College Essays: Different Types of Essays

One of the final and most impactful pieces of a college application is the essay. Past all of the statistics, colleges want to know more about the nuances of their students’ personalities, dreams, desires, plans after college, and more. Essays are an opportunity to showcase information not expressed through your GPA, test scores, or extracurriculars. Colleges will learn a lot about their students and students will show the university what they have to offer. There are many different types of college essays, and we will show you the most common types and how best to write each of them.

Different types of College Essays: Personal Statement, Why This School, Personal Challenge, Interpersonal Questions, and Social Issues.

The Personal Statement Essay

Students who apply to college via the Common Application must send a personal statement essay to their college of choice. The idea is for students to tell their stories and what makes them stand out from other applicants. Students should write a personal statement showing experience or traits that the college might want to know about. The personal statement essay should try to capture an aspect of the student’s life that is not found elsewhere on their application. Students should avoid writing anything generic or cliché. Rather the goal should be to create an essay that helps differentiate them from the crowd.

Why “This School” Essay 

The premise of this essay is for students to explain why they are applying to a specific school or program. Students writing this essay need to show an understanding of what the school or program has to offer and how it might help them achieve their dreams of an ideal job or future. They should expand upon just saying that “X has a good program for Y.” Students could also talk about why they want to live in a specific place or what they might do to have fun there. Colleges want to admit students who will join their community and enrich the school outside of the classroom.

Personal Challenge College Essays

Another common college essay is the personal challenge essay, where students write about a challenge they had to overcome. The challenge should be something big enough to show the college that their student has a lot of character to fight through difficulty. It does not have to be a dramatic challenge that not many people go through. Remember to focus on showing your resilience and problem solving because no college essay should paint a negative picture of yourself.

Interpersonal College Essay Questions

These essays ask students to describe behavioral traits such as how they would get on with a roommate or fit in on campus. The purpose of essay questions like this is for the college to learn more about the applicants’ personalities. Students should write about what they can gain from living on campus. 

Social Issues College Essays

These essays ask students to talk about their experiences with social justice, social media, diversity, and inclusion. They often look for how students have been able to deal with these issues and be better for it. Examples include how students can embrace, deal with, or take action against racism, sexism, or discrimination. Students should talk about how they feel about these issues. It’s important to show genuine concern and knowledge of these issues.

Conclusion & Takeaways 

Most colleges nowadays allow students to choose from various topics or even ask to have one of their ideas approved, so there is no shortage of ways to approach these essays. Students should be sure to write about something engaging that is not too long and does not put off the person reading their essay. Make sure to write passionately, and avoid the most common college essay mistakes. 

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