While I love AI tools for assistance with generating outlines, I hate them for generating ideas that lead to robotic college essays that students confuse with personal statements. Artificial intelligence, with emphasis on the artificial, is just that: manufactured not authentic. Recently I’ve seen an uptick of canned essays resulting in an application that lacks depth and sincerity, two attributes that admissions reps tell me they miss in the post Chap GPT- world.
Here are a few tips:
Find An Emotionally-Charged Moment
When I brainstorm with students, I excavate their lives, hoping to unearth that forgotten box in their metaphorical attic that holds treasures. A treasure could be painting the house with Dad or vintage thrifting with Mom or driving to school with a sibling or making a friend at a job. A parent just asked me if it’s ok for students to write essays about “normal” life. To me, every essay is an opportunity to make normal unique for that student. What’s wonderful about the CA Essay or a Personal Statement is that students can use the form to explore any topic as long as it elicits a feeling that an admissions committee reader can emotionally connect to.
Don’t Tire Out Your Idea
As soon as my students have a whiff of an idea, just a passing smell, I tell them to quickly begin writing, share drafts with me and bottle their thoughts to release as they go. We then can flesh them into memorable scenes together. I advise my students to try not talk a fresh topic idea to death. This “idea fatigue” sometimes comes when students discuss their essay with their parents, friends, relatives and teachers, receiving an overload of opinions; students can suddenly not like their topic anymore. They’ve worked out their narrative to such a degree that the magic of exploring on the page, discovering themselves as they draft, is gone. My coaching allows them to keep their ideas fresh and exciting.
Be Prepared to Chuck Your Essay and Start Again
At our Essay Brainstorm Session, some of my students announce that they’ve already chosen their CA Essay topic. Some even say they finished their essay during their junior year as part of a college prep or English curriculum. I say, fine, but I bet whatever you wrote won’t be the essay you submit in the fall. It’s not that I want my students to do extra tasks. What senior needs “busy work”? In my years of college counseling and essay coaching, I witness transformation: a student becomes a more seasoned thinker and writer in their rising senior summer. This maturity and sophistication infuse the senior’s application, resulting in a personal, can’t-put-down narrative.
O Students: dig deep, spend time drafting and craft a homemade college essay, one that leaves admissions reps thirsting for more!
MAY