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What are admissions officers

looking for in the essay? The
reality is that admissions
officers are interested in what
each individual student has to
say---and something only that
student can say. Its impossible
to identify the exact topic or
tone that comprises a winning
essay, but we know that a
student writing in his or her
voice is a great place to start:
The student should come alive
and be present in the essay;
after all, this is designed to be
the part of the application
process that demands each
student take a close look at his
or her essential self.
What do you mean by
essential self? Sociologist
Martha Beck proposes that
each of us has two selves that
form the basis of our
operations. We each have a
social self and an essential
self. In Finding Your Own
North Star, she lists the
behaviors of these selves: the
social self is avoidance-based,
conforming, imitative,
predictable, planned, and
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hardworking, all skills rewarded
quite well in school, whereas
the essential self is attraction-
based, unique, inventive,
surprising, spontaneous, and
playful. Beck theorizes that an
individual whose two selves are
in agreement are not only going
to be much happier but also
more successful.
If a student cant begin to define
his or her essential self, not
only will he or she have a
difficult time writing application
essays but what happens when
its time to choose a major?
How hard can it be to write
one good essay? This
depends on each students
willingness to be honest with
him- or herself, with me, and
with the admissions
committees. It is worth
mentioning, too, that in reality
its not just one good essay
its many good essays. The
common application has a
choice of essay prompts as well
as a short response. Once a
student completes the common
application, he or she moves on
FAQs
We use the essays to build the
soul of the class. I have never
once run down the hall to tell a
colleague that a student has
perfect SATs. But a powerful
essaythat gets me out of my
chair. Darryl Jones, Gettysburg College
Admissions
In personal statements, we had
been told to read for the
authentic voice over students
whose writing bragged of
volunteer trips to exotic places
or anything that smacks of
privilege. Excerpt from Confession of
an Application Reader: Lifting the Veil on
the Holistic Process at the University of
California, Berkeley, The New York
Times, 2013
If we read 2 or 3 essays a day,
out of 30 or so files, that grab
our attentionthats a really
good day. Rob Springall, Bucknell
University Dean of Admissions
The first and most important
thing is to be explicit and willful
in making the decisions about
what you want to get out of this
investment in your education.
Excerpt from How to get a Job at Google,
Part 2, Thomas Friedman interview of
Laszlo Bock, senior vice president of
people operations for Google, The New
York Times, 2014



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to the supplements. The more
selective the school, the more
rigorous and lengthy the
supplements.
How many schools does the
typical student apply to? In
2012, the average student
applied to 12 schools. On
average, each school requires 2
supplements, bringing the
average number of written
submissions to 26. (For those
students who apply to as many
as 18 schools, they will write
nearly 40 personal narratives!)
Keep in mind that writing is only
part of the equation: an average
piece requires 510 rounds of
revisions to really nail it, and all
this is followed up by the all-
important proofreading step!
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Contact Us:
Jessie Peck Martin, M. Ed.
jessie@compass-u.com
www.compass-u.com
973-670-3188
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