Menu
The best college essay writers approach the challenge as an opportunity. Think of the glass as half full: this is a difficult task, but it’s also a chance to reflect on what motivates you and why, and to connect with your readers on a personal level. And one of the trickiest things about getting started is that there a million different ways to do it well—what matters most is that it stays authentic to you. We hope the resources below will help you get started with brainstorming, planning, and writing. But first, here are some examples of the advice that admissions readers give about the main essay:
The best college essay writers approach the challenge as an opportunity. Think of the glass as half full: this is a difficult task, but it’s also a chance to reflect on what motivates you and why, and to connect with your readers on a personal level. And one of the trickiest things about getting started is that there a million different ways to do it well—what matters most is that it stays authentic to you. We hope the resources below will help you get started with brainstorming, planning, and writing. But first, here are some examples of the advice that admissions readers give about the main essay:
The following blog posts, brainstorming exercises, and links are meant to help you approach this process of self-reflection and personal writing step by step. Here are some of our recent blog posts on essay brainstorming, which have suggestions for anyone who might feel stuck:
There is a limit to how useful past “successful” essays can be, since the number one rule of a great college essay is that it speaks uniquely about you and only you. Still, this is a different kind of challenge than the essays you likely have written in high school, and it can help to get a general feel for what seems to work. We especially like these resources from Tufts and Johns Hopkins because they not only share essays from admitted students, but also include commentary from admissions readers on why these particular essays spoke to them:
Tufts Past Essays by Admitted Students
Johns Hopkins Past Essays by Admitted Students
Purdue University Successful Personal Statements
Connecticut College Essays That Worked
NYU Personal Statement Essay Examples
Hamilton Personal Statement Essays That Worked
Wesleyan Application Essay Examples
St. John’s College Application Essay Examples
University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign Successful Personal Statement Essays
10 Successful Harvard Application Essays (2018)
10 Successful Harvard Application Essays (2019)
10 Successful Harvard Application Essays (2020)
10 Successful Harvard Application Essays (2021)
10 Successful Harvard Application Essays (2022)
Privacy Policy | Website by Sasse Agency