Webinar Transcript: College Essay Series: All About the Common App Personal Statement
Elton Lin
Sagrika Jawadi (she/they): Welcome everyone. My name is Sagrika; I use she/they pronouns. I've been an essay specialist with ILUMIN since last year, and I have had experience working with students on their UC PIQs and their personal statements. I'm excited to share information with you all about the personal statement.
Leonor, do you want to introduce yourself?
Leonor Willis (she/her): Hi everyone. My name is Leonor. This is my first year with ILUMIN, working as an essay specialist, but I've had similar jobs in the past: helping students with application consulting. I’m excited to be here with all of you today.
Sagrika Jawadi: Awesome. Let's get started. Our webinar is about crafting your [Common App] personal statement.
Agenda
Sagrika Jawadi: We have:
A quick review of “College Essays 101” – which was our first webinar of the series,
And then we're going to talk about what the Common Application personal statement is.
We'll go through the prompts.
We'll talk about what you should write about,
Give some writing tips,
Go over a sample essay if we have time,
And then share a little bit about ILUMIN.
College essays…
Leonor Willis: Here’s a quick overview of college essays:
Obviously, college essays are one of the more important parts of your application – because it lets you (the students) speak directly to the admissions officer, and gives you that more personal component. They are generally reviewed by staff, and can be weighted differently at different colleges. There are also different prompts.
But the main part of the college essay is to help admissions offices determine “fit.” Due to this nature, they should not be written like regular essays, like at school. You should really focus on these three keywords below:
Passion,
Personality, and
Perspective.
About the Common Application and the Main Personal Statement
Sagrika Jawadi: Now some information about the Common Application and the Main Personal Statement:
The Common Application
Sagrika Jawadi: The Common Application is an application platform that hosts 900+ colleges. For those of us that are in California, the UC system has its own application platform. Basically all other colleges that you're applying to are going to be through the Common App.
You could create an account and search for the college to which you're thinking about applying to see if it's on the Common App. But very, very many popular colleges are on it. Which is why we talk about it – because most people are going to be writing a personal statement and submitting a Common Application.
The Main Personal Statement
Sagrika Jawadi: In the Common App there is one main personal statement. It's this central essay that all the colleges to which you apply receive. (On the Common App website you can apply to up to 20 colleges.)
The minimum word count for the Common App essay is 250 words, and the maximum is 650. We advise writing at least 500 – to really get your point across, and share as much about yourself as you can.
It's going to be reviewed alongside your supplemental essays – and those are going to be specific to each college. And alongside the rest of your application: personal information like demographics, your transcript, letters of recommendation, and your activities. So it's really looked at alongside all these other factors.
What are the prompts? (And what are they really asking?)
Leonor Willis: Now we're going to go through the prompts of the Common Application. (There are seven.) We're going to talk about what the actual text says, and then our translation of what they're really asking in these prompts.
Prompt 1: What makes you unique?
Leonor Willis: Prompt number one is about what makes you unique. The text says:
Some students have a background identity, interest, or talent that is so meaningful they believe their application would be incomplete without it. If this sounds like you, then please share your story.
This prompt is asking you to tell a story about yourself that doesn't really answer any of the other prompts that we're going to go through. If there's a part of your identity, or of your history, that you think is really important to emphasize, this is a great prompt to use to tell the reader who you are.
The key word here is “story.” You can’t just talk about your identity, and what makes that unique. You need a beginning, middle, and end to a story.
Prompt 2: Can you be resilient?
Leonor Willis: Prompt number two is, “Can you be resilient?” The text says:
The lessons we take from obstacles we encounter can be fundamental to later success. Recount a time when you faced a challenge, setback, or failure. How did it affect you, and what did you learn from the experience?
This prompt is really focusing on mistakes we've made in the past. We're all human. It's okay to mess up. But the story they want here is about how you've grown from this mistake, and what you've learned in the process.
Make sure you talk about how you've recovered – and how you'll use that in the future.
Prompt 3: Are you a critical thinker?
Leonor Willis: Prompt 3 is, “Are you a critical thinker?” The text is:
Reflect on a time when you questioned or challenged a belief or idea? What prompted your thinking? What was the outcome?
For this one you can think about any cause, idea, or value that is important to you. Think about if you want to stand up for that – what you believe in. And really dive deep into the process of, “Why do you think that?” What external factors might have made you think that? And have you examined your beliefs, or changed them over time?
You can talk about how you use your critical thinking skills – and how that can help you in college as well.
Prompt 4: Are you practicing gratitude?
Leonor Willis: Prompt four is a new prompt for this year: “Are you practicing gratitude?” The text is:
Reflect on something that someone has done for you that has made you happy or thankful in a surprising way. How has this gratitude affected or motivated you?
This is a great prompt if you want to bring awareness to people who have given you opportunities, or shaped who you are. You can talk about how this has helped you on your journey.
And – more importantly – you want to reflect on how you can use that in college as well. How will you take advantage of opportunities people give you in college?
Prompt 5: How have you grown over time?
Sagrika Jawadi: Prompt five is about how you have grown over time. The actual prompt is:
Discuss an accomplishment, event, or realization that sparked a period of personal growth, and a new understanding of yourself or others
This prompt is basically asking about a significant thing that happened that led to you transforming in some way. The point of this prompt is to see how you've grown – your personal growth – and if you're able to communicate that, and really reflect on how you've grown and matured as a person in high school.
They care about that because they want to know that you are a mature and self-aware person who is capable of growth.
Prompt 6: Are you intellectually curious?
Sagrika Jawadi: The next prompt is, “Are you intellectually curious?” This one is:
Describe a topic, idea, or concept you find so engaging that it makes you lose all track of time. Why does it captivate you? What or whom do you turn to when you want to learn more?
This prompt is pretty straightforward. It's asking, “What is the subject that you find really interesting?”
Most of the time, when students write about this, they write about something related to their major, or related to the career that they're interested in. However, you don't have to. You just need to write about something that you genuinely find interesting.
In some ways, it might be helpful to write about something different – because then you don't end up repeating yourself in supplemental essays that ask why you're interested in your major. That's actually something you want to be aware of: that a lot of supplemental essays are going to be asking, “Why do you want to study a specific major?” You want to make sure that you're not repeating the same thing.
So, if you do choose this prompt, make sure you have enough content that you have something to write for this prompt and something to write for those supplementals.
Prompt 7: Topic of your choice
Sagrika Jawadi: The last prompt is just:
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.
Similar-ish to prompt one [“What makes you unique?”], it's even more broad – more of a catch-all. It's just giving an opportunity if none of the prompts really fit what you want to talk about.
You want to be very careful with this, because it can be difficult to write an essay without a prompt. You have to come up with your own main point – as opposed to answering a question, and that being your main point.
How to choose a prompt
Sagrika Jawadi: How do you choose a prompt?
There is no prompt that is seen as “better” than another by colleges. Any prompt you choose is equally valid.
Really, the way that you want to go about thinking about it is, “What prompt best suits you and your story?” What do you want to share about yourself? What experiences do you want to share about yourself? And what structure is the best fit to share those things?
Sometimes the same topic can fit into multiple different prompts – and that's totally fine. You could try different versions to see what feels most fitting. The important thing is your essay's message and story, not which prompt you choose. You want to choose the prompt that helps enhance your essay’s message and story best.
What should I write about in the Main Personal Statement?
Leonor Willis: Once you pick a prompt – or a few – that you want to try, the next question is, “What should you actually write in your personal statement?”
“I have nothing to write about!”
Leonor Willis: Many people might not think of anything right away. It's totally normal to feel like you have nothing to write about! But the main thing to realize is that everyone has life experiences that can be told in a story format.
There is something you'll find to write about. The important thing here is to bring some ideas: anything that comes to mind. Cast a wide net of things that interest you that could fit these prompts – and then, through brainstorming activities, you can help narrow down what would be a good fit to write about.
NEWSFLASH: A moment is as important as you make it.
Leonor Willis: An important thing to realize is that a moment is important as you make it. This means that any memory or story can be used for these prompts effectively. It's not the story that matters so much as why it's important to you. You really want to emphasize why this story affects you – why it's important to you, and how that helps you in the future.
Anything can be significant if it's meaningful to you.
Your mission: connect with the reader
Sagrika Jawadi: What is your purpose, really, when writing these essays? When you look at these prompts, it's really obvious that the point of the essay is not to list all your activities and accomplishments! This is really an opportunity to share who you are – outside of those things, outside of those achievements.
They want reflection, vulnerability, and authenticity. You really want to think about moments when you felt most connected to another person – and those moments are usually when you are vulnerable, or wrong. Not when you are talking about one of the coolest things you did, and bragging to someone!
You really want to create trust. That can be difficult – because these are just random strangers reading your essay, to evaluate whether or not you're a good candidate. It takes a lot of practice, and it takes a lot of reflection – and writing, and rewriting – to be able to communicate authentically and vulnerably in an essay.
The three things I think that are very important to keep in mind are:
Be honest,
Be personal, and
Be introspective.
That being said, it's also important to honor your own boundaries, and only share things that you really do feel comfortable sharing. You don’t have to share something super personal or vulnerable if you don't want to.
Tell your “origin story”
Leonor Willis: Since the point of this essay is to be honest (and to have that human connection), you can really start by going small: with a defining moment that shaped your personality, passion, point of view, values, or ambitions.
One way to think about this is like a flashback in a movie: as if you were in a superhero movie. You want to think about this as an origin story. What made you who you are? Look at that key moment in your life and talk about how that has affected you.
Brainstorm (and then brainstorm again)
Sagika Jawadi: While you're writing, you're gonna brainstorm… and brainstorm some more. We offer a lot of great activities and worksheets to help you brainstorm.
But one way to go about it is to just make a list of moments that really stand out when you look back on your life. Make a list of people who have had a big impact on you. Moments where you visualize “before this happened” and then “after this happened.” And moments that have taught you life lessons.
After you write down these moments, pick a few that seem interesting to you, and free-write about them. See what happens! It's definitely a good idea to try out multiple ideas. Also, get feedback on what other people think is the best idea to actually move forward with.
It's totally normal to start over (multiple times!) as you realize what actually fits best for your essay.
You really want to make sure these ideas resonate with people.
Example ideas
Leonor Willis: Here are some example ideas with which we've helped students over the past few years:
Getting lost in a foreign country,
A camping trip with dad,
Riding the train to and from school every day,
Walking around their neighborhood, and
Getting locked out of the house.
These ideas are maybe “boring” at first, or don't seem that unique. But, again, it's really the reflection behind these that can make your essay strong. You have to reflect on what it means to you.
Reflection > ideas
Leonor Willis: The idea is what you make of it. You want to reflect on why this is important, and assign significance to that moment. For the essay about the campaign trip with dad, this gave the student confidence to recover from missteps and mistakes. Whereas walking around the neighborhood helped the student see beauty in mundane surroundings.
All these things might seem ordinary, and can happen to you every day… but talking about what it means to you – and how it helps you as a person – is really what we're going for in this type of essay.
What you write → who you will be on campus
Leonor Willis: As you reflect on what this story means to you, you also want to emphasize how it will make you who you will be on campus. Reflecting on how it made you from past to present is really good, but make sure to also talk about how it will help you on campus [in the future].
In the example of the person riding the train to school every day, and finding community on the train, they also talk about how, on campus, they'll get a community there. The person who walked out of the house can talk about gaining confidence in new situations – such as how they’ll feel moving to college.
Show how it's affected you, but also where you're going to go from there. That’s important as well.
How should I write the Main Personal Statement?
Sagrika Jawadi: Now, for almost one of our final topics, we have, “How should you write the personal statement?
General writing tips
Here are some general writing tips:
Don't choose a prompt right away. At the beginning, start by just telling your story.
Write in the first person. (This is not an English class essay. This is a personal essay. You're gonna want to use the word “I.”)
Use active voice. [(“I did it,” not, “It was done by me.”)]
Use your authentic voice. (Almost type the essay as how you would speak… but with good grammar!)
Engage the reader with creativity and/or storytelling.
And don't try to copy an essay that you saw. (In fact, I would say, don't really look at example essays until you have something written!)
Active voice – for those of you who don't know – is when the noun is actively doing the verb. For example, instead of saying, “The money was counted by the cashier,” you say, “The cashier counted the money.” And or you could say, “The squirrel was chased by the dog,” or, “The dog chased the squirrel.”
Using active voice allows you to be direct. It's more engaging. Passive voice can be, as it says, passive. It can come off as boring, or just not as engaging.
Also, active voice tends to be more concise. You have fewer words to say.
Sample essay
Sagrika Jawadi: Now we're gonna move on to our sample essay. We've broken up an essay into different parts – and we're just going to go over each of them, and talk about things we're noticing.
Hook
Leonor Willis: This essay is for prompt number two, which was, “The lessons we take from the obstacles we encounter are fundamental to success,” and you're recounting a time when you faced a challenge, setback, or failure. “How did it affect you and what did you learn from this experience?”
We're going to start with the hook. I'm going to read it out loud, and then go through what we notice in this hook.
“Okay, I guess we won't go with my movie night fundraising idea then, ha ha.”
No one laughed. My face flushed red like a beet; sweat gathered on my forehead, my throat tightened, and I retreated to my seat.
This is a good way to start the essay. I think quotes are often a good way to start it. You don't have to do that… but use something to draw people in, and something that makes people want to read more.
Especially that second sentence, with, “My face flushed red like a beet.” Using visual imagery can really help people be more interested. That's a good way to set up the essay for what's coming next.
Background information
Sagrika Jawadi: Now we have some background information in the next part of the essay. I'm gonna just read:
That summarizes my first year in student government. In front of ten other students – the class council – I'd speak out and propose an idea for an event. It would get rejected, and I would feel discouraged, only to try it again later; this cycle repeated like clockwork. An onlooker never would have guessed that I was the freshman class president.
Looking back, it was the definition of an uncomfortable situation. For starters, my peers all had prior leadership experience, and none of them were my initial supporters. Furthermore, I had never been much of a public speaker. Stepping outside of my comfort zone triggered every social insecurity a high school boy could have: long silences, awkward stares, and judgmental comments. Discomfort was my enemy, and I had to get as far away from it as possible.
After I survived my presidency, I wasn't sure if I would participate in anything that would challenge me again.
Like Leonor said, they do a really good job being descriptive – and now providing context for that hook. That hook really engages you, pulls you in, and makes you curious to want to know, “What is happening? Why is this person so nervous? Where are they?”
The author does a really good job painting the scene of what is going on – and also adding reflection as to how they feel. They talk about feeling insecure, and feeling turned off from leadership due to this experience. They also use language that is very natural, and sounds like how someone would talk – but it's not too casual to the point where it seems inappropriate.
One thing that really stands out to me about this essay is how they're talking about a negative situation – where they didn't feel comfortable as class president, and they didn't feel supported by other students. They're not speaking negatively about others in a way that feels disrespectful or inappropriate. There are ways to talk about a negative situation without it seeming like a pity party, or seeming like you're talking badly about other people. Clearly, this student was able to do that.
Context of moment + moment
Leonor Willis: Next we're going to go over the context of the moment and the moment [itself].
However, two summers ago, I stumbled upon a YouTube video about parkour, best defined as urban gymnastics. It involved movements like hopping over rails, scaling walls, and landing into rolls. I was astounded as these parkour participants displayed complete mastery over their bodies. They moved with speed, precision, and control that I could only dream of [sic]. I wondered how I would ever accomplish such feats.
I decided to try. After a month of training and watching videos, I attempted my first complex parkour move, a wall up [sic]. All I had to do was run quickly and climb atop an 8-foot wall. Easy, right? Nope— I got everything except for the “climbing atop” part. My run ups [sic] were clumsy, and I slid off the wall’s surface every time. Not to mention I kept banging my knees, and falling backwards on to [sic] my hips. It was not pleasant.
But I wasn't going to quit. Watching the YouTube masters motivated me to seek their freedom and fluidity, no matter the bruises, cuts, and minor confessions. I developed my leg strength, straining to complete 100 squats a day; I studied techniques and mastered where my points of contact should be.
And I finally got it. My awkward steps transformed into graceful bounds, and my slipping was replaced by a firm foot plant, followed by an explosive leap.
Okay. This section is very important – because it brings the same topic of failing and trying again into a different example. The author talks about parkour: how at first it was hard and they didn't succeed, but then – after trying again – they succeeded.
It's the same theme as the last paragraph about government, but showing this in a different way – to show growth, which is really important.
Also, the descriptive nature is still here. The author goes over (in detail) what they actually did to try and get better – not just saying, “I improved,” but showing what they did, and why it’s impressive. It’s showing and not telling.
Realization/reflection
Sagrika Jawadi:
That night, as I replayed the moment, my mind wandered to my role as freshman president. Why didn't I succeed? I was filled with doubt and powerless to face my adversity. How could I have risen to the challenge? I realized I was flung into the responsibilities, with neither the experience nor the steps to achieve it – that was the difference between then and now.
With parkour, I wasn't leaping atop roofs on day one. There was discomfort, but instead of diving into it, I could operate on the border of my doubts and abilities. From training, I had small victories like learning a consistent stride or correct foot placement; this made a feat like climbing a wall possible. By accomplishing goal after goal – no matter how insignificant – I gained the confidence to pursue a larger one. As a president, I should have sought more manageable opportunities initially such as brainstorming ideas with my peers beforehand, or giving an introduction speech. Then I could focus on bigger topics like organizing rallies for the budget.
Now he’s connecting it back to his experience as freshman president. Here's the reflection on what he could have done better – and he applies his parkour lessons to his experience in student government.
I really like how there's a clear takeaway: if he had done things step by step, and in really small, incremental pieces, he would have been able to accomplish more than trying to just jump in.
It's just a really cool way to connect two experiences this person had that seem completely unrelated… and tie them together with a similar theme, clearly showing how this person learned a lesson. Their experience as president was a negative experience, that they were able to grow from – and show how they're able to bounce back after they make mistakes.
Conclusion
Leonor Willis:
Now, when I face challenges, I know that I initially have to build my confidence with smaller achievements. Whether it's studying the parkour club by first having some well-attended unofficial meetings, or organizing a two-day backpacking trip before embarking on a seven-day one. I'm grateful that I can face new situations with this perspective in mind. And hopefully I won't turn beet-red again anytime soon.
This conclusion is really good. It's a bit short, but it gives an example of this overarching theme of taking your time and starting small. Like doing a two-day backpacking trip before a weeklong one. Other examples of how to use this in the future are really important.
I think the one thing you could add here – like we mentioned before – is talking about how this can help you in college. You could mention taking a few classes instead of taking ten classes, or how this might help you in college: learning how this might start small and things. Some kind of future component would be good there.
But I think, overall, this is a good example of taking different examples, and making it apply to the future as well.
Tips on Structure
Sagrika Jawadi: And now some final tips on structure:
Open with an engaging hook – like this essay did, having a lot of sensory details.
Then provide background and context that lead up to the moment. The background is more for the hook, and the context is more for leading up to a moment.
Describe the moment and your realizations.
Reflect on the moment.
And then connect back to the hook, and/or look into the future.
The moment, and your reflection on the moment, should be the bulk of your essay – which was the case with this one, right? The “moment” was the parkour move. “Reflecting on the moment” was them reflecting on how taking small steps led to the accomplishment – and how that led them to think more about their experience as class president, and how they could have done better. That was still “reflecting on that moment.”
Editing tips
Sagrika Jawadi: And then some editing tips:
Once you have all your content, then choose a prompt.
And two-thirds of your essay should be the story. One-third should be reflection.
Remember why you're writing this essay, and what you're trying to tell the reader. [Cut anything that doesn’t help you do this.]
Read out loud to check for flow, and that it sounds like your voice.
Share your work with other people
And proofread. Don't [just] use Grammarly or something. Those are great, but also proofread yourself – to make sure that grammar and spelling are all good.
How can ILUMIN help?
Sagrika Jawadi: What ILUMIN does is we offer essay consulting with specialists – such as myself and Leonor. You'll get one-on-one coaching. And you'll get access to an essay boot camp – with a bunch of different resources and, like you saw here, us going through an essay piece by piece.
All the different factors we would also provide – whether it be the brainstorming stage or the editing stage. We provide support with any stage.
You can sign up directly on the website, and get started whenever you're ready. And we actually have a special promo going on this upcoming week: if you use the code KICKSTART, then you get $150 off for whatever package that you choose.
And then one other thing that I wanted to share about, is that not the next webinar, but the webinar after that – which will be on September 6th – we'll be doing live essay edits of submitted essays. You all will submit essays, and we will edit them on Zoom. We will not be putting up any identifying information, but your work will be edited live for other people to see.
Here’s the Google form to fill out to submit your essay to have a chance for it to be edited live.
Q&A
Sagrika Jawadi: We're just going to spend the last 20 minutes doing Q&A. I see that we do already have a few questions.
The first one is, “Is there a separate app for the UC, or do we write one Common App and share that with all?” There is a separate application platform for UCs, and there are separate essays that go along with that. So yeah. There are gonna be two different application platforms: one for all the UCs, and one for other colleges.
Leonor, do you want to take this next question?
Leonor Willis: Yeah. It says, “In what ways can we demonstrate personal growth: academically, socially etc. Is it possible to explicitly state how we grew?”
This is a good question. I think that you can definitely do it in both ways. Like in that example essay we had: how they had one section about student government, and then they had parkour. You could talk about personal growth academically and socially – if that applies to you and your situation.
You could focus on just one, also, depending on what your situation is. But there are definitely ways to add both, and have the theme be “growth” – if you want to do like that.
In terms of the second question, I think you can be explicit in how you state it. You want to be creative and visual – showing, not telling – but you can say, “This is what I learned from my situation.” It doesn't have to be subtle. This is your emphasis – your glue – so you can say it explicitly if you need to say it that way.
Sagrika Jawadi: I totally agree. And just to add: as long as you have evidence to back up that this is how you grew, you can definitely say it explicitly.
This other question: “Do you use first person for pretty much all college essays?”
Yes. You do use first person for pretty much all of them.
And you do not have to buy a package for the live essay edit session. It's gonna be another webinar like this one. However you accessed this one, you will also be able to access the next one in the same way. And you are definitely allowed to submit an essay even if you haven't bought a package.
“Have you ever suggested that a student come up with a different topic, as the first topic may not be significant enough to talk about?”
Yes. We do go over the topics that students choose, and evaluate whether they are appropriate, meaningful, and unique enough for the student to write an effective essay on. If we don't feel like that's the case – or we feel like it's an essay that many, many people write, and they don't really have a unique perspective on it – then we will ask them to choose a different topic, or ask them to look at that same experience from a different angle.
Leonor, do you have anything to add for that one?
Leonor Willis: I was just going to say – like you said before – any topic can be important and meaningful. I think it's not necessarily a whole different topic you need to pick, but just going about it in a different way: like a different angle. Making it more unique, or more meaningful.
It's usually not the topic itself that's bad. Just try tackling a different angle… and we can help you figure out the best way to write about it.
Sagrika Jawadi: Yes, a recording will be sent out.
The amount of essays you need to write really depends on the schools [to which you apply]. Some colleges have three supplemental essays. Even the word counts for those supplemental essays differ. It could be another 400-word essay, or sometimes it's just a short-answer 200-word essay. It really just depends on the schools.
A lot of times if you Google the school and “supplementals,” you're able to find last year's application and what they asked. Also, on the Common App, when you add in a school, you could go to that individual application and see how many supplemental questions they have.
Generally, it's one to three supplementals, but it really varies.
Leonor, do you want to answer this next one?
Leonor Willis: For the UCs, there are eight prompts and you pick four of them. I think they're all about 350 words – so a bit shorter than the Common App. You'd pick several of the prompts, depending on what works best for you, and submit all of those. It’s a bit different from the personal statement, but there’s a similar aspect of picking a few prompts that are similar in nature, and you just submit those instead of the one personal statement.
Sagrika Jawadi: Yeah, it's four essays, 350 words each. And it's okay if the topics overlap with what you write about for the Common App, because different colleges are getting those essays. So you can write about the same topic.
Okay, any other questions? Questions about what ILUMIN does? Questions about the Common App?
Good – question here for the Common App. Are there prompts that you suggest to stay away from (like [we gave in] our UC webinar)?
There are no prompts that we really suggest staying away from. We just suggest using caution if you are using prompt seven – which is, basically, “Write anything!” Because, like I said, you can easily not have a main point if you're not answering a prompt. That lack of structure can be difficult for a lot of students, and can hinder the quality of an essay.
That's the only thing that we would be wary about. But you could still make it work – if, truly, none of the other prompts are fitting, and you have a really great essay that would fit with prompt 7. Then you can definitely do that.
Leonor, you could take this question.
Leonor Willis: Yeah. This question is: “Is it a good idea to keep the essay simple and clear, or use big words?”
I think overall, as we mentioned, you want to be… not casual, but how you would usually talk. So it should seem natural. You shouldn't have to look up words you don't know or you don't usually use.
I think that you want to be a bit less casual than everyday language. You want to make it slow, and written in a format that works for an essay. But it should, overall, be pretty casual and conversational. Especially with the storytelling piece. Just how you would say it out loud, but in an essay format – not having to use any big words that you wouldn't know or don't usually use.
Sagrika Jawadi: You could take this next one too if you would like.
Leonor Willis: Yeah. This one says, “Does the process of writing essays get easier if you write more?” I definitely think the more you practice, you can get into the habit – especially for these personal essays, with the structure of “background,” and then “moment” and “reflection.”
And the more you reflect on different parts of your life, that will come easier for other topics – and you can [start to] see overlap between like one essay, and when you write about a different topic
So, definitely, it could get easier. And the more you brainstorm, that's gonna help as well.
Sagrika Jawadi: Generally, with these essays, the hardest part is just getting words on the page. Once you have that first draft, editing is a lot smoother and less difficult than getting words on the page initially. Because of that, it definitely gets easier the more and more you write and put things on paper.
This next question is: “How many hours do you typically spend with a student on the essay[s], taking into consideration all the rounds of edits?”
We generally recommend, if you want help with your UC PIQs – those four essays – and your Common App [essay], a ten-hour package would cover (from beginning to end) all of those essays. That could be 10 hours starting now and spread until November (when the UC PIQs are due), or even spread until January (when the Common App is due for some colleges).
We would recommend ten hours for those five essays. I believe the smallest package you could get is five hours. I would recommend emailing essays@ilumineducation.com if you have a lot of questions about that, because – as specialists – we don't know the details about the packages.
For me personally, for example, one round of edits – like if a student sent me an essay and then I sent it back to them – would take 15-30 minutes. You could also look at it that way. It [also] depends if we're starting from the brainstorming stage, and going from brainstorming all the way to final draft – then that's going to take more hours than someone who comes in with the second draft and wants to get to a final.
Any other questions?
Now is a good time to start working on your essays!
You want to brainstorm and think of a solid topic, and talk through that topic with someone, and – after getting that approved – do an outline, and then start drafting. As in summer before your senior year – because your apps are going to be due anywhere from the end of October to January of your senior year. If you start now, then you won't have as much to juggle with school in the fall.
I think we would want people who are submitting essays for the live college essay review to be seniors – so people who are submitting their application in this cycle. In the future, when you end up applying, you'd be able to submit an essay.
Any other questions?
If you have questions about the package, or getting hours to get essay help and essay support, you can email essays@ilumineducation.com.
And then the code is “start now” for 20% off if you purchase within the next week.
Okay, last call!
Awesome. Thank you all for joining us on this Sunday morning. I hope that information was helpful – and good luck with your college essays. Have a great rest of your weekend.