On Writing the College Application Essay, 25th Anniversary Edition: The Key to Acceptance at the College of Your Choice

by Harry Bauld

Overview

One of the most stressful aspects of the college application process is the essay. Most students worry about what an admissions officer looks for in a writing sample. But that’s the wrong way to approach this vital component, says former Ivy League college admissions officer Harry Bauld. At Brown and Columbia, he saw what prospective students often did wrong—and now tells you how to do it right.

In this fully revised and updated edition of the classic guide to writing the best essay of your life, Bauld has written an insider's guide to writing an essay that will stand out from the pack. He advises you on how to find your authentic voice, gives you tools and ideas that will spark your imagination, and shows you how to approach themes with originality and panache to make even the most tired topics fresh. He’ll tell you straight out what admissions officers aren't looking for: another platitudinous variation on one of the following themes (if you see your initial idea reflected in this list, think again):

• The trip (“I had to adjust to a whole new way of life.”)
• My favorite things (puppy dogs, freedom, and chocolate chip cookies)
• The pageant contestant (“I think World Peace is the most important issue facing us today.”)
• The jock (“Through wrestling I have learned to set goals and to work with people.”)
• The autobiography (“Hello, my name is . . . ”)
• Tales of my success (“But, finally, when I crossed the finish line . . . ”)
• Pet death (“As I watched Buttons’s life ebb away, I came to value . . . ”)

Getting into the college of your dreams is tough. The competition is fierce. For more than twenty-five years, On Writing the College Application Essay has helped thousands of students improve their chances. Now, let it work for you.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780062123992
Publisher:	HarperCollins
Publication date:	08/07/2012
Pages:	192
Sales rank:	169,356
Product dimensions:	7.80(w) x 5.20(h) x 0.30(d)

About the Author

Harry Bauld has been a writer, teacher, and speaker for thirty years. He has worked in admissions and college counseling at high schools and universities, including Brown and Columbia, and is currently an English teacher at Horace Mann School in New York.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments ix

Preface to the Twenty-Fifth Anniversary Edition xi

Introduciton xv

Getting Ready

1 The Gray Area 3

2 Know Your Audience 17

3 Danger: Sleepy Prose Ahead (or, The Sandman Cometh) 33

Writing

4 Chilling Out (or, Everything I Say You Can t Do, You Can Do) 41

5 Warming Up 49

6 Coming Alive 63

7 Sweetheart, Get Me Rewrite! 75

8 Tinkering 87

9 Evolution of an Essay 103

Reading

10 A Not-Brief-Enough Rant About Supplements (or, Will Someone Please Scrap the Common App?) 115

11 Exhibits: The Quick and the Dull 125

12 Anthology 145

13 Exhibits II 157