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How to Write a College Application Essay: What’s it All About?

By Tania Runyan 7 Comments

Teenage Blonds How to Write a College Essay

First Things First: Take It Off Your Stress List

As a private writing, reading, and college test prep tutor over the past 15 years, I’ve witnessed some. . .stress. Parents wanting their kids to study for the SAT as early as sixth grade. Students Skyping me in-between violin and swim practice to wrangle out topic sentences comparing Atticus Finch to Abraham Lincoln. Copies of The Scarlet Letter flung across the room in frustration. (Okay, I confess).

So why would I add to the academic anxiety by suggesting that high schoolers start thinking about their college applications as early as their junior, sophomore, or even freshman year?

***

For a full discussion of the special nature of the college application essay and why you should consider starting early, see the rest of this article in Chapter 1 of our title How to Write a College Application Essay: Expert Advice to Help You Get Into the College of Your Dreams.

Photo by Tammy McGary,  Creative Commons, via Flickr. Post by Tania Runyan, author of How to Read a Poem and How to Write a Poem.

___________

TR-How to Write a College Application Essay Front Cover 300 highProviding everything a student needs to go from draft to polished essay, the instruction in How to Write a College Application Essay is straightforward, easy to apply, and inspiring. Includes sample essays from students who got into the colleges of their dreams.

“How to Write a College Application Essay is a valuable resource that I enthusiastically recommend to my students and their families.” —Lisa Scanio, High School Counselor, Adlai Stevenson High School

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Tania Runyan
Tania Runyan
Tania Runyan lives in Lindenhurst, Illinois, a sort-of suburb, sort-of small town, where the deer and the minivans play. She's a 2011 NEA fellow and mama to four poetry books—A Thousand Vessels, Simple Weight, Delicious Air, and What Will Soon Take Place—and three (much cuter and noisier) human children. Tania is also the author of five non-fiction books—Making Peace with Paradise, How To Read a Poem, How to Write a Poem, How to Write a Form Poem, and How to Write a College Application Essay. Visit her at TaniaRunyan.com
Tania Runyan
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Filed Under: Blog, College, Creative Non-Fiction, English Teaching Resources, How to Write a College Application Essay

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About Tania Runyan

Tania Runyan lives in Lindenhurst, Illinois, a sort-of suburb, sort-of small town, where the deer and the minivans play. She's a 2011 NEA fellow and mama to four poetry books—A Thousand Vessels, Simple Weight, Delicious Air, and What Will Soon Take Place—and three (much cuter and noisier) human children. Tania is also the author of five non-fiction books—Making Peace with Paradise, How To Read a Poem, How to Write a Poem, How to Write a Form Poem, and How to Write a College Application Essay. Visit her at TaniaRunyan.com

Comments

  1. Bethany R. says

    April 15, 2016 at 10:42 am

    Great point about being the best version of your unique self. You want to get matched with a school you’re comfortable in for the long haul.

    Reply
  2. Donna says

    April 17, 2016 at 6:57 pm

    I love this and will definitely share with others! I have friends who teach high school students and this will be a great and maybe even soothing piece for them, as teachers who are advising and mentoring students. 🙂

    “If you’ve done all you can to let your best self shine on the page, but you don’t make it into that “dream” school, maybe that school wasn’t so dreamy in the first place.”

    Beautiful words. I love that sentence! 😉

    Reply

Trackbacks

  1. How to Write a College Application Essay: So What Kind of Writing Is This? - says:
    April 29, 2016 at 10:19 am

    […] How to Write a College Application Essay: What’s It All About? […]

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  2. How to Write a College Application Essay: Revising, Editing, and Proofreading - says:
    July 7, 2016 at 11:16 am

    […] How to Write a College Application Essay: What’s It All About? […]

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  3. How to Write a College Application Essay: Some Final Thoughts - says:
    July 15, 2016 at 8:00 am

    […] I said back in the second post, with planning, strategy, and plenty of time, you’ll find this essay to be among the best work […]

    Reply
  4. How to Write a College Application Essay: Choosing a Topic - says:
    July 20, 2016 at 9:07 pm

    […] How to Write a College Application Essay: What’s It All About? […]

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  5. How to Write a College Application Essay: Starting to Write - says:
    September 20, 2016 at 12:28 pm

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