The best generic essay structure for college essay supplements
This newsletter will take you through 4 easy steps for getting students to write a killer “Describe an Activity” essay (ie: most college supplemental essays) — without wasting any time.
More good news: we’ve found that students tend to like writing this essay — at least as much as they’re going to like writing any admissions essay. It’s usually short and presents students with a chance to talk about something they already love.
In this newsletter:
Why students should choose their second-best activity
4 things to look for in the activity to feature
The essay should show off what they might do on campus
As always, the importance of writing simply (but clearly)
Why students should choose their second-best activity
That’s a joke. Of course, they should choose their “best” activity. Except if they already used their “best” activity in their personal statement (which many do - writing about activities in your essays is a great idea). In that case, second-best is the right choice.
The important thing here is to get students to spend 15-30 minutes brainstorming all their activities (if they haven’t done it before). They should get everything down on paper — the obvious ones; the ones they dropped; the unusual ones that aren’t really “Debate Club” stuff — did they make their own umbrellas? Have they read every Jane Austin biography known to man?
Having everything down allows students to assess the candidates clearly and assess which extracurricular is “best” using the 4 criteria below:
4 things to look for in the activity the student features
1. Steady commitment — Students must talk about something that’s meaningful to them in this essay. “Commitment” implies that they’ve kept up with the activity until relatively recently. That is, through most of high school.
2. The 5 traits — there’s never a time admissions officers aren’t interested in the 5 traits. Bonus: activities are great at showing off the 5 traits.
3. Awards, leadership - Awards and leadership experience are pretty irrefutable proof that a student developed the interest fully and well. They’re not necessary (unlike commitment and the 5 traits, which are necessary), but they’re nice.
4. Unique, interesting - Something memorable and unusual can be more tantalizing to a college admissions officer than all the awards in the world. Not always — generally, students should talk about an interest for which they were a leader and won rewards (ex: Debate Club) over an unusual one (ex: made their own umbrellas), but there’s a lot to be said for a student who writes about something genuine that the admissions officer has never read before.
The essay should show off what students might do on campus
This supplement is something of a “preview.” Colleges are wondering if the student is likely to fully develop an interesting extracurricular with them, on their campus. (And also, maybe later, once they graduate.) That’s hard to predict, of course. But the best evidence a student can present of future success is to show they’ve pulled it off before — with a really interesting high school activity.
Students should paint a picture for the admissions reader of themselves doing this exciting activity on their campus. Making their campus better and more interesting because of their work.
To do this, students should spend a little time researching the campus and what opportunities it offers to further the particular activity. (Don’t panic! This is much less work than for a usual Why Us essay, as it’s just one activity.) Generally, the research entails finding out what clubs and funding the college has available. It could also mean showing how the activity would influence or benefit from certain academics.
Writing Style: Clear and straightforward
As we say ad nauseum, college essays are the wrong place for “beautiful” writing. That’s particularly true for supplements, where space is typically limited.
Encourage students to put all their energy into showing off 1 or more of the 5 traits via the activity they chose. Also, encourage them to get feedback, whether from you or someone else they trust. (We’ll discuss avoiding feedback pitfalls in an upcoming newsletter.) Bottom line: students should ask their reviewer (unless it’s you) to read through only for clarity.
How to help your students write great college application essays
Prompt’s Essay Planning Tools help students identify what to write about and how to write about it. The tools are available for free for every student either by requesting a Prompt college application essay resource page for your school (click here to request a page) or through our integration with MaiaLearning.
Click here for a 12-minute video overview of Prompt’s Essay Planning tools.
In our next issue, How to write a powerful Activities List.
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