The college application process is a dreadful time for most students. Whether it is from not knowing where to apply or feeling incapable of getting into college in general, there’s a lot of decisions and tasks you must make during the process of applying to colleges. The biggest and most important task can be familiarized as the college essay. 

Most universities require the application to be done on the Common Application. You can choose between seven different prompts and it must be a maximum of 650 words. Summarizing your entire life in 650 words sounds difficult, but for others it may be easy. The essay can be about anything, like a  significant event in your life or. even something as simple as your favorite color. 

The college essay is dreaded by many students. There’s a stigma that you have to have a great sob story or crazy traumatic experience to be able to pull off a good enough essay to get you into college. In my experience, I had no idea how to write something “interesting enough” to stand out to admissions officers while they read my essay because I felt that I had lived a relatively normal life.Despite this, I got accepted! Here is some advice I would give to future seniors as they prepare for their college essays. 

Anytime you have a sudden realization or epiphany, write it down somewhere. In my case, I had ideas from freshman year in my notes. When it came time for me to begin writing my essay, I went back to those ideas. Most of them were immediately scrapped as they went nowhere, but for the most part all my ideas followed a pattern and I was able to gather them all together to form my central idea. 

Be your most authentic self in your writing. Think about the small unique things that make you who you are. It could be something you might be too afraid to admit or that only you understand about yourself. It’s the little things that make us who we are.

Not every essay has to be sad and depressing. The essay can demonstrate your growth into the current version of yourself.

Starting your essay the summer before senior year can avoid excess stress and pressure to write something you aren’t completely satisfied with.

College applications can feel very overwhelming but by managing your time and knowing what you want you will be okay. My life felt relatively normal, but by focusing on the small details of my life that other people don’t understand, I discovered something that made me unique. Everyone has a reason to stand out, find yours. Good luck to all incoming seniors!