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How to Write A College Essay From the Mind of A Narcissist
Writing College essays is honestly confusing.
College admission officers tell us to make our college essays unique and special while counselors tell us not
to make our college essays too out there, and in an attempt to create a piece that exemplifies both, we
oftentimes end up reading other college essays and just basing it off of that, losing our own voices and
characters in the process.
The most important part of writing a college essay is that you write something only you can write.
So, here are a few types to help your college essay stand out in the best way possible for you.
Ideas
One of the hardest parts of writing college essays is figuring out what to even write about in the first place,
so I have compiled a list of questions that I think will help get the ideas flowing.
Who am i?
One game that has this approach that I really admire is the “I am’s.” It consists of a list of 25 I am statements
that each person must complete; however, one way that I challenged myself while completing this game is to
only say phrases that are truly relevant to my identity.
For example, I am average height, and this didn't really
have a major affect on how I view myself as a person while one of my best friends is over 6ft so he wrote one
of his essays about his height and how that affected him. A key aspect of writing an essay that only you can
write is writing about characters that are a fundamental part of who you are. It doesn't have to be deep
(comical college essays are also amazing too). Try to
choose personality traits combinations that you believe
only you have
, but if you feel it is necessary to write about a similar subject as someone else, there are other
ways to make your essay stand out.
Where am I from?
One of my college essays for QuestBridge is about John's Creek, but it's not just about the physical places we
come from but also the
cultural, ideological,familial, and emotional
homes that we live in. The same friend I
was writing about earlier, he wrote his common app essay about a family joke that pertains to him: his
legendary 2%, and it's this idea that his entire life he has been missing that necessary 2% that allows him not
to trip over objects and find success in life, but he has used it to develop his character and make sure he
never gives up.
None of us have the exact same origin story
, and writing about the places you come could help
your college essay stand out more.
Where am I going?
I'd like to start off with saying that
I don't exactly know what I want to do with my life, and that's okay.
Colleges just want to see that you have goals that you want to complete and goals that you have completed
already, so if you like running, did you work hard to run your best time, and will you still continue this at
their campus? If you like art, did you develop your portfolio, and will you participate in campus art exhibits?
Colleges want goal orientated students
because those are the kinds of people that will be successful in life,
the ones with a vision for themselves whether it's big or small. And even if you didn't have goals in high
school, you can always develop them in college, so including the person you want to be in the future in your
college further elaborates on your character in this moment. It's okay to not know, but find something that
you love doing and work on that.
WRITING
Another way to make your college stand out is in the actual writing. Not everyone has to be a writer to write a
good essay. Here are another three questions on the writing itself.
What is my voice?
When I write, I am highly descriptive, but I have a tendency to write in abstract metaphorical ideas, and I
interweave them into events, sometimes forgetting to provide concrete ideas. My voice is highly philosophical,
and I am constantly challenging the way in which the world runs. I tend to be a bigger-picture writer.
Therefore, my essays also tend to be this way, but not everyone has to have this style of writing to make a
good college essay. I used to think that my college essays wouldn't be good enough because I couldn't tell a
story the way that the “Costco” essay did: attention to detail and highly specific descriptions- what I thought
to be traditional memoir style, but
my voice is unique to my character and the way in which I view the world.
There are also other voice types besides descriptive that work. If your voice is straightforward and to the
point that's okay, too. There are even several styles of “dry” voices. There is satirical and sarcastic. There is
analytical and scientific (Perhaps try writing a science experiment for this voice. I think that would be cool).
There’s matter-of-fact and blunt (which in my experience can sometimes get people into trouble maybe write
about that?).
One of the most important things for colleges is finding out who you are
, and your voice is a
mean of showing that. If you don't know what your voice is, you could try reading through some of your past
essays, asking a former teacher to evaluate your voice, and figuring what you do like about the pieces you
write (whether for school and for the self) and what you don't like.
What is my style?
When I write an essay or a piece that is for school, I take into account the structure of it. I wrote a poem using
the metaphor of an evergreen tree and made it into the shape of said object. For some of my college essays, I
manipulated the structure of the essays by combining both poetry and traditional five paragraph essay. I also
experimented with acrostic poems and dictionary definition format. One way to stand out on college apps is to
simply
make your essay looks different from everyone else's.
Even if you don't like writing, showing how
dedicated you are to creating the best college essay displays your work ethic, and creativity. For example, my
friend wrote his college essay (with a dry and straightforward style) in a series of journal entries spanning
his life and wrote each section in the voice of that age. He doesn't enjoy writing, but he still managed to come
up with something that is unique to him. Other ways that you can change structure include syntax, diction,
formatting, line breaks, and punctuation {i.e. parentheses, semicolons, colons, dashes
(dash length matters)
,
commas}
What is my purpose?
So again, to reiterate what I said before,
you don't have to know completely who you are or where you are
going.
The question is referring to what is the purpose in the essay, and it's the key to making sure you don't
get off track, or become too emotional, or depict yourself in a negative light. Write with the end in mind. Write
with the overall picture in your head. Write with a thought behind each word, each sentence, each story that
you tell. And then evaluate whether the parts of your essay fulfill this purpose or oppose this purpose. For
example, my friend wanted to write about him wanting to be a plastic surgeon, but he made himself seem highly
shallow in the process, instead now he is writing about his struggles with his ADHD. Both ideas are valid for
writing a college essay, but we should
chose the ones that are central to our characters and create a
positive view of ourselves.
EDITING
Last but not least, editing! Re-read your essay and have others read your essay too. But, in the process make
sure that
you aren't losing your voice
because people have placed their own voices in your pieces.
And that is how you write a college essay from the mind of a narcissist. :)
Home
About
Staff
>
Lit Mag Staff Video
Senior Advice
FAQs
Contact
Our Magazines
Writing
Discovering the Spoken World: An Interview with Noelle Reed
A Handbook to a Highly Harrowing Halloween
Blackout Poetry
The Sentiments of 3 A.M.
Art
Interview with Aparna Pateria
Artist Spotlight
Should You Take AP Art?
Photography
Holiday Makeup Looks
Animation
Jewlery
The Process of Video Editing
Community
international Night 2020
Drama and film
Fashion
Dance
Music
Project Inspo
Competitions
December 2018
January 2019
Life Under Quarantine