During the How to Write a College Essay summer camp, Lynn Holcomb, Senior Associate Dean of Admission at Colgate University, answered our campers’ burning questions about the college essay. She has graciously agreed to share her wisdom on the Write the World blog.
The interview below has been edited for length and clarity.
What is the role of the college essay?
The role of the college essay is really, really quite simple. It’s to introduce the person behind the application. This is the human part of the application, and I want you to keep that in mind in every part of the process.
Colleges tend to do holistic admissions, which look at all of the parts of your application to create a total summary of who you are as a person. We do not want to define you by that one class where you struggled in 10th grade. That’s not how we make a decision. It’s going to be the sum of all of your parts. The essay is just one of those pieces, and the essay really connects the dots.
Think about it this way. When you submit the application, it’s sort of two-dimensional. You've got the academic pieces, your personal activities, and things you can't control. The college essay, the personal statement, teacher recommendations—that’s what makes your essay three-dimensional. This is going to bring you to life.
The academic history and the personal profile provide what you did and what you achieved through academic talents, interests, and passions. The essay explains the how and why, and it allows us to see your character.
Do admission officers prioritize writing quality or the content?
Both are important. Content is definitely more important, as long as it shows your character.
And I'm going to let you in on a little bit of a secret. About 80% of the college essays we read are fine. There are 10% that are absolutely knocking it out of the park, and another 10% that give us a little bit of pause, particularly regarding their writing ability.
This is hard work. It's hard to choose a topic, be self-aware, and do reflective writing. This doesn't need to be perfect, but it does need to be honest and insightful. It needs to allow us to understand who you are.
How long do you spend reading an essay?
We probably don't spend more than a minute or two reading your essay. We're effective and efficient readers. If it's written well, we shouldn't need more time than that.
What are the different types of college essays?
The most common college essay is the personal statement. This is the how and why of who you are.
The second type of essay is the supplemental essay which may be requested by colleges. The supplemental essays assess how your character, identity, and academic interests are going to be a fit for a specific college.
Your third writing space is the additional information section. This is a less well-known part of the application that allows the students to share information in an open text box. You may want to consider this as an option as you're determining the content of your personal statement because there may be information that you want the reader to know.
For example, I spoke to a prospective student who was struggling with a close friend’s death during his junior year. It impacted his grades and participation, and it was a really tough emotion that he wasn't quite ready to express in detail. We talked about including that information in the additional information section, so as a reader, we would be aware that this relatively recent experience had an impact on him. He could still use the personal statement to let us know who he is beyond this one difficult challenge.
Think about what parts of your identity and character that you want to show in the application process, and where they fit in the various options that are available.
Should I include details about engineering (or your academic interests) in my essay?
Essays should present your voice and character. Focus on why and how engineering is important to you; that will allow us to see your character. Is it that you like the challenge of the puzzle? Is it that you like critical thinking? Is it that you're organized and concrete in how you approach problem sets?
I am seldom going to say that any topic is off-limits, but make sure the topic is discussed in a way that gets at character and values because that's the purpose of the personal statement.
Is it discouraged for a student's reflection in an essay to include academic achievements to prove how they've changed?
This one's a little bit more sensitive because you can do this if you answer the question, what do you want us to learn that is specific to you?
To say, “I really struggled in my math classes, but I got additional help, and now I'm doing better,” that is actually a standard progression.
But if you say, “I was really struggling with this class, and I was able to take advantage of additional sources. Now I've realized the value of mentoring, and this has impacted four other things I've done,” that's a very different story.
How should I handle supplemental applications?
Colleges want to see, in very specific ways, that you understand the qualities of the school, and how their learning environment and campus community is a match for your interests.
For example, students may share that they are applying to Colgate because they want a liberal arts, broad-based approach to education. There are so many liberal arts colleges in the country; that is not specific to Colgate at all. If an individual said, “I want to attend Colgate because they have a residential commons program and I love the tradition of the Colgate Hello,” that would help us see that they know our institution’s identity and values.
How do I choose a college essay topic?
Do not overthink the essay topic.
The biggest misconception is that admissions officers expect you to have done something spectacular. We simply are expecting you to be 17- or 18-year-olds.
Not everyone has really been challenged by adversity or has succeeded against odds. Some people haven't had challenges. Some people have had way too many. Some people are rule followers; some people are creative. Some people are funny. It does not matter what your life journey has been, but you're unique.
We're building a community, and your character matters. You matter.
Okay, but what do I write about?
Spend time answering the question: what do I want people to know about me? If you can't figure that out easily, ask your friends, parents, and people that are important to you in your life: what do you think my best qualities are?
What makes an essay stand out?
It's the clear voice, and it's teenage writing. We really like 17-year-old writing. We want you to be who you are at this point in your process.
What are some do’s?
Write like a 17- or 18-year-old.
Show, don’t tell.
Be honest and vulnerable. The personal statement is not just about getting into college; it's about getting into the right college that is the right match for who you are, not who you think you want to be, or that we want you to be.
Write on a topic that you're emotionally ready to handle. It is hard to be reflective when you are still emotionally vulnerable about the experience. The pitfall there is that people write about the issue, and not the reflection and outcome.
Pay attention to the word limit. Make every sentence count.
Proofread aloud.
Ask someone you don't know to read your essay, and ask them to tell you what they learned about you. If they can't answer that succinctly, you haven't quite hit the mark yet on your personal statement.
What are some don’ts?
AI can be used to brainstorm, but don't use AI to write your essay. You will lose your voice if you turn over the personal statement to anyone else. Right now, AI is not incredibly skilled at reflective writing.
Make sure your writing does not send contradictory messages. This can create red flags when it doesn't align with other parts of your application, and this most commonly occurs when other people are editing things out and telling you better ways to present yourself.
Don't write what you think you want us to hear. Be honest in the process.
About Lynn Holcomb
Lynn Holcomb is a veteran admissions leader at Colgate University dedicated to student recruitment, access, and enrollment success.
About the author
As a College Essay Advisor at Write the World, Vivian Zhi supports high school students through their college application journey. Vivian looks forward to helping young writers find themselves through their writing.