Write Your Way In ─ Crafting an Unforgettable College Admissions Essay

For college-bound students—and their parents—the personal essay can be one of the most stressful parts of the application process. The essay is supposed to give applicants a chance to distinguish themselves by letting their personalities shine. But too many students just write what they think admissions officers want to hear. This leads to an essay that’s generic, clichéd, and on its way to the reject pile. The real secret to writing your way in? Be honest and be yourself.

Rachel Toor knows what makes an essay stand out—as a former college admissions officer at Duke University, she has read thousands of these applications. Admissions officers are human, she reminds us, and they’re looking for applicants who truly connect instead of merely try to dazzle.

With Write Your Way In, Toor combines her experiences as an admissions officer and a writing teacher to demystify the essay writing process. She explains that the essay is one of the few steps that is fully within students’ control and shows that they already have the “secret sauce” for crafting a compelling personal essay: their own experiences rendered in their unique voices. Toor guides students through choosing a topic that is unforgettable without being gimmicky and then walks them through developing that concept into something that is honest, intimate, and compelling. She also offers specific and pragmatic tips on how to polish the essay until it shines. “Use words you actually say every day, not brand new ones suggested by a thesaurus,” she explains. “Good writing is about voice—your voice. Don’t contort yourself to sound like someone else.”

By taking some time to figure out who they are and what they care about, students can turn the essay-writing process into something that’s empowering instead of agonizing. With honesty and humor, Write Your Way In will help even the most nervous writers find and present the very best in themselves.

Rachel Toor is professor of creative writing at Eastern Washington University in Spokane. She is a columnist for the Chronicle of Higher Education and the author of many books including Admissions Confidential: An Insider’s Account of the Elite College Selection Process and On the Road to Find Out.