TIME FOR COLLEGE ESSAYS Whaaaaa Mrs Jill Brown

TIME FOR COLLEGE ESSAYS Whaaaaa? ? ?

Mrs. Jill Brown • College Guidance Counselor • Questions about college? Email or set-up an appointment: jbrown@midlandchristianschool. org • Office Hours: Monday – Thursday 8: 30 am-12: 30 am

Three Requirements for College • Graduate from high school and a high school transcript • ACT or SAT score • Application Apply. TX – college or university in Texas • Common Application – college or university outside Texas as well as some Texas schools • University specific online application – on the universities website (i. e. ACU) • YOUR ESSAYS ARE A PART OF YOUR APPLICATION

Deadlines and Dates Junior Year: • Write essays - now • Start application – group meeting after spring break • Complete application – summer after junior year • Apply to college – August before senior year starts Senior Year: • Apply for scholarships

What should my essay look like? • Personal story or experience • Movie scene • Creative writing • Casual, first-person

What should my essay NOT look like? • Research paper • Impersonal, formal language • List of achievements • Report of activities

Two exercises to find your topic • Story Questions • Value Checklist

Essay A What was the environment in which you were raised? Describe your family, home, neighborhood, or community, and explain how it has shaped you as a person. • Personal story from your past • Connect the value that goes with your story • Current status – the way you implement your value currently through activities, jobs and/or volunteering • Future status – how you see this value manifesting itself in your future

Essay B Most students have an identity, and interest, or a talent that defines them in an essential way. Tell us about yourself. • Personal story – hardship, trial, talent, quirky, boring, vulnerability (i. e. Costco) • Something I WANTED, but here’s what I NEEDED • Connect the value – tell why it means something to you or is important to you • Personal growth – what you’ve learned, hope to learn, or try to implement in your life

Requirements • 300 -500 words, single-spaced • 1 -1. 5 page MAX • Save on Google Docs • Email to: jbrown@midlandchristianschool. org • Due: __________________