jews in the d K im Bryant, senior assistant director of admissions at the University of Michigan, reads about 5,000 college essays every year. Many of them are unimpressive and “pretty boring.” “We get a lot of essays about mission trips, about being camp counselors and sports injuries,” she said, adding stu- dents list what they did at camp (play- ing archery, riding in a boat, meeting a lot of really great people) without shar- ing much insight about themselves. “When I get to these types of essays, I check out,” she said. Bryant is not alone. She and other admissions officers at colleges through- out the U.S say they want to read more compelling, reflective essays that help colleges know the applicant beyond the grades, test scores and activities. “Tell us how your experience affect- ed you,” said Bryant, U-M’s admission rep for Frankel Jewish Academy and Bloomfield Hills High School. “This is your interview. Let me know who you are.” As admission to the nation’s most selective schools (like U-M) becomes increasingly competitive, the college essay is also rising in significance. Getting good grades in the most chal- lenging courses is top of the list of sig- nificant admission factors, according to the National Association of Admission Counseling. Next come test scores, fol- lowed by college essays. At its core, the college essay is all about reflection. Students, who have had little or no practice doing reflective writing, often find the essay the most daunting part of the entire admission process. They focus on experiences and accomplishments, rather than the traits and characteristics that make them each unique. “FJA students are prepared for col- lege, but it’s normal for students to have difficulty explaining their story,” said Ella Dunajsky, the school’s director of college counseling. “The essay is sometimes perceived as a way to show 22 October 18 • 2018 jn Share Your Voice What do colleges really want in an admission essay? KIM LIFTON SPECIAL TO THE JEWISH NEWS personal statement off and to infuse There is no rubric for a good essay, can truly be one- it with parts of but admission officers agree the of-a-kind — in a their resume. But ones that stand out all share good way.” I tell my students Admission it is more about a few common features. Regardless officers say the your story and of the prompt, they: essay helps them your voice. The determine what colleges have to • Answer the question. an applicant can get to know you • Showcase a positive trait or offer to the school and the essay is characteristic. and show what the one important • Sound like a high school student. student has learned way for you to • Illustrate something meaningful from their life share a story about about the student. experiences; the yourself and what • Demonstrate reflection. things that are not makes you unique.” Any type of easily captured on application essay provides an opportu- a transcript or activities list. nity for a student to show what kind of Calvin Wise, director of recruit- person they are. ment for Johns Hopkins University in Gregory Sneed, the vice president of Baltimore, Md., gets excited when he enrollment management at Denison reads a stellar essay. Wise expects per- College in Granville, Ohio, believes the fect grades and top test scores. essay is the best place to “inject some “We need to dig deeper,” Wise said. personality into the application.“ “That’s where the essay comes into “Teachers and counselors can write play. That’s where we find out more about the applicant, but only the appli- about the student. We are looking for cant can provide such an intensely your story. Academically, we are glad personal bit of character,” Sneed said. you’ve done well. We want to know “I’ve seen plenty of perfect SAT scores, who you are. What did your experience and straight A’s are straight A’s, but a mean to you? How did it shape you?” The essay is one (very important) piece of a holistic admission process. Admissions officers like all types of stories, as long as they are genu- ine, show reflection and answer the prompt. The story does not need to be about an earth-shattering experience. Nor does it need to illustrate an “aha” moment. It is a reflection on some- thing that has meaning to the student. It doesn’t matter what that is. There’s no magic answer. No secret sauce. Not even a shortcut. What turns admission officers off? Stories that are not genuine, do not answer the prompt or fail to give any insight into the applicant’s character. Shawn Felton, director of undergrad- uate admissions at Cornell University in Ithaca, N.Y., does not like it when students try too hard to impress him or write essays that seem forced or inau- thentic. “The essay is not something to be cracked,” he cautioned. According to Jim Cotter, Michigan State University’s director of admis- sions, “The essay is value added. At a moderately selective school, it can pull a student on the cusp up. At a highly selective school, a poor statement can make the difference between being admitted or not.” The best essays are often simple and personal. While small, focused stories get their attention more than anything else, colleges are often less critical of student essays than students and wor- ried parents might assume. “Life is truly lived in the smaller moments, and that can make a pow- erful essay,” said Jan Deike, assistant director of admissions, Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tenn. “But sometimes students feel that because they haven’t found the cure for cancer, they have nothing to share.” ■ Kim Lifton, president of Wow Writing Workshop, is a college application writing coach. You can reach her at kim@wowwritingworkshop.com.