While grades represent the most important factor in college admissions for the typical applicant, other factors provide holistic insight into the student behind the application:
Test scores put grades in context and measure college readiness.
Extracurricular activities speak to interests, excellence, and leadership.
Recommendations describe integrity, character, and academic curiosity.
The application essay along with the various supplements play a more strategic, subtle, and subjective role than the other factors. The essay also has the most potential to capture the imagination–and passionate support–of application readers, at least if done right. But what about when the essay is written badly?
We’ve shared plenty of resources on how to write amazing college essays both on the Chariot Learning blog and on the Tests and the Rest podcast. As a change of pace, I shared 7 Steps to a Terrible College Essay with my friend Dave the Scholarship Coach:
1. Write about someone else.
2. Write in a different voice or let someone else write for you.
3. Randomly pick a prompt.
4. Ignore grammar, punctuation, and spelling.
5. Don’t think about the reader.
6. Be inauthentic and dispassionate.
7. Include every single thing about you.
This conversation was inspired by our enduring resource on 7 Steps to an Amazing College Essay, which we discuss at length. Enjoy this amusing yet informative discussion about how to write college and scholarship essays on the Scholarship GPS site!
Mike Bergin