Accepted! 50 Successful College Admission Essays

by Gen Tanabe, Kelly Tanabe

Overview

Students will prepare powerful and successful admission essays with the tools provided in this invaluable, newly-updated resource for the college-bound. Examples of 50 real essays are included, discussing such topics as leadership, personal obstacles, athletics, public service, special talents, and future goals. The strengths and successes of each example are analyzed, as well as the inspirations of each writer. A comprehensive writing workshop provides tips toward selecting topics, developing stories, editing drafts, and applying finishing touches. Further examples of 12 unsuccessful essays, a list of 25 easy mistakes to avoid, and new interviews with admissions officers are presented to help would-be entrants avoid costly blunders.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781617600685
Publisher:	SuperCollege LLC
Publication date:	07/15/2014
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	224
File size:	824 KB

About the Author

Gen Tanabe and Kelly Tanabe are the authors of 14 books including The Ultimate Scholarship Book, 1001 Ways to Pay for College and How to Write a Winning Scholarship Essay. They tour the country as speakers on college planning and live in Northern California.

Read an Excerpt

Why The Admission Essay Is Critical

It is your moment. Your application is about to be read by the admission officer at the college you really want to attend. Unfortunately, it has been a long week, and she has already reviewed hundreds of applications from other students. Many of these students have similar grades, test scores and activities. So what will set your application apart from the others? What will keep your application out of the dreaded pile of denials?

The answer is your college admission essay.

The essay is your single greatest opportunity to distinguish yourself as an individual by sharing who you are, what you have learned and what motivates you. In this decision-making moment, will your essay make the most of this opportunity, or will it fall flat on its face?

It all depends on you. You are the creator of your essay, and your effort and skill will determine its fate. But while your future is in your hands, you are not alone. We are here to help. This book will help increase your chances of writing an essay that makes a difference and helps you to receive that coveted thick envelope—an acceptance letter from the college of your dreams. In this book you will learn how to:

See why colleges value essays. By understanding why colleges require essays and what they hope to learn about you from them, you’ll have the insight you need to write a powerful essay.

Select the right topic for you. The right essay topic allows you to write with passion and insight. With the wrong topic, you may be afflicted with time-consuming writer’s block or even worse write a lackluster, emotionless essay.

Write a successful essay that works. Our comprehensive writing chapters guide you through the entire process. We take you through the first word on the page to the last period in the conclusion. These are strategies that you need to know to write a successful essay.

Avoid costly mistakes. Learn from our 25 essay disasters the common mistakes that can kill any essay and how you can avoid them.

Save time with recycling. By reusing and editing your writing, you can use one essay for multiple applications. We share tested techniques for doing this effectively.

Understand what colleges want to see in your essay—direct from admission officers. Our distinguished panel of admission officers explain in their own words what qualities make or break essays. This is your opportunity to pick the brains of these experts who have determined the fates of thousands of other applicants like you.

Be inspired from the success of other students’ essays. We have brought together over 50 successful essays written by a wide variety of students. Get insight into what worked for these students to gain admission to their dream colleges including Harvard, Princeton, Stanford, Yale, Duke, MIT, University of Pennsylvania, UC-Berkeley, USC, Northwestern, Brown, Cornell, Bard, William and Mary, University of Chicago, University of Michigan, Dartmouth, Rice and more.

In short, this book gives you everything you need to take control of your essay and create the best one possible. It is critical that through your essay you (figuratively, of course!) grab the admission officer by the collar and give her a reason to admit you. By reading this book you are taking the first steps toward this goal.

Table of Contents

Chapter 1 The Almighty Admission Essay 11

Why the admission essay is critical 12

College admission: art or science? 13

What we can teach you about successful admission essays 14

Chapter 2 The Ingredients Of The Essay 17

Why you should care about the essay 18

Essay questions you're likely to face 18

Is this a trick question? 19

The dreaded word count 20

Technology to the rescue or not 21

The Common Application essay questions 22

Chapter 3 How To Find The Perfect Topic 23

Begin with a brainstorm 24

The litmus test for originality 26

Analyze your topic's revealing qualities 27

Challenge your topic with these questions 28

Too much detail 29

Just plain dumb topics 30

Chapter 4 The Essay-Writing Workshop 35

Writing your masterpiece 36

Essential strategies for writing a great essay 36

You are the subject of your essay 37

25 worst essay-writing mistakes 40

When the big game is a big mistake 41

How humor can kill an essay 45

The importance of editors 48

Tips for the Common Application essays 49

Chapter 6 Roundtable With Admission Officers 55

Meet the admission officers 56

What happens to the essay once it is received? 56

Why is the admission process so subjective? 59

What's the real reason for the essay? 60

What impresses you when you read an essay? 62

What common mistakes do students make? 65

What surprises students about how you read their essays? 66

What advice do you have for writing essays? 68

Chapter 7 57 Successful Admission Essays 71

Personal beliefs & reflections 73

Memorable essay: Snow junkie 96

Influential books 97

Essays about family 107

Memorable essay: Melodies of life 113

Influential people 123

Memorable essay: Cracking your brain open 131

Things that represent me 135

Memorable essay: Spaghetti sauce 144

Essays about writing essays 146

Extracurricular activities & athletics 148

Memorable essay: My new brother 168

Essays about music 169

Math & science 175

Essays about jobs & careers 183

Essays about issues 187

Overcoming a weakness or challenge 195

Essays about places 206

Chapter 8 Parting Words 211

You can write a breathtaking essay 212

How final decisions are made 213

Appendix: Web Resources 215

Index 216

What People are Saying About This

From the Publisher

Critical Acclaim for Authors Gen and Kelly Tanabe

"Helps students gain the necessary edge that will make their applications stand out."
—David Miller, Director of College Counseling, Stevenson School

"Upbeat, well-organized and engaging, this comprehensive tool is an exceptional investment for the college-bound."
—Publishers Weekly

"What's even better than all the top-notch tips is that the book is written in a cool, conversational way."
—College Bound Magazine

"Offers advice on writing a good entrance essay—start to finish."
—Town & Country Magazine

Editorial Reviews

Critical Acclaim for Authors Gen and Kelly Tanabe

"Helps students gain the necessary edge that will make their applications stand out."
—David Miller, Director of College Counseling, Stevenson School

"Upbeat, well-organized and engaging, this comprehensive tool is an exceptional investment for the college-bound."
—Publishers Weekly

"What's even better than all the top-notch tips is that the book is written in a cool, conversational way."
—College Bound Magazine

"Offers advice on writing a good entrance essay—start to finish."
—Town & Country Magazine

From the Publisher