Ahhh the college application essay... nothing brings about writer's block quite like this, right? This week, we're going to spend some time talking about the essay, and hopefully make it a little less intimidating...

While the essay is many students' least favorite part of the application, it is actually the favorite part for many admission counselors (not less intimidating yet? Hang on...). Why is that? Well, the essay is the one piece of the application that you have complete control over at the moment you're writing it, and you have the opportunity to let your personality shine through. As an admission counselor, I really want to get to know YOU - to move beyond the "numbers" part of your application and get a sense of what's important to you, and what you are passionate about.

So, let's begin with the college essay topic - what should you write about? First of all, PC is a member of the Common Application group, and you have six different essay questions to choose from (and the last one is "topic of your choice" - so you can write about whatever you so choose). Unfortunately, I am not going to give you a specific answer here... and that's because there isn't one. There is no specific subject or topic we're looking for as admission counselors... we have no preference as to which common app. question you answer or if you choose your own topic... simply put, there is no "magic formula" to writing the perfect college admission essay. The best essays that we read each year are personal - in other words, when we have finished reading the 500-word, two page double-spaced essay, we know something more about the student and maybe even have a sense of that student's personality.

In choosing a topic, think about the people, places, and things that are important to YOU. You should not try to pick a topic that you think a college admission counselor would like to read about (I don't know what that topic would be - and I AM an admission counselor!). Instead, choose something you feel comfortable writing about and you feel will show us who you are as a person. As I mentioned above, the essay helps admission counselors to move beyond the "numbers" of your application (such as your GPA, class rank, and SAT/ACT scores) and gives us the opportunity to get to know the "real you" (cliched, I know... but also true!).

That should at least get you started - I'll let you digest that, with more to come on the essay later this week!