Reach into your heart for essay

Wednesday, 07 October 2009 16:15

I was delighted to read Stephen DiGregoria’s thoughtful piece on college applications (“Taking the plunge”) and the stress that completing them — especially the dreaded personal essay — places on high school seniors.

As a tutor, I agree with Stephen that the personal essay is a particularly stressful part of the process — it takes careful thinking, then writing, then editing, then rewriting. However, it is the one part where the student is in complete control of the information being submitted. Therein lies the irony: On this stressful task you, the student, can present yourself using your authentic voice. Stephen points out that writing it is no easy trick, but as he also shows, it is doable.

The question remains, how and where does one dig for personal facts that will rise up off the page, and capture the attention of the admissions person who will read that essay along with hundreds of others? My years of helping seniors write their essays tells me that the answer is in a personal story, one that’s really about the writer, and represents important qualities of his/her character. Of course, one cannot spend too much time on this project. As Stephen says, all seniors have plenty of important things to do. But I still say, reach into your heart — as quickly as you can — and get those ideas into your computer, then edit, and send it out.

Your story is your key to getting the right reader’s attention.

BILL FORD

Goldens Bridge, Oct. 5

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