NOT JUST FUN IN THE SUN 

PART TWO

I always suggest that the seniors whom I help with the college application process write their application essays during the summer.  Senior year is far too busy to think that you can really devote a lot of time and attention to so vital a part of the college application at the beginning of the fall semester.   The more competitive the college, the earlier the application deadline.  You really only have a few weeks to get it all done.  Whatever headway you can make during the summer, the easier you'll make it on yourself.  It is already August 4 and for most, school starts in a little over a month.  So here's the plan:

• You should have narrowed down your list of colleges by now.  Familiarize yourself with each school's application which can be found online.  Complete as many parts as you can now - personal information, coursework completed, activity sheets, etc.  Choose the essay topic about which you want to write and do so!
• Hopefully you've secured your recommendations.  Touch base with those from whom you plan to get letters of recommendation and let them know their deadline.  Give them copies of any forms they need to use. 
• Find out which of your college choices accept the Common Application.  The more that do, the easier your task becomes, as you only have to submit the one application.  Go to commonapp.org and complete as  many of the sections as you can.  Scroll down to the "What's (app)ening" page and then to the "Common App Ready" section.  You will find the essay prompts for 2016-17 which are the same as they were for 2015-16.  The site says that more than 800,000 students submitted the Common App in 2015  and it gives the percentage of how many students chose to write on each essay prompt.  Choosing a topic that's less frequently selected may give you points for individuality.  If many students choose a certain subject, choosing a different one may be refreshing to a bleary eyed admissions counselor who's stuck reading them!  You can also find out if your college choices have other requirements and what the deadlines are for those pieces.

As to the actual writing of the essay, there used to be an excellent free website that was very helpful - englishclub.com.  Unfortunately, it has since changed and is now largely geared to teaching English as a Second Language.  There is a site which (Surprise!) is not free which the New York Times touts as, "the world's premier college application essay editing service".  At EssayEdge.com, a Peterson's service, they offer a course that contains six lessons:

1. Tackling the Question
2. Brainstorming a Topic
3. Structure and Outline
4. Style and Tone
5. Intros and Conclusions
6. Editing and Revising

The site does offer a lot of valuable free information.  On their site map there are many articles which may be of help.  You can find a section with ideas as to how to approach each of the essay topics and samples as well.  

You have roughly four weeks to write a killer essay that will ideally help an admissions counselor envision the person behind the application.  You can actually do a lot of this while sunbathing so there are no excuses!  One important tip - read your work aloud - to yourself or someone else.  It really helps you proof read and correct your work.  (I would hope that you've learned this tip already, but they don't make us old, ahem, former English teachers like they used to!)