COLLEGE ESSAY CONTENT

by Emily Liu & Chloe Retika

hello!

Emily Liu

Carnegie Mellon University

Design

insta: @emeilyliu

Chloe Retika

UCLA

Psychobiology

(pre-med)

insta: @chloeretika

how to write

• Write in present tense!
• Use “I” words. This is about you.
• Present in a positive light but don’t brag!
• Creatively separate into paragraphs
• Make transitions obvious (section it!)
• Inverse funnel (you => the world)

what to write/not write

• Avoid the 3 Ds: death, divorce, depression *
• Don’t be afraid to be out of the box or funny
• Word count
• Reusing essays
• Answer the prompt, but then answer the prompt
• Know how to break down a prompt & how much of your essay you want to spend talking about different part of it

CHOOSING THE PROMPT

• Write your story first => choose prompt
• Most of the time, a certain prompt would immediately “speak to you”, but this prompt may also just tell the “obvious” story. which prompt pushes you to think deeper about yourself?
• Perfect balance of ease and challenging to write

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If you think you have nothing to write about,

trust me, you do.

UC Application

UC Application

• 8 prompts
• 4 essays
• 350 words

7

UC App

Prompt 1

Prompt 7

LEADERSHIP

Describe an example of your leadership experience in which you have positively influenced others, helped resolve disputes, or contributed to group efforts over time.

• team of any kind
• usually leadership positions that you’ve held and nurtured for a long time

What have you done to make your school or your community a better place?

• community is how you define it; not really neighborhood
• sections: attribute organization connection (5%), present problem (10%), your positive contributions (35%), IMPACTFUL effects/reflection (50%)

8

Academic subject that inspires you & how you’ve furthered this interest.

UC App

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Describe how you express your creative side.

Greatest talent/skill?

Beyond what you’ve already shared, what do you believe makes you stand out?

P6

P2

P3

P8

UNIQUENESS

• Don’t be afraid to embellish but don’t be cliche
• Asking “how will you continue your interest in college/career?”

• Think outside the box
• Creative = Different/Other
• How you express => why you express

• Don’t write about obvious from extracurriculars
• Add a twist

• Write about anything
• Attest to personal character, other experiences

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9

UC App

Prompt 4

Prompt 5

CHALLENGES

Describe how you have taken advantage of an educational opportunity/overcome an educational barrier.

• Specifically asks about academics (contrast w/ #1)
• section it: barrier (30%), overcoming it (60%), what you learned (10%)

Describe the most significant challenge you’ve faced & how you overcame it. How has this challenge affected your academic achievement?

• Broadens to social, emotional, mental
• Connection to academic achievement

10

Common App

Common App

• 7 prompts
• 250-650 words

11

Common App

10

1. PERSONAL STORY

Some students have a background, identity, interest, or talent so meaningful they believe their application would be incomplete without it. If this sounds like you, please share your story.

• Figure out if this is you.

For if you have a truly compelling and unique life story… which all of us actually do have, but few teenagers are about to fully realize this. We all actually live pretty average and similar lives at core, but few of us are able to individualize and flush out a deeper meaning to these otherwise meek life experiences.

Prompt 2

Prompt 5

Common App

11

A moment of DEFEAT &

A moment of GROWTH

Recount a time when you faced a challenge, setback, or failure. How did it affect you, and what did you learn from the experience?

• Weakness ⇔ strength
• They reveal each other

Discuss an accomplishment, event, or realization that sparked a period of personal growth and a new understanding of yourself or others.

• Be humble, self aware, and self reflective
• Growing pains. Growth is good, but the actual process (which is worth mentioning) can be hard.
• What did you grow from? ALSO what will you do with this growth?

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Common App

12

PHILOSOPHICAL PROMPTS

A realization or a personal value that is unique to you, and shows a mature thought process and approach to understanding the world

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Show that even before college, there are components to your identity that are solidified. Your beliefs and values. The morals which lead you through life.

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Prompt 3

Prompt 4

Common App

13

PHILOSOPHICAL PROMPTS

Reflect on a *time* when you questioned or challenged a belief or idea. What prompted your thinking? What was the outcome?

• The moment and the outcome
• Realized something different than the population, a moment of individuality forming

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Describe a problem you’ve solved or a problem you’d like to solve. Explain its significance to you and what steps you took or could be taken to identify a solution.

• Explore all the different types of “problems” you could be writing about.
• Think about the problem from the perspective of the answer. Why do you want an answer to this problem? And what are you going to do with it?

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• Can be “cliche” (like religion), but it’s all about the analysis. Make connections between all different elements of life. Be a worldly soul.

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INTELLECTUAL VITALITY

Prompt 6

Common App

14

Describe a topic, idea, or concept you find so engaging it makes you lose all track of time.

• Show you have a love for pure learning
• Why does it captivate you? Could be a moment/experience. Could be the potentials of the subject. Be out of the box with this.
• Turn to when you want to learn more? How do you learn? What do you learn from? Where do you look to to spark wonder or find inspiration?
• Connect to your intentions with life. How do you want to use this to change the world?

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Wild Card

Prompt 7

Common App

15

Share an essay on any topic of your choice. It can be one you’ve already written, one that responds to a different prompt, or one of your own design.

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Why *School*?

Further Highlight

Why *Major*?

OTHER ESSAYS

Supplements

18

Supplements

Supplements

• To embellish your application
• music: ONLY if conservatory proficient
• art: is subjective.

19

Supplements

DEADLINE

LETTER OF REC

REPERTOIRE

MUSIC

• Fine arts = music
• Art does not = music
• Due Dec 1. (along with common app)

• From music instructor (1-3)
• Biography of teacher

• Pieces may overlap
• Traditionally: Bach fugue, Beethoven/Mozart Sonata, Chopin/Liszt etude, romantic/contemporary piece
• More lowkey: contrasting pieces
• Pace yourself
• Sound quality is important

20

Organization

Descriptions*

Balance

ART

technical → conceptual

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best → worst → 2nd best

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unifying factors: color, content

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can tell a story*

on slideroom, these are by CHARACTER count

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take advantage of this. being able to talk about your art is just as important as being able to make it

depending on the school, have half technical and half conceptual, with the minimum of process if they want that