The advice to "tell your story" has probably been around as long as the admission essay itself. But since when have high school students been afforded the time and feedback to practice telling their stories? And how are you supposed to approach this advice? What parts of your story are you supposed to share in your college essay, how, and why?
Learning to write about yourself
When I left teaching high school English, the curriculum even then was too packed with everyday academic concerns and standardized testing preparation to invite seniors to practice personal narratives with the same level of structured feedback that they received for academic writing. I have heard from high school teachers that this condition has only intensified after the rollout of the Common Core State Standards Initiative.
The five-paragraph essays and thesis statements students are accustomed to writing for class do students little good in personal writing, including on their college applications. These are inventions designed for American students to practice the national conventions of argumentation—even though expectations for academic writing change from high school to college. Yet they are the only tools high school students must have to work with when put on the spot for their college applications.
In a way, the college admission game is a standardized assessment, but it differs in that students are suddenly supposed to write not academically but personally. Given this lack of training in personal writing and the stresses of college admission, students must find a structured yet creative way to tell their own stories when dealing with low word counts.
Related: An Essay About You: How to Tackle Your College Essay
Top tips for telling your story
The college personal statement is a strange beast. To my knowledge, college applicants are the only personal essayists who have to write about themselves because someone else expects them to and because big stakes are riding on them. Here are some tips to help you master your story.
- Only you can determine what is worth writing about. While family and friends may have suggestions, it’s ultimately your story to tell and determine how you want to tell it.
- In personal writing, there's no need to justify yourself. Don't explain why you're writing about one thing or another. This is the academic habit of proving a thesis. When it seeps into personal writing, it limits the creative potential of your personal essay.
- Choose one or two narrative moments and tell them from the perspective of that moment. These moments are representative of your holistic story and will help create the bigger picture of you.
- It’s important to accept that any story you tell will necessarily be incomplete. Avoid the temptation to recount your memory “exactly” as you remember it. Remember you are being assessed on the quality of your essay, not the quality of your memory. So use the memory as a starting point for the essay, but make sure you end up with a narrative that stands solidly and creatively on its own.
- Try free writing without a prompt and without worrying about the word count. While you can't turn this version in, it's an easier place to start and gives you a foundation to work from. A narrative will likely emerge that will suit at least one or two college or Common App prompts. Give it a try and see how it unfolds!
Related: How to Write an Effective, Powerful Personal Statement
Enjoy the process of self-exploration
From the birth of the personal essay—typically traced to Michel de Montaigne in the 16th century—the tradition of the genre is self-exploration and discovery, the personal somehow tied to universally human concerns, driven by the curiosity to know more about both. Yet this American rite of passage has given rise to a peculiar kind of de facto national literature. Despite your ever-intensifying pressures, schedules, and responsibilities, I hope that by engaging with your personal essay, you can write for yourself and about yourself with this sense of curiosity.
Seeking more admission essay advice to make sure you gain acceptance? We can help! Explore all our blogs and articles on application essays for more great tips.
