College Admission Essays

Your college admission essays will give the college admission committee the chance to get to know more about yourself.

  It is these college application essays that will provide them with some insight into your identity and how you are as a person.  Because of this, it is necessary for you to exert much time and effort when writing your essay.  If you’re having a hard time trying to think of college essay topics, you might want to take a look at sample college admission essays to see how others have written theirs.Before you start writing your admission essay, you should first think about a topic that you’d like to focus on.  A good way to do this is to free write.

  Spend 15 minutes just writing about the things that shaped your identity.  Write down your experiences that have made a huge impression on you, or people who have inspired you and acted as your role model.  Perhaps you’d like to write about your ethnicity and how it has affected the way you live your life.(1)

Ethnicity as an effective theme to focus on in your college admission essays

If your ethnicity has had a huge impact on your personality and you feel that it has made you into the person that you are now, then it would be good for you to choose it as a theme for your college admission essay.  If, however, you feel that you cannot write much about your ethnicity or that it hasn’t had much influence on your life, then you might want to stick with mentioning it in passing and then focusing on something else that has made more impact in your life and your decisions.  The key here is to let your readers gain insight into your personal life.

What you should mention, expound on, and avoid in your ethnicity-themed college application essays

When you choose to write about your ethnicity, make sure that you do not only dwell on descriptions.  Write about how your ethnicity has influenced the decisions you have made, the paths you have taken.  Let your readers know how profound an impact your ethnicity has made on your life, how it has made you into the person that you are now.  You also have to relate that to the program you intend to take up in college.

  How did your ethnicity influence your choice?  How has your ethnicity influenced your perspectives and view on life?  Why are you pursuing the program you’d like to get accepted in?  How did you arrive at your choice of school?  These are just some of the questions you can ask yourself when you start to write about your ethnicity.  Keep in mind that you have to make your essay interesting and personal, because your essay would give admissions officers the chance to get to know you more.(2)When writing about your ethnicity, it’s normal that you mention adversities and how you have overcome them.  You might write about how you were an immigrant and how hard it was for you to cope in a country that’s so different from what you’re used to.

  You can talk about how you were able to thrive amidst adversities, and how you have come to appreciate all that you now have in your life that you didn’t get to enjoy before.  All these, though, may sound as if you’re appealing for sympathy.  Just because you’re disadvantaged or have experienced discrimination because of your ethnicity doesn’t mean that it’s all you’ve got to talk about.  You can focus instead on your dreams, your goals, and your accomplishments, putting these into the context of your upbringing.(3)

Sample College Admission Essays with College Essay Topics Focusing on Ethnicity

Sample college admission essays that focus on ethnicity can help you craft your own essay.  You can look for sample college admission essays by doing a search on the Internet.

  These admission essays can help you think of things to write about.  You have to keep in mind, though, that you shouldn’t copy from these essays, but rather just use them to get ideas and see how other people have written their essays.  Make sure that your essay is unique and personal, and that it’s written in your own style.(4)

Other Tips for Writing a Good Admission Essay

Aside from picking a topic for your college admission essay, there are many other things that you must take note of when you write your essay.

  For one, it’s important that your essay is coherent, and that there are no typographical or grammatical errors.  It would also be good for you to let others read your essay so that you can ask for their opinions.  You should also read your essay multiple times and make revisions if you think it’s necessary.  Don’t be alarmed if you think you think you might have to add or remove paragraphs.  Just keep revising your essay until you think it’s as good as it can be.

  1. http://www.dummies.com/how-to/content/identifying-themes-in-your-autobiography-for-your-.html
  2. http://students.berkeley.edu/apa/personalstatement/
  3. http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/642/04/
  4. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A64845-2004Oct1.html