Get Your College Admissions Essay Questions Answered Now

If you are a high school junior or senior (or soon-to-be junior or senior), you likely have a ton of questions about the college admissions essay. In fact, I’m sure you may even feel downright sick just thinking about having to somehow capture the whole essence of your being in only 650 words. 

Well, keep reading, and see if you can relieve some of your current overwhelm about writing the infamous college admissions essay. 

Question 1: Why does the college admissions essay matter?

This is hands down the number one question I hear firsthand from my high school students each year, and it’s a valid question. Why is this essay so important?

To put it into perspective for you, it’s important to consider the state of college admissions. Believe it or not, college acceptance rates (especially to the most selective schools) are at an all-time low. This is simply because there are more students than ever applying to college. Most high school students, and I’m sure you will be one of them, apply to multiple colleges/universities (some even to 10 or more schools). 

These numbers boil down to one thing: more competition. 

With the competitive college admissions landscape, it has become increasingly important for students to stand out. 

Colleges and universities consider quite a few factors when it comes to deciding who they want attending and representing their institution: high school grades, class rank, standardized test scores, extracurricular involvement, volunteer/work experience, recommendations, personal statements, and interviews. 

Out of a pool of 12,000 applicants, there may be 1200 applicants who have nearly identical GPAs, class ranks, and test scores. So how on Earth can a group of strangers decide which 100 of those 1200 applicants should be accepted into their school?  

Though on the whole all of this information is important, the admissions essay is particularly important because it is a way for you to share the true person that dwells underneath all of the numbers and facts that are included in your transcript and application. 

This is actually one of the factors that you have the most power over in your application journey. You get to decide what important components of your character and story you want the admissions team to see. 

At the end of the day, the admissions officers who will be reading your essay are people. And people love stories. The numbers are just numbers to them. They are either in the standard range that they see, or they aren’t. 

But the essay gives them a deep look into the type of person you really are, and that can make or break your acceptance. 

Question 2: When should you start writing your college admissions essay?

For those of you who are go-getters, it may be tempting to cross this daunting task off your list early in your high school career. But I would caution that you don’t write your essay too early. You may miss out on some great material (and by that I mean experience) that you could use in your essay.

At the same time, you don’t want to be that student who is pulling an all-nighter late in your senior year while your peers are sitting back relaxing while they await their acceptance letters. This will take a serious toll on your mental health. 

The perfect time to write your admissions essay will depend on your unique situation. To give you a helpful range though, some time between the spring of your junior year and the fall of your senior year is a great time to complete your application essay.

By the spring of your junior year, even if you aren’t quite sure which schools you want to apply to yet, you at least have a solid understanding of who you are. And that is one of the most critical aspects of writing your essay. 

Question 3: Should I write an essay if my college says it’s optional?

There are many colleges and universities that do not require personal essays for their application or that only require an essay for admissions into specific majors or programs. 

That said, as mentioned earlier, the essay is really a great tool that you can use to your advantage because it allows you to paint a picture of who you really are. 

Thus, it is almost always in your best interest to write the essay. It’s also possible that you can repurpose your essay (or at least parts of it) for scholarship essays down the road. 

Question 4: How many admissions essays will I need to write?

The number of college admissions essays you will need to write depends largely on which schools you are applying to. Many colleges and universities accept applications through Common App which is a website that helps you apply to multiple colleges and universities at one time (this saves you from laboriously entering all of your personal information multiple times). 

The beauty of Common App is that it also allows you to use the same personal essay for all of the schools that you are applying for. 

The caveat to this is that not all of the schools you apply to will be on the Common App, and they may even have their own unique application essay requirements. 

So, to answer this question, the only certainty is that you will need to write at least one essay. 

Question 5: Can I just use an essay that I already wrote in high school?

Many students often wonder if they can just submit an essay that they have already written throughout their high school career. And while that may be tempting, it is almost never a good idea. 

Unless you have an English teacher who has specifically assigned you to write a personal essay for the purpose of using it for a college application, your essay may not be the best reflection of what you have to offer a university. 

On top of that, the college application essay is not your typical 5-paragraph essay that you are likely used to writing in your high school classes. Your admissions essay is written for the singular purpose of illustrating some of your most valuable character strengths to an admissions team so that they will be convinced that you will have a positive impact at their institution. 

Now, if you have written a personal essay like that in high school, then use your best judgment to decide if it is reusable for your college application. But more than likely, you will need to do some brainstorming to truly come up with a great essay topic that will truly demonstrate your value. 

Question 6: What is the difference between the admissions essay, a personal statement, and a supplemental essay?

The personal statement and the application essay are one and the same. These names both refer to the main essay that you submit along with your application materials. 

Some schools also require additional supplemental essays that are unique to their school or unique to specific programs within their larger institution. These prompts usually differ from the generic prompts that you may respond to for your main application. 

If your school requires supplemental essays, you will want to be sure to devote the same amount of effort and attention to those as you would to your personal statement since they are yet another opportunity to show just how awesome you are!

Hopefully that answers some of the major questions you have about your college application essay. When you are ready to write your essay, check out this post on choosing the best topic for your personal statement!

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If you are still feeling terribly overwhelmed by this process, consider securing a virtual seat in the Slay Your Essay application essay course so that you don’t have to go through the process totally alone.