41 Best College Essay Writing Tips To Make You Shine

There are few things as daunting as facing a blank page. And when you're under pressure to perform, that blank page can feel like a world of endless possibilities that quickly turns into a prison of paralyzing writing prompts and formatting requirements. Whether you're preparing for an upcoming essay or research paper, the process of writing can be overwhelming. Fortunately, students today have access to smart, reliable tools that can ease the strain of writing. Using AI to write essays can help students write better, faster, and more original content, all while reducing stress. This article will cover how AI essay writers work, the benefits of using an AI writing assistant, and practical tips for getting started.  

Writing a college essay can feel overwhelming. After all, how do you sum up your life experiences, interests, and aspirations in a way that stands out to admissions officers? College essay writing tips can help you tackle this daunting task with confidence. In this article, we'll offer practical strategies to help you write a college essay that feels authentic, stands out to admissions officers, and helps you get accepted into your dream school. 

As you work through our college essay writing tips, consider using HyperWrite's AI writing assistant to help you achieve your goals. This innovative tool can help boost your creativity and write with greater clarity and less stress, allowing you to craft a compelling personal statement.

Why Do You Need a Standout College Essay?

College admissions are now more competitive than ever. According to the National Association for College Admission Counseling, “The average college admission rate for the class of 2022 was 26.5%. This is down from 66.7% just 20 years earlier.” 

In other words, if you’re applying to college, you’re not just competing against a few hundred applicants. You’re competing against thousands, and those thousands are applying to the same colleges you are. 

It Matters More Than Ever in Competitive Admissions

The applicants that you’re up against are likely to have similar grades and test scores. This is especially true if you’re applying to a selective or highly selective college. For example, Harvard University reported that for the class of 2026, 95% of admitted students scored between 1470 and 1600 on the SAT. This means that your college application needs to be exceptional to stand out. And while colleges consider many criteria when deciding who to admit, the college essay is often the one part of the application where the student’s personality, voice, and story can shine through. 

Why Your College Essay Is More Important Than Ever

When deciding who to admit into their programs, colleges consider several criteria, including high school grades, extracurricular activities, and ACT and SAT scores. In recent years, an increasing number of colleges have stopped considering test scores. Many, including Harvard through 2026, are opting for “test-blind” admission policies that give more weight to other elements in a college application. 

The Rising Importance of College Essays in a Test-Optional Era

This policy change is viewed as fairer to students who lack the means or access to testing or who experience test anxiety. So, what does this mean for you? Simply that your college essay, traditionally a requirement of any college application, is more important than ever. A college essay is your unique opportunity to introduce yourself to admissions committees, who must comb through thousands of applications each year. 

It is your chance to stand out as someone worthy of a seat in that classroom. A well-written and thoughtful essay, reflecting who you are and what you believe, can go a long way to separating your application from the slew of forgettable ones that admissions officers read. Indeed, officers may rely on them even more now that many colleges are not considering test scores. 

What Do Colleges Look for in an Essay? 

Admissions officers want to understand your background, personality, and values to gain a more comprehensive understanding of you beyond your test scores and grades. 

Here’s what colleges look for in an essay: 

• Demonstrated values and qualities. 
• Vulnerability and authenticity. 
• Self-reflection and insight. 
• Creative, clear, and concise writing skills.

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41 Proven College Essay Writing Tips for Admissions Success

1. Start Early  

Starting early reduces stress and gives you plenty of time to write a terrific essay. 

2. Be Authentic

More than any other consideration, you should choose a topic or point of view that is consistent with who you truly are. Readers can sense when writers are inauthentic. Inauthenticity could mean the use of overly flowery language that no one would ever use in conversation, or it could mean choosing an inconsequential topic that reveals very little about who you are. 

Authenticity Over Perfection: What Admissions Officers Want to Read

Use your own voice, sense of humor, and a natural way of speaking. Whatever subject you choose, make sure it’s genuinely essential to you and not a topic you’ve chosen just to impress. You can write about a specific experience, hobby, or personality quirk that illustrates your strengths, but also feel free to write about your weaknesses. 

Honesty about traits, situations, or a childhood background that you are working to improve may resonate with the reader more strongly than a glib victory speech. 

3. Grab the Reader From the Start

You’ll be competing with so many other applicants for an admission officer’s attention. Therefore, begin your essay with an opening sentence or paragraph that immediately captures the reader's imagination. This might be a bold statement, a thoughtful quote, a question you pose, or a descriptive scene. 

Starting your essay with a powerful introduction and a clear thesis statement can help you along in the writing process. If your task is to tell a compelling story, a bold beginning can serve as a natural prelude, providing a roadmap that engages the reader from the start and presents the purpose of your writing.

4. Know That the Best Ideas for Your Essay Often Come When You Least Expect Them

That’s why it’s a good practice to keep a reliable collection system with you at all times as you’re preparing to write your essay. It could be your phone. It could be index cards. It could be a Moleskine notebook (if you really want to do it with panache). Just don’t store it in your brain, thinking that you’ll remember it later. 

Your mind may be a magnificently wonderful idea-making machine, but it’s a lousy filing cabinet. Store those ideas in one place outside your brain so that when inspiration hits you in the bathroom, in the car, on a hike, wherever, you’ll have a place to capture it and come back to it later when you need it.

5. Do Not Feel Pressure to Share Every Detail of Challenging Experiences

Your writing should provide a context within which the reader learns about who you are and what has brought you to this stage in your life. Try to tie your account to how this has helped you develop as a person, friend, family member, or leader (or any other role in my life that is important to you). 

You may also want to make a connection to how this has inspired some part of your educational journey or your future aspirations.

6. Read It Aloud

There is something magical about reading out loud. As adults, we don’t do this enough. When reading aloud to kids, colleagues, or friends, we hear things differently and identify areas for improvement when the writing is flat. Start by recording your essay using your voice. 

7. We Want to Learn About Growth 

Some students spend a lot of time summarizing the plot or describing their work, and the "in what way" part of the essay often winds up being a single sentence. The part that is about you is the most important. If you need to include a description, keep it concise, ideally one or two lines. 

Remember that admission offices have Google, too, so if we need to hear the song or see the work of art, we'll look it up. The majority of the essay should be about your response and reaction to the work. How did it affect or change you? 

8. Be Specific

Consider these two hypothetical introductory paragraphs for a master's program in library science. “I am honored to apply for the Master of Library Science program at the University of Okoboji because, as long as I can remember, I have had a love affair with books. Since I was eleven, I have known I wanted to be a librarian.” vs. “When I was eleven, my great-aunt Gretchen passed away and left me something that changed my life: a library of about five thousand books. Some of my best days were spent arranging and reading her books. Since then, I have wanted to be a librarian.” 

Each graph was 45 words long and contained substantively the same information, that the applicant has wanted to be a librarian since she was a young girl. But they are extraordinarily different essays, most strikingly because the former is generic, whereas the latter is specific. It was a real thing, which happened to a real person, told simply. There is nothing better than that. 

9. Tell a Good Story

Most people prefer reading a good story over anything else. So... tell a great story in your essay. Worry less about providing as many details about you as possible and more about captivating the reader's attention within a grand narrative. 

I read a great essay this year where an applicant walked me through the steps of meditation and how your body responds to it. Loved it. (Yes, I'll admit I'm a predisposed meditation fan.) 

10. Write Like You Speak

Here’s my favorite trick when I’ve got writer’s block: turn on the recording device on my phone, and just start talking. I use Voice Memos in my car when I have a really profound thought (or a to-do list I need to record), so find your happy place and start recording. Maybe inspiration always seems to strike when you’re walking your dog, or on the bus to school. 

Make notes wherever and whenever you can, so you can capture those organic thoughts for later. This also means using words and phrases that you would actually use in everyday conversation. If you are someone who uses the word indubitably all the time, then by all means, go for it. But if not, then you should steer clear. The most meaningful essays are those where the student is sitting next to me, just talking to me.

11. Verb You, Dude!  

Verbs jump, dance, fall, and fail us. Nouns ground us, name me, define you. “We are the limits of our language.” Love your words, feed them, let them grow. Teach them well and they will teach you too. 

Try the imperative, think about your future tense, when you would have looked back at the imperfect that defines us and awaits us. Define, Describe, Dare. Have fun. 

12. Keep the Story Focused on a Discrete Moment in Time 

By zeroing in on one particular aspect of what is, invariably, a long story, you can extract meaning from the story. So instead of talking generally about playing percussion in the orchestra, hone in on a huge cymbal crash marking the climax of the piece. 

Or instead of trying to condense that two-week backpacking trip into a couple of paragraphs, tell your reader about waking up in a cold tent with a skiff of snow on it. The specificity of the story not only helps focus the reader’s attention but also opens the door to deeper reflection on what the story means to you. 

13. Imagine How the Person Reading Your Essay Will Feel

No one's idea of a good time is writing a college essay, I know. But if sitting down to write your essay feels like a chore, and you're bored by what you're saying, you can imagine how the person reading your essay will feel. On the other hand, if you're writing about something you love, something that excites you, or something you've thought deeply about, chances are I'll set down your application feeling excited, too, and like I've gotten to know you. 

14. Think Outside the Text Box! 

Put a little pizazz in your essays by using different fonts, adding color, including foreign characters, or by embedding media:

• Links
• Pictures
• Illustrations

And how does this happen? Look for opportunities to upload essays as PDFs onto applications. It’s not always possible, but when it is, you will not only have complete control over the look of your essay, but you will also potentially enrich the content of your work. 

15. Write Like a Journalist

"Don't bury the lede!" The first few sentences must capture the reader's attention, provide a gist of the story, and give a sense of where the essay is heading. Think about any article you've read, how do you decide to read it? You read the first few sentences and then decide. The same goes for college essays. 

A strong lede (journalist parlance for "lead") will place your reader in the "accept" mindset from the beginning of the essay. A weak lede will have your reader thinking "reject," a mentality from which it's nearly impossible to recover. 

16. I Promote an Approach Called “Into, Through, and Beyond”  

This approach pushes kids to use examples to: 

• Push their amazing qualities
• Provide some context
• End with hopes and dreams

Colleges are seeking students who will: 

• Thrive on their campuses
• Contribute in numerous ways, especially “bridge” building
• Develop into citizens who make their worlds and our worlds a better place. 

So, application essays are a unique way for applicants to share, reflect on, and connect their values and goals with colleges. Admissions officers want students to share their power, leadership, initiative, grit, and kindness, all through relatively recent stories. 

Use Your Essay to Advocate for Yourself With Confidence

I ask students: “Can the admissions officers picture you and help advocate for you by reading your essays?” Often, kids don’t see their power, and we can help them by realizing what they offer colleges through their activities and life experiences. 

Ultimately, I tell them, “Give the colleges specific reasons to accept you, and yes, you will have to ‘brag.’ But aren’t you worth it? Use your essays to empower your chances of acceptance, merit money, and scholarships.” 

17. Show Don’t Tell

As you expand on whatever theme you’ve decided to explore in your essay, remember to show, not tell. The most engaging writing “shows” by setting scenes and providing anecdotes, rather than just providing a list of accomplishments and activities. Reciting a list of activities is also boring. An admissions officer will want to know about the arc of your emotional journey, too. 

18. Get Personal

Important note: “Getting personal” doesn’t necessarily mean sharing your deepest, darkest secrets or describing traumatic experiences. It could mean sharing something you care about a lot, or details about one (or more) of the ways you identify. 

19. Just Make Sure That the Story You’re Telling Is Uniquely Yours

I believe everyone has a story worth telling. Don’t feel like you have to have had a huge, life-changing, drama-filled experience. Sometimes the seemingly smallest moments lead us to the biggest breakthroughs. 

20. Keep It Simple

No one is expecting you to solve the issue of world peace with your essay. Oftentimes, we find students getting hung up on “big ideas”. Remember, this essay is about YOU. What makes you different from the thousands of other applicants and their essays? Be specific. Use vivid imagery. If you’re having trouble, start small and go from there. 

21. Honor Your Inspiration

My parents would have much preferred that I write about sports or a youth group, and I probably could have said something interesting about those. Still, I insisted on writing about a particular fish in the pet store I worked at, one that took much longer than the others to succumb when the whole tank system in the store became diseased. 

It was a macabre little composition, but it was about exactly what was on my mind at the time I was writing it. I think it gave whoever read it a pretty good view of my 17-year-old self. I'll never know if I got in because of that weird essay or despite it, but it remains a point of pride that I did it my way. 

22. Revise Often and Early

Your admissions essay should go through several stages of revision. And by revisions, we don’t mean quick proofreads. Ask your parents, teachers, high school counselors, or friends for their eyes and edits. 

It should be people who know you best and want you to succeed. Take their constructive criticism in the spirit in which they intend for your benefit. 

23. Write About Things You Care About 

The most obvious things make great topics. What do I mean? Colleges want to learn about: 

• Who you are.
• What you value.
• How you will contribute to their community.

I had two students write about their vehicles: one wrote about the experience of purchasing their used truck, and the other wrote about how her car is an extension of who she is. We learned about their responsibility, creative thinking, teamwork, and resilience in a fun and engaging way. 

24. Don't Tell Them a Story You Think They Want, Tell Them What YOU Want

Of course, you want it to be a good read and stay on topic, but this is about showing admissions who you are. You don't want to get caught up in thinking too much about what they are expecting. Focus your thoughts on yourself and what you want to share. 

25. Be Yourself

A sneaky thing can happen as you set about writing your essay: you may find yourself guessing what a college admissions committee is looking for and writing to meet that made-up criteria rather than standing firm in who you are and sharing your most authentic self. While you want to share your thoughts in the best possible light, avoid the temptation to minimize the things that make you who you are. 

Show your depth. Be honest about what matters to you. Be thoughtful about the experiences I've had that've shaped who I am. Be your brilliant self. And trust that your perfect-fit college will see you for who you truly are and say "Yes! This is exactly who we've been looking for.” 

26. Don't Just Write About Your Resume, Recommendations, and High School Transcripts 

Admissions officers want to know about you, your personality, and emotions. For example, let them know about your hobbies, interests, or passions. Do you excel in athletics or art? Let them know why you excel in those areas. It's essential to be yourself and write in a way that allows your personality to shine through. 

27. Find a Way to Showcase Yourself Without Bragging

Being confident is key, but you don't want to come across as boasting. Next, let them know how college will help you achieve your long-term goals. Help them connect the dots and let them know you are there for a reason. 

Here’s an extra pro tip. Learn how to answer common college interview questions within your essay. This will not only help you stand out from other applicants, but it will also prepare you for the college interview ahead of time. 

28. Don't Read the Common Application Prompts

If you already have, erase them from memory and write the story you want colleges to hear. The truth is, admission reviewers rarely know, or care, which prompt you are responding to. They are curious to discover what you choose to show them about who you are, what you value, and why. 

Even the most fluid writers are often stifled by fitting their narrative neatly into a category, and the essay quickly loses authentic voice. Write freely and choose a prompt later. Spoiler alert. One prompt is "Share an essay on any topic of your choice. It can be one you've already written, one that responds to a different prompt, or one of your own design." 

29. Proofread, Proofread, Proofread

Nothing’s perfect, of course, but the grammar, spelling, and punctuation in your admission essay should be as close to perfect as possible. After you're done writing, read your essay, re-read it a little later, and have someone else read it too, like a teacher or friend, they may find typos that your eyes were just too tired to see. 

Colleges are looking for students who can express their thoughts clearly and accurately, and polishing your essay shows that you care about producing high-quality, college-level work. Plus, multiple errors could lower your chances of admission. Take the extra time to edit! 

30. Take the Pressure Off and Try Free-Writing to Limber Up 

If you are having trouble coming up with what it is you want to convey or finding the perfect story to convey who you are, use prompts such as: Share one thing that you wish people knew about you. My biggest dream is ___________. What have you enjoyed about high school? Use three adjectives to describe yourself:____________, ___________, ________. 

I suggest handwriting (as opposed to typing on a keyboard) for 20 minutes. Don't worry about making it perfect, and don't worry about what you are going to write about.

Unlocking Your Voice Through Reflective Writing Rituals

Consider setting aside 20 minutes to meditate and write from the heart. To get myself in a meditative state, I spend 60 seconds (set an alarm) drawing a spiral. Never let the pen come off the page, and just keep drawing around and around until the alarm goes off. 

Then, start writing. It might feel like you didn't write anything worthwhile, but my experience is that there is usually a diamond in the rough in there... perhaps more than one. Do this exercise for 3-4 days straight, then read out loud what you have written to a trusted source, like: 

• A parent
• Teacher
• Valued friend?

31. Show Your Emotions 

Adding feelings to your essays can be much more powerful than just listing your achievements. It allows reviewers to connect with you and understand your personality and what drives you. In particular, be open to showing vulnerability. 

Nobody expects you to be perfect, and acknowledging times in which you have felt nervous or scared shows maturity and self-awareness. 

32. Be Genuine and Authentic

Make sure at least one “qualified” person edits your essay. Your essay should be a true representation of who you are as a person, admissions officers want to read essays that are meaningful, thoughtful, and consistent with the rest of the application. 

Essays that come from the heart are the easiest to write and the best written. Have a teacher or counselor, not just your smartest friend, review and edit your essays. Don’t let mistakes and grammatical errors detract from your application. 

33. Try Doing Something Different

If you want your essay to stand out, think about approaching your subject from an entirely new perspective. While many students might choose to write about their wins, for instance, what if you wrote an essay about what you learned from all my losses? If you are an especially talented writer, you might play with the element of surprise by crafting an essay that leaves the response to a question to the very last sentence. 

How to Breathe New Life Into Common Essay Topics

You may want to avoid well-worn themes entirely, such as sports-related obstacles or success, volunteer stories, immigration stories, moving, a summary of personal achievements, or overcoming obstacles. 

Such themes are popular for a reason. They represent the totality of most people’s lives after high school. Therefore, it may be more critical to approach these topics with a fresh perspective than to avoid them altogether. 

34. REWRITE, REWRITE, REWRITE.  

The Great Gatsby wasn’t written in one draft. And neither was the Declaration of Independence, I’m pretty sure. If you’re going to write a masterpiece, you have to revise and rewrite. Read your essay out loud. Does it sound weird? Fix that. Is it boring? Jazz it up a little. Then, rewrite it again to tell your story in the best way possible. 

Maybe for Mrs. Smith’s English paper, you could write in one draft and be fine with it. This is scary enough: a lot more people will read it, and these people don’t really know you. So, keep rewriting it until you’re proud of it. Or even when you’re not proud of it yet…  

35. Don’t Repeat 

If you’ve mentioned an activity, story, or anecdote in some other part of your application, don’t repeat it in your essay. Your essay should tell college admissions officers something new. Whatever you write in your essay should be in philosophical alignment with the rest of your application. 

Also, be sure you’ve answered whatever question or prompt may have been posed to you at the outset. 

36. Pay Attention to Form

Although there are often no strict word limits for college essays, most essays are shorter rather than longer. The Common App, which students can use to submit to multiple colleges, suggests that essays should be approximately 650 words. “While we won’t as a rule stop reading after 650 words, we cannot promise that an overly wordy essay will hold our attention for as long as you’d hoped it would,” the Common App website states. 

In reviewing other technical aspects of your essay, be sure that the font is readable, that the margins are properly spaced, that any dialogue is set off correctly, and that there is enough spacing at the top. Your essay should look clean and inviting to the reader. 

37. Show It to Other People

Let your mom read it. Show it to your teacher. Show it to the milkman if you have one. People will love to read your essay. As awkward as it is having other people read your essay, it’s necessary to get different pairs of eyes and perspectives on your essay if they give criticism that you think rings true, great! 

If they give advice that you disagree with, great, you don’t have to take it! Showing your essay to a bunch of people will inevitably make it stronger, but you just have to get over the initial awkwardness. Keep rewriting, revising, and sharing it with others until… 

38. Are You Proud of It?  

If no, then keep rewriting. Or start from scratch if you think that’s best. Or pick a different topic and write about that. Sometimes your essay can be like overcooked cookies; you can try to make them taste better by adding frosting or sprinkles, but it might be better just to start over again. 

And that’s completely fine! Don’t get stuck in negativity, and also, don’t freak out. If you are proud of it, well done. You’ve written your college essay, and I’m sure it’s fantastic. 

39. End Your Essay With a “Kicker”  

In journalism, a kicker is the last punchy line, paragraph, or section that brings everything together. It provides a lasting impression that leaves the reader satisfied and impressed by the points you have artfully woven throughout your piece. 

So, here’s our kicker: 

• Be concise and coherent
• Engage in honest self-reflection
• Include vivid details and anecdotes that deftly illustrate your point

40. How to Address the Word Limit

Instead of trying to share your entire life story in 650 words, concentrate on one or two key aspects of yourself that you want to convey. Remember, the activities section of your application will showcase your accomplishments and interests. 

41. Bonus Tip: Post, but Don't Panic.  

At some point, you will file your college admissions application. After you post it, please don’t panic. With these tips and your determined intellect, you have an excellent chance of being accepted to an American university.

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Try our AI Writing Assistant to Write Natural-sounding Content

Every college essay starts with a unique prompt. Some of these questions will sound familiar, while others may surprise you. Regardless, approach each one with an open mind. 

Before writing anything, take time to unpack the prompt. 

• What is it really asking? 
• Are there key terms or phrases that you should define? 
• Does it reference a particular topic that you should address? 
• Most importantly, how can you answer this question in a way that will let your true self shine? 

Define Leadership on Your Own Terms to Avoid Generic Responses

For example, if you’re writing a response to the University of California’s personal insight questions, you could choose to answer prompt number one, which asks about a person’s leadership skills. 

Before diving into your response, you should consider how you define leadership and what specifically about your experiences with it will be unique to you. This will help you avoid generic responses and set you up for an essay that will reflect your individuality. 

Outlining Your College Essay

Once you’ve unpacked the prompt, it’s time to brainstorm, organize your thoughts, and create an outline for your essay. This will help you structure your writing and ensure that your response flows logically from one point to the next. While you may not end up using your exact outline, it will serve as a useful guide to help you answer the prompt and uncover your unique story.  

Writing the First Draft

With your outline in hand, you’re ready to start writing. Many students become fixated on crafting the perfect college essay. This can lead to a ton of stress and even writer’s block. Instead, focus on writing a strong first draft. Your goal should be to get your thoughts on paper. Don’t worry about making your writing sound good or making sure that it’s error-free. 

You can worry about those things later. Instead, get the ideas that you’ve been thinking about for so long down so that you can make them better in the editing process.  As you write, remember to let your individuality shine. Your college essay should sound like you, not someone else. 

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