Juniors, you are tired! You've worked hard all year, made it through a crazy season of testing, and can't wait to relax this summer and catch up on all that glorious sleep. So after a good long nap and maybe a trip to the beach, I encourage you to turn your attention to the next season before you: College Application Time.
You know it's coming. You saw your senior friends become frazzled and stressed last fall. Your parents are talking about it. Your friends are groaning about it. You know most colleges want you to write some kind of essay. And in your head, you may be saying things like, "I'm a bad writer," or "I'm not good at talking about myself," or "I have nothing interesting to say." And maybe these thoughts are convincing you to put off writing essays until next fall. After all, who wants to think about this stuff right now? It's almost summer!
The reason you should start thinking about essays now is that you care about how this application process turns out. You care a lot. And putting in a few hours of work over the summer instead of hanging out will be more than worth the sacrifice.
Here are the TOP 5 REASONS to write your application essays over the summer:
1. These essays aren't as bad as you think. Don't spend all summer worrying about this! The essays are usually 1-2 pages. Yep, that's it! And they can be funny. Don't build it up in your head to be worse than it is. Just do it.
2. You don't do your best work at the last minute. You may think that sudden burst of energy a few hours before the deadline will be just what you need to write a fabulous essay, but you are wrong. This is too important to take that risk. And you are busy. You may have very good intentions to devote time to essays in the week leading up to the deadline, but all sorts of things can feel more important or more fun than writing these essays, and time may get away from you.
3. You will have time to start over. A few times. You may end up not loving the first topic you chose, or the second, so give yourself the gift of time to sort that out, keep trying, and end up with an essay you really love.
4. You will have time to seek help and feedback. You may not know how to start, or you may get stuck. And you will definitely want people you trust to read your essays and give you feedback. This all takes time.
5. The essay is your clean state. Let's face it, you can't change your GPA or test scores much at this point in your high school career. And if you don't have any stellar activities or leadership yet, it's a bit late in the game to start now. But the essay? Now that's something you can do! The essay is one of the last parts of the application you still have complete control over, so don't waste this opportunity to shine.
Application deadlines start rolling in October. They hit you fast, and then they seem to come one after another as you juggle classes, sports, clubs, and all the other commitments of senior year. You can scramble to fill up a required word count at the last minute, or you can calmly and confidently attach well-written essays to your applications. The choice is yours. And the choice happens now.
For information about one-on-one and small group application essay help over the summer, contact Cindy Turner, CEP at [email protected].
Let's get started!
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