.
When I stepped onto the stage, however, I was so engaged in my character that my acting and
improvisation was spotless. Many people even believed that I was actually my music teacher because I
looked and sounded just like her. They realized it was me when they saw my hairy legs underneath the
gown I was wearing. Everybody was impressed and gave me the biggest round of applause I had ever
received.
Playing the Queen of Hearts made me think about what type of actor I want to be. I have become a
character actor; I love putting on different voices and accents and wowing the entire school. I even ended
up playing Lumière in Beauty and the Beast because I was the only one who could do a French accent. I
have really grown in my acting capabilities over the years, and recently when I was cast as Doc Gibbs in
Our Town, at least there were no senior citizens in my school there to glare at me for taking a part away
from them.

19. Four Major Application Types:
2. Large Public Universities
Many large and most prominent public universities
have their own applications.
 Universities of Arizona, California, Indiana, Maryland, Oregon,
Texas, Washington, and Wisconsin—to name just some
 They each have different essay requirements.
 They each have your report activities in a different way.
 But there are ways to use your other essays here as well.
 They have their own essays. You should gather their topics
and look for ways to use your common application essay as one
of your essays for the public colleges, and visa-versa.

20. UC California
 Two essays
 Respond to both prompts, using a maximum of 1,000 words total.
 You may allocate the word count as you wish. If you choose to respond to one
prompt at greater length, we suggest your shorter answer be no less than 250
words.
Prompt #1 (freshman applicants)-[Outside-In]
Describe the world you come from – for example, your
family, community or school – and tell us how your world
has shaped your dreams and aspirations.
Prompt #2 (all applicants) [Inside-Out]
Tell us about a personal quality, talent, accomplishment,
contribution or experience that is important to you. What
about this quality or accomplishment makes you proud and
how does it relate to the person you are.

21. University of Texas Essay Tips
 Don’t tell us what you think we want to hear. The university’s essay readers don’t have a perfect essay in mind –
as a matter of fact essays that sound like all the rest of them – the essay that is expected – is more likely to be
overlooked.
 Be yourself. Show us what makes you unique, how you’ve dealt with issues and problems, what you think about the
topic at hand. Good writing teachers tell their students to write about what they know. That’s good advice for college
essays, too.
 Use a natural voice and style. Although it’s always important to use proper grammar, spelling, punctuation,
diction, etc., don’t write to try to impress anyone. Use words and a style that are appropriate for the topic you’re writing
about, for someone your age, and for someone who’s trying to communicate clearly and logically.
 Don’t be overly informal either. Your essay will be read by an adult professional. In almost all cases, you should
avoid using words or phrases that you might use when texting someone or on a social networking site.
 Develop your ideas. Although the length of your essay alone technically doesn’t matter, developing your ideas
completely does matter. If you can do that in a single page of text, that’s good; but if it takes you three pages or so, that’s
alright, too (as long as you’re not just adding words to make your essay longer). It’s not realistic to assume that you can
clearly communicate your unique perspective about anything in a short paragraph or two.
 Organize your thoughts. All good writing has a beginning, a middle, and an end. That doesn’t mean you should be
formulaic in your writing (this isn’t a high school exit exam), but you should introduce your idea, provide interesting
examples and details in support of your idea, and come to some sort of conclusion at the end.
 Don’t respond to the prompt as though you’re answering a question. Again, we don’t have a perfect essay in
mind. The prompt is supposed to get your mind churning, to make you want to tell us what you think about something
that’s important to you. Your essay is your opportunity to do that.

22. Jessica-UC 1 along used for Point Park
From the moment I was born, I was plunged into a life of medical chaos. My older brother,
Neil, was diagnosed with a kidney tumor at age two. By age seven, when I was four, he
developed Leukemia. He relapsed at age 15. All in all, he’s had, and survived, cancer three
times.
Because of his illness and my family’s dedication to helping him survive, I was never
surprised when family members, teachers, and friends treated me differently from other kids.
It was as if I were the one who was sick. I received just as much sympathy as my brother. I
brushed it off; I became emotionally numb to the entire situation.
However, strong emotions began to surface while I was in middle school, during Neil’s third
round of cancer. I refused to allow myself to be angry about this new occurrence; after all, it
was nobody’s fault. However, having heard that often siblings of cancer patients tend to have
major emotional issues, my parents, were concerned about me. I didn’t want them to worry,
so I struggled to keep myself busy by playing soccer, attending choir rehearsals, figure
skating, and taking voice lessons. It wasn’t until the eighth grade that I finally found my best
emotional outlet: Musical Theatre.

23. Jessica-UC 1 along used for Point Park
From the moment I was born, I was plunged into a life of medical chaos. My older brother,
Neil, was diagnosed with a kidney tumor at age two. By age seven, when I was four, he
developed Leukemia. He relapsed at age 15. All in all, he’s had, and survived, cancer three
times.
Because of his illness and my family’s dedication to helping him survive, I was never
surprised when family members, teachers, and friends treated me differently from other kids.
It was as if I were the one who was sick. I received just as much sympathy as my brother. I
brushed it off; I became emotionally numb to the entire situation.
However, strong emotions began to surface while I was in middle school, during Neil’s third
round of cancer. I refused to allow myself to be angry about this new occurrence; after all, it
was nobody’s fault. However, having heard that often siblings of cancer patients tend to have
major emotional issues, my parents, were concerned about me. I didn’t want them to worry,
so I struggled to keep myself busy by playing soccer, attending choir rehearsals, figure
skating, and taking voice lessons. It wasn’t until the eighth grade that I finally found my best
emotional outlet: Musical Theatre.

24. Finally, I found something for which I had talent. Finally, I found something to do while my
parents were at the hospital. Finally, I found a way to channel all my emotions and energy.
Finally, I found my voice, a real voice to which people would listen. Finally! The stage offered
me a way to momentarily escape my pain. Through theatre, I discovered a new supportive
community and second family. Theatre helped me find confidence in myself that I previously
struggled to discover. It was an outlet, a release, and a passion with which I ultimately fell in
love.
Before I could even fathom how I would react if my brother were to relapse for a fourth time,
my father last year was diagnosed with a kidney tumor. I feared the cycle was about to start
all over again. Though my father’s illness affected me emotionally, because of theater, I had
the support of my peers who helped me fight alongside my father. Through these
experiences, I have become an incredibly strong young woman. I have found optimism in
difficult and unfortunate situations. My brother and my father are both in remission. Their
bravery and willingness to fight has inspired me in numerous ways. I have built the
confidence and strength that will help me accomplish all the goals in my life. While I will
never forget these experiences, I don’t want that pain and sadness to define whom I am. I am
more than that. I am a sister, a daughter, a fighter, and I too, am a survivor.

25. Four Major Application Types:
3 and 4. Other systems
Many conservatories have their own applications as
do many privates and publics.
Yet their applications for financial aid or academic
support programs add in those requirements.
Washington State, for example, several short essays
which they share with other state systems. Boston
Conservatory has one personal statement
The Universal Application is another system. It has
fewer colleges on it than The Common Application.

26. Develop A Master Chart
Tip 3. Keep a chart of all essays required by each
college, including short responses and optional
essays. View each essay or short response as a chance
to tell a new story and to share your core qualities.
I recommend three sheets.
 1. Major deadlines and needs. Break it down by the four
application types
 2. Core essays-Color code all the similar or overlapping essays.
 3. Supplemental essays. Each college has extra requirements
on the common application. Again color code similar types:
Why are you a good match for us? How will you add to the
diversity of our campus?

27. Write the Fewest
Yet Most Effective Essays…
Tip 4.
Find patterns
between colleges
essay requirements.
Use essays more
than once.
UC 1 or 2=Common
App =Scholarship
Essay

28. Where to Begin: Brainstorm

29. Individual and Collaborative

30. Positive Personality Traits

31. 5. Other Brainstorming Tips
Help them brainstorm
1.Make a resume.
2.Write about three of your major activities.
3.Reading model essays from actual college websites
4.Looking at other college’s essay prompts-U Chicago, Tufts
5.Creating a letter to future roommate or an amazing list of
what makes you you.
6.Looking at 5 top FB and Instagram Pictures
7.Reading models from other students
8.Do culture bags

32. What Did You Do Last Summer?

33. Into, Through, and Beyond Essay Approach
Tip 7. Follow Dr. Joseph’s Into, Through, and Beyond
approach.
It is not just the story that counts.
It’s the choice of qualities a student wants the college to
know about herself

34. Into,Through, and Beyond
Into
 It’s the way the reader can lead the reader into the piece—images, examples, context.
 Always uses active language: power verbs, crisp adjectives, specific nouns.
Through
 What happened…quickly…yet clearly with weaving of story and personal analysis
 Specific focus on the student
 Great summarizing, details, and images at same time
Beyond
 Ending that evokes key characteristics
 Conveys moral
 Answers ending prompts of two UC essays
 UC 1”and tell us how your world has shaped your dreams and aspirations.”
 UC 2 “What about this quality or accomplishment makes you proud and how does it
relate to the person you are”

35. Goal of Into Through Beyond
Share positive messages and powerful
outcomes.
Focus on impact, leadership, and initiative.
If you want to include challenges, lead
quickly to who you are now.
Some states can use only socio-economic
status, but not race, in admissions, but in
your essays, your voice and background can
emerge.

36. Write the Unexpected
I knelt on the ground, aching from the asphalt grinding into my dusty and
blackened knees. A piece of thick blue chalk in hand, with one fluid sweep of the
arm, and then another, I connected two paths, creating a loop, where one path
swung back and reconnected with itself. I stood up. Colorful lines intertwined with
each other, knotting, weaving, splitting off, and joining back together. Taking
careful steps, I walked over my creation, around the corner of a building, and
watched as it continued to stretch out towards one end of school. I spied the start,
looked back around the corner, and imagined the end.
A few middle-schoolers stood at the edge of my maze, eying one particular path
from their feet, all the way until they lost it, then returning to their school day and
continuing on to class. A pair of freshman walked the paths, twisting and turning,
often looping back around; careful to stay within the lines I had drawn. I walked
back to where I was working, picked out a new piece of yellow chalk, and quickly
broke an open end of a path into two open ends, then two into four, sweeping,
crossing over, then under one another, morphing into green when the yellow chalk
ran out.

37. “I did it!”
I looked up. One of the freshmen stood at the end of one of the numerous openings of my half finished
maze, arms raised above his head, spinning slowly in circles. Staring blankly at him was his
counterpart, still lost deep within the curls of the maze.
It was not for myself that I had drawn the maze. It was for the kids mindlessly walking from class to class,
staring at the asphalt under their feet as they thought about equations and essays. I created it so that
these kids would have another world to enter as they crisscrossed the school, letting their minds
wander to a land of color and art.
But just as easily as I can draw a chalk line on the ground, I can drowsily greet hundreds of students on a
misty morning, moisten the ground, and wash away my chalk line. My work with film is different
though. When I create films, I expect them to last forever. I expect to be able to dig them out of an old
dusty attic box, plug in a dusty and outdated DVD player and watch what I made. When I come up
with an idea, a thought, I expect that idea to be buried deep within the folds of my memory for
eternity, waiting to be rediscovered.
But not chalk. When using chalk, I expect whatever I make to be gone almost as soon as I draw it, which
makes whatever I create all the more precious. When I only have a few seconds, a few hours, a few
days to cherish something, those fleeting moments become all the more powerful. All I can do is work
to make the most beautiful creations possible and cherish them while they last.

38. Tip 8. Use active writing: avoid passive sentences and
incorporate power verbs. Show when possible; tell
when summarizing.
Tip 9. Have trusted inside and impartial outside
readers read your essays. Make sure you have no
spelling or grammatical errors.
Take the Time With These Essays

39. Final Thoughts
Tip 10. Most importantly, make yourself come alive
throughout this process. Write about yourself as
passionately and powerfully as possible. Be proud of your
life and accomplishments. Sell yourself!!!
Students often need weeks not days to write effective
essays. You need to push beyond stereotypes.
Admissions officers can smell “enhanced” essays.
You can find many great websites and examples but each
student is different.

40. Keep In Touch
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Essays