How to Write a Standout College Application Essay

Although USF doesn’t require an application essay (unless you’re applying to the Judy Genshaft Honors College), many schools do. As part of your college application, you might be asked to submit a personal statement and supplemental essays that help the college admissions team get to know you.

Writing a personal statement can feel overwhelming — especially if, like most high school students, you haven’t had much experience writing about yourself. But you’ve come to the right place! We’re here to help you unlock your creativity. Here’s how to write a standout college application essay that makes you the main character in your story.

Think of Yourself as The Main Character

You’ve probably spent your academic career writing persuasive or literary essays. A college application essay is different because it’s not simply about ideas. It’s about a person — you. That’s why turning to fiction for inspiration can help.

“You have to think of yourself as the main character,” says Melissa Baumgart, a college applications tutor who uses her MFA in creative writing to help students craft character-driven personal statements. “In a story — whether it’s a movie or a book — the main character is the person who changes the most.”

Baumgart says many students don’t make their essay enough about themselves. When brainstorming a topic, ask yourself: “If you’re not the person changing the most in the story, is that the right story for your essay?”

Don’t Try to Fit Your Whole Life into One Essay

A common pitfall is trying to fit in everything that’s ever happened in your life. Instead, remember that your application is like a portfolio. Convey your academic success through your high grades, your love of soccer through your extracurricular activities, and your additional character qualities through teacher recommendation letters. (You can always ask your teacher to bring up a particular achievement to highlight, like the time you mentored another student in their class.)

A personal essay isn’t a resume or a biography. Think of it more like a short story, says Baumgart. Pick an experience that can show “who you are in a nutshell.”

Structure Your Essay Around Change

“You want to show that you’re mature enough to describe something you went through and that you have the ability to reflect on what happened, what it meant to you, and how that’s going to affect your life moving forward,” explains Baumgart.

In other words, what did you learn from this experience? How does your “character” evolve?

It can help to read examples of impressive application essays and identify how the writer structured their “character” arc. You can read examples in the New York Times, which often publishes exceptional college application essays, or check out John Hopkins University’s list of essays that worked.

Write The Essay Only You Can Write

Your personal essay is a chance to stand out from the crowd — to make a real connection with the admissions team. “A lot of kids have great grades. A lot of kids play sports,” Baumgart says. “Your essay is where you get to be yourself and where you get to write something nobody else could write. That’s one very big way to make an impression.”

Many students gravitate towards universal experiences, like playing on a sports team or losing a grandparent. Baumgart encourages students to dig deeper: find a more unique topic or figure out how your angle is different. “You don’t want to write a generic essay.”

Keep in mind that you don’t have to write about the worst or best experience of your life. “I don’t think an essay has to be about trauma. I don’t think it has to necessarily be about the biggest thing that ever happened to you,” Baumgart says. One of her students wrote an essay about going to the wrong airport: a funny story that taught her to be detail-oriented and prepared.

What matters is choosing the story that highlights the kind of person you are. Baumgart suggests asking yourself questions like, “Okay, what’s a story where I showed strength? What’s a story where I showed resilience?”

Find Your Writing Voice

You might be tempted to impress readers by cramming in every SAT word you know. But what admissions officers really want is to get a sense of your authentic voice.

Sometimes it can help to have a friend interview you about the story you’re writing — like that time you got lost hiking — and write down your answers. You can also try using dictation software, like Dragon Nuance, which converts your speech into text.

If your story has a lot of humor, make sure that it comes across appropriately. “You’re probably going to want to have some adults in your life read that, just to make sure that the tone is right,” Baumgart says. “What you want to think about, ultimately, is how do you want to represent yourself to this admissions committee? What qualities are you trying to show them that you have?”

Use Specific Details to Bring Your Story to Life

Because you have a word limit, you want to be specific with your word choices. Read your essay draft and look for placeholder words like “thing” or “stuff.” Can you replace them with something less generic?

Now look at nouns and verbs in your essay. Can you make them more specific?

Here’s an example: “Alone in the woods, I heard a bird sing.” Ask yourself, what kind of woods? What kind of bird?

Replacing “woods” with “pine forest” and “bird” with “mockingbird” creates a more narrative experience: “Alone in the pine forest, I heard a mockingbird sing.”

If you’re having trouble remembering specific details, go through your social media posts and photos from that time, Baumgart suggests. Or, if you’re writing about a specific place — like those woods you got lost in — do some research and make an educated guess about the type of tree and bird you encountered.

Use Creative Writing Exercises

It’s easy for application essays to feel stiff and formulaic, especially when you’re picturing an intimidating admissions officer reading it. Using creative writing tips can help you get out of your head and get into your story.

“This is where I lean into my MFA background,” Baumgart says. “I like to encourage them to do some brainstorming or make a word list.”

A word list is when you write down every word that you associate with this story.

Let’s say you are writing about that time you got lost hiking. Brainstorm sensory details — what did the leaves sound like, under your feet? What could you hear in the tree branches above? What could you smell?

Let yourself sink into the memory, then write down the words that come to you. They can describe the scene or how you felt: crackle, woodsmoke, birdsong, lonely, isolated, brave… It doesn’t matter if some of the words seem silly to you right now. It’s a way to let your subconscious connect to this story. Later, you can choose the words that feel best.

Freewriting can also help. Before typing up your essay, write by hand in a notebook. Don’t worry about spelling or grammar, or even if your ideas make sense. Just keep going. You can organize your thoughts later!

Use Supplementary Essays to Talk about the School

Some schools require both a personal essay and supplementary essay(s). These supplementary essays can expand on your personal essay, giving a more well-rounded idea of who you are and what values you embody.

“The personal statement is who you are and how you think,” says Baumgart. But in the supplementary essay, you can demonstrate why you’re a good match for this particular school.

“Students should really research schools and look at the websites and see how the schools talk about themselves,” Baumgart says. Once you’ve done your research, use your supplementary essay to show how you and the school can combine your strengths and weaknesses to become “greater than the sum of your parts.” Who do you hope to be as a result of the school’s resources and education? How do you embody the values represented by the school? What can you offer to the school — not only academically, but culturally?

“Being part of an academic class is not just about being a student. Are you contributing to the culture of the student body?” Baumgart says.

With the recent Affirmative Action decision, a lot of schools “are trying to infer more about diversity through the supplemental statements,” Baumgart says, so the essay can be a good place to mention your cultural heritage or identity.

Ask for Help When You Need It

Writing your personal statement for college applications can be tough, but you don’t have to go it alone. Find more essay writing advice at the USF blog. Reach out to your school counselor, a teacher, or a trusted adult. Partner up with a friend and tell each other your stories.

And remember, even though USF doesn’t require an essay, we are always ready to answer questions about the admissions process. Reach out to us online, or give us a call at 813-974-3350. We look forward to seeing your application!