college essays
Personal statement pieces
College essays are the personal writing samples required for undergraduate admissions, typically asking applicants to reflect on experiences, values, or goals.
The term usually refers to the Common App essay and supplemental essays for specific schools.
Students agonize over these because admissions officers use them to distinguish candidates beyond grades and test scores: She spent all summer revising her college essays.
The genre has spawned an industry of coaches, consultants, and anxious parents.
- applicationFormal request document
- admissionEntry or confession
- admissions officerUniversity application evaluator
- early decisionCommitted application with deadline
- personal narrativeSelf-told life account
prompt · brainstorm · rough draft · draft · revision · deadline · word count · word limit · transcript · extracurriculars · narrative · show don't tell · voice · unique voice · authentic · memorable · hook · conclusion
- scholarship essays
- student writingbook report, personal narrative, research paper, term paper, reflection paper
- Personal Essayspersonal narratives, journal entries
- secondary educationhigh school, secondary school, freshman year, sophomore year, junior year
- senior yearsenior, seniors, senior year, senior class, twelfth graders
- teen writingyouth literature, young writers
college essaysSAT scores
Standardized assessment results
ACT scores · GPA · transcripts · class rank · AP scores
college essaysdissertations
Extended academic research documents
research papers · thesis · lab reports · peer-reviewed articles · literature reviews
college, essay, colleges, essays, collegiate, collegian, collegians, essayist, essayists