Don’t Be Afraid of College Application Essays!

College application essays tend to make everyone fearful and hesitant. What do you write about? What should you write about? Are there things schools want to hear? When these questions come to mind, embrace the fear and use it to write memorable essays that make you stand out. Stop worrying and get writing.

Whether we like to admit it or not, applying to college is scary! What if you don’t get it? What if the reason you aren’t accepted is because of your essay? Did you pick the right topic? Did you say the right things? There are so many what-if scenarios and so few answers. In your mind, there are so many things that could go wrong. 

Write with Purpose

Our advice? Write about something that inspires you. Something you’re passionate about, something that invokes feelings within you. If what fuels your essays is passion and emotion, you’ll put your heart and soul into what you’re writing. If you do that, your essay is going to be memorable.

Colleges want to hear what you have to say! They want to get to know you, your story, likes and dislikes, desires and idiosyncrasies. They want to know all of this because they’re trying to get a picture of you as a whole person. You’re not just a GPA, an SAT/ACT score, or a résumé. They’re admitting people, not numbers. Empower yourself with this fact! If you say exactly what you want, a school will admit you based on your own merits and words. Think of it this way: if a school rejects you for what you say, aren’t you better of not going there?

Discard the Fear

Remember that it’s better to be rejected on your own merits than accepted on fabricated ones. When you put yourself out there, the results are exactly as they should be, because they are based on your overall truth as a person. Don’t self-censor your application essays for fear that you’ll be rejected. Instead, embrace your personality, your history, your self, and put it on paper for the world to see. Not only will it be liberating, but you will shine through the essay. At the end of the day, that’s exactly what schools want to see.