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How to Write a College Essay: The Personal Statement and Writing Supplement
March 31, 2021 (Updated October 28, 2025) | Estimated Read Time: 8.5 Minutes
By Rachel Blakley
Whether you are applying to college through The Common Application or directly from the college’s website, you will be asked to write a college essay, sometimes called the personal statement essay.
Here, we will explore how to write a college essay you feel proud of by exploring tips from college admissions counselors, reviewing admission essay examples and common colleges essay prompts, and examining college essay examples from successful applicants.
Tips for Writing Application Essays: The Basics
Before we talk about tips for writing essays, let’s take a step back and talk about the process and how to start a college essay about yourself —especially if you're unsure how to start an essay about yourself in a way that feels authentic.
How to start a college essay early
It may be intimidating to sit in front of a blank computer page and start writing, so think about gathering your thoughts in a different format. Before you sit down to write, consider taking notes on your phone or on sticky notes around your room as ideas come to you. When you do sit down to write, try laying out your ideas in an outline first and then draft it into complete sentences later. Breaking down the process in this way can be less daunting and will allow you to focus on the topic and the most important part of the essay—YOU!
How to write a college essay: Schedule time to write
No matter how hard you try, there will always be something that seems more pressing than sitting down to write your college essay. As you prepare for your college application process, schedule time into your day to write. Find a quiet, distraction-free space, and write your thoughts down. Whether you just work on a few sentences or you’re able to write the bulk of your essay, you’ll be glad you set time aside once it comes time to submit your applications.
How to write a college Essay: Read the instructions
This is the simplest yet possibly the most important part of the essay-writing process. You want to read each part of your application carefully, including the essay prompt, especially if you're wondering how to write an essay with a prompt that feels authentic and personal. If you submit something that doesn’t follow directions, the admissions counselors may assume you won’t know how to follow directions, and it could affect your chances of getting into your desired school.
The Most Common Personal Statement Essay: The Common Application
The Common Application, known as Common App, is accepted by more than 900 schools, and helps streamline the tedious process of applying for colleges. Information, including your name, address, grades, extracurriculars, and parental employment, will just be entered one time so you don’t have to spend extra time inputting this in multiple applications.
It’s a good idea to start your Common Application around August 1, when applications open. This will give you enough time to get all of your background information in and explore any questions you have before you get ready to start your senior year. The essay you will write in the Common App will be used by all colleges you choose to apply to, so it’s important to keep your essay broad but specific to yourself.
When you apply via the Common Application, you will be asked to write an essay responding to one of seven prompts. Looking up common app essay examples or a common app sample essay can help you understand how others have successfully approached these prompts.
Understanding how to write university application essay responses that align with these prompts is key to standing out. Be sure to read each prompt carefully and choose the one that speaks to you the most or the one you feel you have the most to write about.
Editing the College Essay: Dos and Don’ts
Before we get into tips for writing essays, we want to make sure we don’t skip over an important step in the writing process. It is essential that you go into your essay-writing process with the expectation that you will write multiple drafts of your essay. If you're looking for tips for writing application essays or college application essay help, one piece of advice is to embrace the editing process and revise your drafts thoroughly. Admissions counselors are expecting your best work, so you don’t want to submit a first draft.
There are many options when it comes to editing your essay. You can have a parent or guardian read your essay (if you feel they can give good feedback), you could seek outside help from a paid service, and you can ask peers or teachers to help edit your essay. Any of these choices can be a good option but just be sure to not let anyone overedit your essay. You still want it to sound like yourself.
Things to look for when editing your essay
Edits can be done in a couple of rounds, and while you want to make sure your essay is perfect, that doesn’t mean each draft needs to be perfect. Your first draft should get all of your ideas onto paper. Your second draft should sharpen up your ideas and focus on your content. Show, don't tell. Your third and final draft should be checked for grammatical errors, spelling, and punctuation.
When you receive feedback from someone editing your essay, take each suggestion for what it is—a suggestion. The important things to remember are to keep the essay in your voice, the way you would say it, and not to let someone rewrite your essay for you.
College Essay Tips from Admissions Counselors
What do colleges look for in essays? When you’re learning how to write a college essay, it can be helpful to hear directly from the source who will be reading your work and college essay tips from admission counselors can offer valuable insights. We talked to Jared Pierce, Director of Undergraduate Admission, who offered tips for writing essays.
- “Keep it simple. My favorite essays have consistently been those essays that are about the seemingly most mundane and ordinary aspects of an applicant’s life—it is these topics that often showcase a student in the best light.”
- “Don’t write what you think we want to hear, write about YOU—your passions, what excites you, life experiences that have shaped you into the young adult you’ve become.”
- “Use the essays as an opportunity to share something about yourself that you may not already have shared in the rest of your application.”
- “It’s all about the hook! A catchy opening line, when used properly, can do wonders for an essay, baiting the reader to hang on the edge of every sentence.”
- “Don’t restrict yourself with the traditional three- or five-paragraph essay. This is a great opportunity to express yourself creatively and take some risks. Structure your essay in the way that you feel will best tell your story!”
- “Choose a topic that might not be as easy to see in your application.” Maybe you have a hobby that doesn’t show up on your transcript. Your essay is the place to talk about that passion and show your authentic self.
- “Don’t stress.”
This advice is especially helpful when tackling colleges essay prompts that ask you to reflect on personal growth or challenges. Understanding what colleges look for in essays can help you focus your story on the qualities that matter most.
The Babson Writing Supplements
When you apply to Babson with The Common Application you will be asked to submit two writing supplements in response to the following prompts:
The Babson education prepares students for all types of careers across business, entrepreneurship, social innovation, and more. Tell us about your interest in this area of study and in Babson specifically.
You are invited to respond with either a traditional essay (500 words maximum) OR a one-minute video. Whichever you choose, no preference is given to either format in admission decisions. If you're unsure how to write a “why us” essay, focus on what excites you about Babson’s unique approach to business and entrepreneurship.
A defining element of the Babson experience is learning and thriving in an equitable and inclusive community with a wide range of perspectives, experiences, and interests. Please share something about your background, lived experiences, or viewpoint(s) that speaks to: (1) your commitment to promoting access, connection, or understanding across differences; and/or (2) how you will contribute to and learn from Babson's collaborative community.
Please respond to this prompt with an essay (250 words maximum).
Good Communication Skills Are Critical to Your Success
Whether you’ve come here for college application essay help, want to know how to write a personal essay and explore admission essay examples or college essay examples, or are interested in Babson College’s admissions process and undergraduate business school, we encourage you to check out Babson’s one-of-a-kind undergraduate education that balances action, experimentation, and creativity. Babson’s undergraduate education emphasizes real-world learning and innovation, making it one of the top undergraduate business programs in the country.
Effective communication is critical in business. Babson offers highly regarded courses in writing and public speaking to prepare our students for the challenges of the business world so that they are best equipped to lead.
Learn more about Babson College admission requirements.
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Sources
U.S. News & World Report
https://www.usnews.com/education/best-colleges/articles/how-to-write-a-college-essay
https://www.usnews.com/education/best-colleges/articles/common-app
https://www.usnews.com/education/best-colleges/articles/2019-04-24/college-essay-examples-how-to-write-your-story
Tufts
About the Author
Rachel Blakley is a copywriter and digital marketing professional. An alumna of Purdue University, she has worked with startups, associations, direct-to-consumer businesses, and B2B brands across the country to improve their content strategy.
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