[BHS Etree] COLLEGE/CAREER: Practical Advice for Essay Writing

BHS Etree bhs at lists.lmi.net
Thu Sep 10 21:21:33 PDT 2015 

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**

*Writing your essays: Practical Advice
*


**

University of California applications are due at the end of November. 
Regular Admission deadlines for private colleges range from December 15 
to February 15. Early applications for private colleges are usually due 
some time in October. Scholarships are often due even earlier. The UC 
application asks for two essays totaling 1,000 words; the Common App 
wants one essay that is between 250 and 650 words and one short essay of 
150 words; most private colleges also request a supplementary essay; 
private schools want to know “why” you are applying; some scholarships 
ask for even more personal information. Are you confused yet? *Don’t 
worry.  You can write two or three essays and then ADAPT.  Be smart.*

*The following timeline should cover all types of students while 
ensuring efficiency*.

1.*Senior Profile*. One of the keys to efficient essay writing is doing 
a good job on your BHS Senior Profile. Not only does the Profile provide 
information to your counselor and teacher for recommendation, the 
Profile is a working document that will serve as an outline for all of 
your essays and applications. Take time to go over it several times. Do 
NOT fill it in at the last minute. The profile does not have to be 
perfectly written but it should contain all the information you will 
need for your applications and essays.

2.*Write your Master Essay of 500 to 650 words *This should be an essay 
that introduces you and will work both for the Common App and one of the 
UC essays.

3.*Write a 2^nd  essay of roughly 350 to 500 words. *This essay 
should/could round out the UC essays (see below # 7) AND, with luck, be 
the basis for any supplementary essays called for by private 
colleges. Sometimes to make it fit with the private college prompts you 
might have to write a new lead, but that is better than starting from 
scratch.

  4.*The “Why” essay*. This is a short essay required by most private 
colleges. Why do you want to attend their school? They do NOT want you 
to go to their website and cut and paste. They know their campus is 
beautiful, their goal is to be diverse, their departments are excellent, 
their location ideal. They WOULD like to know what *you* will bring to 
their school. Think really hard before you respond. Why, exactly ARE you 
applying? For example: “Tulane intrigues me because it offers Portuguese 
and I would like to study public health in Brazil…”  “ Whitman’s small 
town setting means a lot to me as I am interested in the history of the 
old west…” or “Occidental’s film department is what attracts me. I have 
studied film making all four years at BHS…” A lot of kids dash this 
essay off at the end of their essay season and then just substitute one 
college name for another in the same essay. Colleges know when they have 
received such a slap-dash essay. Think of this short essay as one last 
opportunity to tell them a little more about yourself.

5. *USE the college essay readers*. Starting the second or third week of 
school the College and Career Center has college essay “readers.” These 
readers are professional writers or college counselors who volunteer to 
work with BHS students. Most of the readers have been working with 
students for many years. Take advantage of the readers.

·      Their schedules will be available at the CCC desk in early 
September. They are on site before school, during lunch, and after 
school most days.

·      Once you start working with a reader, it is helpful to email your 
current draft BEFORE meeting up again in the college center. Of course, 
ask the reader if that is what they would like.

·      If you are comfortable with your reader don’t go shopping for 
other opinions. Stick to one or two people (maybe a teacher, or a 
parent, or a private counselor, and/or an essay reader).  There is no 
one-way to write an essay. The more people to whom you show your essay; 
the more opinions you will receive. It is easy to lose your way.

·      When you are finished, show your essays to someone who doesn’t 
know you—such as a different essay reader. Tell them you have worked on 
the essay and you do not want editing help but a first impression. If 
the essays work, this new person will come up with a pleasing list of 
adjectives to describe you. If you are not happy with these adjectives, 
well, time for some rewriting.

  6. *Special Thoughts on the UC essay. *The UC system does not ask for 
recommendations from counselors or teachers, which can flesh out and 
substantiate your story. Stu­dents are admitted on the basis of high 
school classes and grades, test scores, a short list of extracurricular 
activities, and 1,000 words. The lack of accompanying recommendations 
gives these essays a special burden. Unlike Common Application essays, 
UC essays must do more than give the reader a glimpse, however 
illuminating, into the your life. *The 1,000 words must cover 
EVERYTHING: challenges overcome, summers, family background, ethnicity, 
special achievements, and a fleshing out of activities outside the 
classroom/./* Think journal­ism: who, what, when, where, why. In the 
end, with 1,000 words com­plete, you should ask: *Is this who I am? Is 
this everything that is important about me? Have I left anything out?*

7. *UC Prompts *The UC application asks students to write two essays 
using a maxi­mum of 1,000 words total. The essays may be of equal length 
or one may be long and the other short. If you decide to write a long 
and a short essay, the university suggests your shorter answer be at 
least 250 words. The official prompts are as follows:

Prompt* #1 (freshman applicants)*

Describe the world you come from—for example, your family, com­munity, 
or school—and tell us how your world has shaped your dreams and aspirations.

*Prompt #2 (all applicants)*

Tell us about a personal quality, talent, accomplishment, contribution, 
or experience that is important to you. What about this quality or 
ac­complishment makes you proud and how does it relate to the person you 
are?

8. *To see what the University has to say on the essays, visit* 
www.universityofcalifornia.edu/admissions/undergrad_adm/apply/how_apply/personal_statement.html 
<http://www.universityofcalifornia.edu/admissions/undergrad_adm/apply/how_apply/personal_statement.html>.

9. For lots of Interesting BHS tips on Essay Writing go to:

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/BerkeleyHighCollegeEssays

https://www.facebook.com/BerkeleyHighCollegeEssays



_____________________________

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