Essay
Writing college application essays can be stressful. Time-consuming? Sure. Frustrating? Most definitely. Nightmare-causing? Gosh, we hope not! But we admit it is a possibility. Not sure if this makes you feel better or worse, but we actually do read your essays.
Why does W&M require an essay?
An essay can really make an impact on your application. Yes, it’s one part of many just like all the other application components, but it’s the part that comes from you. It’s your heart; it’s your mind; it’s your soul. Great essays (whether great in topic or great in style or both) can help us remember your application three months after reading it. Likewise, a bad essay can also be very memorable, but not in a good way. Something that’s poorly written or makes a questionable value judgment might act as a tip factor in the other direction.
As a side note, don’t write what you think we want to hear. We have no preconceived ideas about your essay. Plus, it’s painfully obvious when you’ve picked a topic for us instead of what's authentic to you.
Dos and Don’ts of Writing an Essay
- DO pick a topic that is uniquely you and DO realize that we know this is easier said than done. DO remember that this is only one component of many.
- DO use your own voice to tell us a story. DO make us laugh (but only if you’re funny). DO make us cry (but only if it’s subtle and not a glaring attempt to get sympathy). DO show us some effort (we can tell when your personal statement or optional essay was an after-thought). DO show us who you are and inspire us to admit you (after all that’s the desired result right?). DO choose a topic that is small and uniquely you.
- DO proofread. Are we going through your personal statements with a red pen? No. Are we indicating to our colleagues that you have made grammatical errors? Yes. DO experiment with style, theme and voice.
- DO avoid being cliche. We know that going abroad changed your worldview and made you more open to diversity. We know that when an injury prevented you from participating on your sports team your senior year, you learned the value of teamwork and support. If we can tell you what the rest of your essay says after reading the first paragraph, that’s not a good sign.
- DO NOT write about someone else. This is not an essay, it’s a personal statement. You may be able to compose a wonderfully eloquent essay about your grandfather or sibling or best friend or teacher and at the end of reading it, we may want to admit your grandfather (sibling, best friend or teacher) but we haven’t learned anything new about you. YOU ARE THE APPLICANT! If you think about the composition as a personal statement, chances are you will be writing about yourself and that will make for a far more interesting (or at least applicable) read.
- DO NOT write an essay that hundreds of other applicants could write. At age 17 or 18, many of your experiences are similar (winning a race, first time abroad, overcoming an injury, etc.).
- DO NOT feel compelled to tackle a big topic. DO NOT feel like you have to condense your 17 or 18 years into 500 words.
- DO NOT feel restricted to the typical five-paragraph essay. DO NOT forget that your personal statement should have flow.
- DO NOT succumb to undo self-induced pressure to write the next great American novel or the first Pulitzer-prize winning college application essay.
