{"id":1742,"date":"2023-02-03T13:38:00","date_gmt":"2023-02-03T18:38:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wowwritingworkshop.com\/?p=1742"},"modified":"2023-03-01T10:04:36","modified_gmt":"2023-03-01T15:04:36","slug":"college-essay-myths","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wowwritingworkshop.com\/college-essay-myths\/","title":{"rendered":"5 College Essay Myths and Facts YOU Need to Know!"},"content":{"rendered":"
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What does a college admissions counselor really <\/em>want to know<\/strong> about any applicant when reading a personal statement? <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Here are five college essay myths and facts for high school students to consider before writing your essay:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Myth 1<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

An essay has to be written about an impressive topic.<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Fact: <\/strong>A college entrance essay<\/a> is an opportunity for students to share something meaningful about themselves. We tell our students: <\/span>You are impressive, not your topic.<\/span> Write<\/span> a genuine story about yourself that shows some reflection; use your own words and your own voice.<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The story, not the experience, is most important. Colleges want to know what the applicant learned from the experience.<\/strong> The topic does not need to be big.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Volunteer trips to third-world countries are great experiences, but a story about the trip might not make a good college essay. Write about it if you learned something significant about yourself.  <\/em>One of our students wanted to write about her volunteer trip to Central America. But after brainstorming ideas, she realized her aha moment occurred during that volunteer experience when she jumped off a cliff into the water and faced her fear of heights.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Another girl showed determination through a meaningful story<\/strong> about learning to mow the lawn. She had assumed it would be easy, no big deal, when her dad suggested teaching her how to do it. It was really<\/em> hard, but she stuck with it for several weeks until she mastered the task.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Myth 2<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

A college entrance essay should sound sophisticate<\/a>d, like Hemingway, Toni Morrison or a college professor.<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Fact: <\/strong>The college essay has to be written like the student who submits it; it should sound like the 17-year-old high school student who is applying. Not mom. Not dad. Not a favorite teacher. Not an older brother who is in grad school. And certainly not the writer down the street.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A few years ago, during the annual meeting of the National Association for College Admission Counseling in Columbus, Ohio, I asked Duke University<\/strong><\/a>‘s Dean of Undergraduate Admissions<\/strong> Christoph Guttentag what he looked for in a college application essay.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cBy the time (the application) comes to us, many of them have gone through so many hands that the essays are sanitized,” Guttentag said. “I wish I saw more of a thoughtful voice of a 17 year-old.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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