[xunsinkablex]

I'm currently a junior and will be starting the college application process relatively soon. I've been looking at college essay topics from schools that I'm interested in, and I just can't seem to find a way to put anything into words "creatively" or so that it will grab the reader's attention. Can anyone offer any help on how to come up with ideas for essays that will grab the reader? I've looked at collegeboard.com and teenink.com's section on college essays, but they're not helping much :(

[rkim291968]

Carry a notebook always and write down what comes to you as they happen. Creative writing comes naturally when you least expect it. After a while, you will have a collection of ideas and sketches. You can go from there.

If this does not work in months of trying, I recommend you get a book of actual college essays. You may learn a few tricks.

[luvmylab]

I'm currently a junior and will be starting the college application process relatively soon. I've been looking at college essay topics from schools that I'm interested in, and I just can't seem to find a way to put anything into words "creatively" or so that it will grab the reader's attention. Can anyone offer any help on how to come up with ideas for essays that will grab the reader? I've looked at collegeboard.com and teenink.com's section on college essays, but they're not helping much :(

I am a college admission counselor and I've spent the past 7 years reading college essays. All of these examples are from real essays. The reason you are writing an essay is to show me you are educated and you can translate your thoughts on to paper.
Here are some dos and don'ts:

If the topic for the essay is to name a book that has taught you a lesson don't choose something like Chicken Soup for the Pet Lover's Soul pick a book you've read in a class like The Adventures of Huckleberry Fin. Whenever I read an essay about Chicken Soup I think this student is never going to cut it in college because if the only book they can make a life lesson out of is Chicken Soup then they haven't read enough books.

Make sure you read the question. We asked students to name a person who is still ALIVE and that is different from them. The number 1 answer was Martin Luther King Jr. I didn't know he was still alive? Every student I admitted in the first review that year answered the question that was asked. They named someone who was still alive.

Be original. I tend to read the same essay topics over and over again so if you choose a topic that is different I'm more likely to over look small things and I'm more likely to remember you essay and more likely to admit you. If we ask who is the person that has influence your life the most choose someone other than your parents and your teachers. Choose a sibling or choose a friend or a neighbor etc.

I can't stress this enough have your teachers, your parents read over the essay several times, everything counts.

[Synnen]

I worked in admissions for five years.

First thing: CHECK your essay for mistakes in grammar, spelling and punctuation. Do NOT rely on spell-checker. I threw out more essays that started with "I'd like too be considered for emissions for your collage because..."

Second: Try to stay away from religious topics if you are applying to a secular college. It's great if Jesus came to you and moved you to look into a specific career, that's terrific! But for admissions purposes, I suggest not using it for two reasons. The first reason is that too many people use it, and it stops standing out. The second is that while Jesus may have moved you to do something, that doesn't show me how you plan to follow up on how you were moved.

Third: Don't get flippant. We actually denied a valedictorian of her class with a 1480 SAT because her essay read: "I refuse to waste my time writing an essay for your university. My grades and my test scores speak for themselves".

Fourth: Try to surprise me. I worked at a University in Texas, and while I knew at the time that Hurricanes Katrina and Rita were going to influence nearly every essay, it was the essays that did NOT focus on the bad points of those disasters, but rather on how the hurricane(s) had an influence for the BETTER on someone. One that particularly stands out is the student who was so fascinated the storms that were destroying his city that he endangered his life taking pictures of the storm, which he submitted. His intended major? Photojournalism.

Essays with spelling/grammar/punctuation errors (in abundance, not small errrors here and there) were automatically put in a secondary pile.

Essays that were personal, that made me remember the person behind the essay, stuck out. Essays that picked an unusual book, occurrence, or perspective were memorable.

Some general "don'ts":
This is general, because anyone can make a topic stand out or be personal. However, as a general rule, these topics turn up far too often to be original.
Don't tell me about a death in the family.
Don't use your kids as your sole reason for going to college.
Don't use wanting to make a lot of money as your reason, either.
Don't give me excuses why your grades weren't perfect--most of the time, I didn't care.
Do NOT tell me how your learning disability affected your test taking ability. That's an appeals essay, not an admission essay.
Don't tell me about how you're the first member of your family to go to college.
Don't use a rock star/movie star/popular talk show host as your inspiration.
As stated above... don't use your teacher or your parents as inspiration.
Don't give me a bubble-headed Miss America speech (I want to be a doctor so that I can go to third world countries and give them medicine!)

DO:
Tell me how getting a bad grade made you change yourself.
Tell me how a birth (of someone OTHER than your own child) changed you.
Tell me how volunteering changed you.
Tell me how dealing with your OWN disease/disability has affected your world.
Give me a new perspective on something I see every day.
Tell me IN SPECIFICS how you're going to change the world.

Most of all: Be yourself. Use your own writing style.

Good luck to you!