How to write a college application essay can be one of the more confusing elements of the college application process. But we think it doesn’t have to be.
So we’re building this post to offer a clear, step-by-step process you can use, followed by tips for how to strengthen your essay (also referred to as a “personal statement”).
Step 0 will be the same for everyone.
Steps 1, 2, and 3 will vary depending on which structural approach you choose in step 0.
Getting started is often the hardest part. Take this a step at a time, and you’ll be good to go.
TABLE OF CONTENTSBy “structure,” we mean what you’ll use to organize your essay’s content in a way that helps your reader understand clearly and easily.
We’ll talk through two structural options below: “montage” and “narrative.”
A montage uses a few different moments or experiences that are connected by a theme, like three body paragraphs on three different pairs of shoes you’ve owned, and the different sides of you those shoes allow you to talk about.
A narrative is generally chronological, and focuses on what you did to overcome a challenge you’ve faced.
Important note that neither approach is inherently better: admissions officers do not have a preference. Unless they give you a prompt that specifically asks you to write about a challenge you’ve faced, you do not have to write about one—you should make your choice purely based on what allows you to most clearly illustrate some of your core values, insights, interests, qualities, and skills.
try a narrative approach. (Skip down to Section 2, below)
try a montage approach. (See Section 1, next)
There are virtually infinite things you could use as a theme to connect paragraphs in a montage.
But we’re going to focus on just one, one that we’ve seen work thousands of times for thousands of students to create thousands of unique essays.
In this section, we’ll talk you through steps for how to use some of your different roles and identities to build a montage essay.
If, after reading through these steps, you want to explore other ways you can build a montage by brainstorming other kinds of thematic threads, head to this larger guide on writing college essays .
Take 5-10 minutes to write down different identities or roles that you claim or play in life, based on the chart below.
| Domain | My identity/identities |
|---|---|
| Race | |
| Ethnicity, heritage, culture | |
| National origin; birthplace; places lived | |
| First language, language use | |
| Sex, gender, gender expression | |
| Romantic/sexual orientation | |
| Religion, spirituality, faith, ideology | |
| Class, economic background | |
| Ability/disability status (physical, developmental, etc.) | |
| Family identity: roles, birth order, etc. | |
| Physical appearance + body type | |
| Abilities/Talents/Superpowers | |
| Interests | |
| Other |
In a minute, we’ll show you how to turn those identities into a basic outline, and then turn that outline into a draft.
Before we do, we’re going to show you an example essay that uses this approach, so you can see where you’re heading with this. Having a sense of it will make outlining and drafting easier.
My Twitter bio reads: angry brown girl, feminist, singer, meme-lover. You will notice live-tweets of my feminist Pride and Prejudice thoughts, analyses of Hamilton’s power for musical representation, and political memes. Just as my posts bring together seemingly disparate topics, I believe there is a vibrancy that exists at the multidimensional place where my interests intersect.
Growing up as a debater and musician, it was easy to see the two as distinct entities where I had to make unequivocal choices. At the start of my junior year, I decided not to participate in the musical in order to work for Emerge California, an organization that helps Democratic women run for office. There I learned about data science, gender distributions in public office, and how to work with the evil printer. I also halted my voice and piano lessons to focus on building my student-led non-profit, Agents of Change. As someone who has diverted my energy into community activism, I can attest to the power of grassroots movements. It has been so rewarding to measure the impact that my team has had on my community. But even so, I felt that I was losing touch with the music that was such a profound part of me.
I found a new way of being when I started combining my artsy and political sides. I took an intensive class on protest music, where I learned how political movements have been shaped by the music of their time. While in the class, we were asked to compose our own songs. I am not a songwriter, but I am an activist, and I embraced the opportunity to turn music into an outlet for my political beliefs. As a first-generation American, I am dedicated to raising awareness about refugee rights and immigration. My songs about the Syrian Refugee Crisis let me find a way to bring the two sides of me together and gave me a rush that neither music nor politics by themselves would have provided.
This introduction led me to apply to the Telluride Association Protest Poetics program, where I dove deeper into my own identity. I wrote songs about police brutality and the ways that as a non-black person of color I am implicated in instances of subliminal racism. Over the course of the program, as I became more familiar with the visual, literary, and performance art we analyzed, I slowly started to realize that, though I confront colorism, jokes about Indian culture, and intra-community violence in some form every day, my proximity to whiteness still gives me immense amounts of privilege. I have come to know that this means I have a responsibility to both be at the forefront of movements, and conscious of not stepping over the voices of other intersectional identities. I hope that the music I choose to perform and the way I live my life can amplify, not overwrite, any of the struggles that others deal with daily.
Last year, I had another opportunity to use music to pay homage to an issue I care deeply about. In my South Asian community, mental health is an issue that is often papered over. When a member of my school community committed suicide, I was asked to sing “Amazing Grace” for the school to both unify and honor the student. Though I thought that I had really understood the power of music, holding that space for my entire school had a profound resonance that I still don’t fully understand.
My voice is an instrument for change—whether it be through me raising my hand to contribute to a discussion in a classroom, speaking out against gun violence at a rally, or singing at an event of solidarity. I know that someday my voice, in conjunction with many other unique voices and perspectives, will make a difference.
Notice that this essay does its job (showing her core values, insights, qualities, skills, and interests) really well, and essentially all it’s doing is just illustrating those values, insights, etc. through different roles/identities, with each body paragraph demonstrating those roles/identities through specific actions and experiences.
Here’s how you can take the roles/identities you brainstormed above and build a unique personal statement using a similar structural approach:
A.) List out 4-7 of the roles/identities that are most important to you and that you feel can best show a college the values, insights, qualities, interests, and skills you bring to that college. Note that some might fit well together, like they do below.
Here’s what that could look like for the example essay above:
B.) Then look at this look at this list of values and add one or two values that are important to you that you want to demonstrate to a college.
Here’s what that could look like for the example essay above:
C.) Then, think about a moment or experience that can potentially illustrate this role/identity + value to your reader.
Here’s what that could look like for the example essay above:
Those bullets are the outline for the body paragraphs of the montage. Each will use specific actions and details to demonstrate core values via the related roles/identities.
For now, you can write a simple placeholder intro, like “I have played many roles in my life. Here are some of the most important ones.” You can play with intros and conclusions later, but as we said up top, often the hardest part of writing your college application essay is starting.
So skip getting stuck thinking about an opening, come back to it later, and focus on building clear, strong body paragraphs that show a reader your core values, insights, qualities, skills, and interests.
Think back to the essay above. The intro and conclusion help, but it’s the body paragraphs that really matter.
Focus on those in your first draft.
After you’ve written a first draft of those body paragraphs, if you have time before submission deadlines, it’s great to step away from the essay for a day or two, so you can assess it with fresh eyes.
At minimum, you’ll want to make sure there’s a clear flow and use of language in your essay.That’s easier to do when you haven’t read it for a bit, and can read it more like how a total stranger would.
To get you started, this guide to Revising Your Essay in 5 Steps will help you create clearer logical flow, as will this breakdown of 9 different ways to effectively transition.
Want to build more detailed, illustrative body paragraphs? Check out this guide on how to (mostly) show, not tell with your writing.
Worried about your essay sounding similar to other applicants’ essays? We have resources on how to understand and create “voice” in your work..
Want to build a better intro/opening? Check out a bunch of options to play with for intros here.(we’d recommend experimenting, even if you have something you like—through exploring, you may find something even better).
Want to strengthen the ending of your essay?Here’s a guide to how to build strong essay endings.
Additionally, one of the best general tips we can give you as you revise is to read your essay out loud to yourself. And again, try to read from a total stranger’s perspective. Reading out loud will help you notice problems you might miss when reading it in your mind. And reading from a stranger’s perspective will help ensure you aren’t relying on things in your brain that need to be on the page (but aren’t).
You might also try reading it to a trusted family member, teacher, or friend. They might be able to give you some constructive feedback to make your piece more relatable or accessible for other people. Just keep in mind that some people may have a good sense of what makes for strong writing in general, but not necessarily what makes for a strong college essay specifically.
