as a college student essay

College Essay Tips for First-Gen Students

tl;dr: Writing a first-gen student essay can be a daunting task, but it's an amazing opportunity to showcase your personality and be the host of your own immersive world. Start by choosing a challenge you have faced as a first-gen student and then outline why it was significant, what you learned, and how others can learn from it. Make sure to captivate your audience with a strong introduction, add immersive descriptions, and talk about your future in the conclusion. Don't forget to ask for help from teachers and peers to edit your essay for grammar and feedback!

What is a First-Generation Student?

A first-generation student is someone who is the first generation in their family to attend a 4-year college or university. This can encompass many different types of students from diverse backgrounds.  While some of these students' families may have been living in the United States for a long time, others may have been born in the U.S. to immigrant parents 👪 or a naturalized American citizen.

For more information about first-gen students, check out this article from CollegeVine !

What is a First-Gen Student Essay?

A first-generation student essay is different from a regular college essay because the reader wants to hear about the struggles you experience as a first-gen student. First-gen essays are mostly found in scholarship prompts but can be used as your personal essay on the Common or Coalition Application. Being that these prompts are found in scholarships, not all first-gens are required to write them! The prompts tend to follow the guideline of “describe a challenge you have faced as a result of being a first-gen student.” First-gen essays allow you to describe the aspects of your life that have been challenged due to being a first-gen and how those obstacles strengthened 💪 your spirit; in this essay, you have the chance to highlight your culture first hand.

Although these are not first-gen student essays, reading these sample essays can help you understand essay structure and brainstorm essay topics !

How to Structure Your First-Gen Student Essay

Most of the time, first-gen essays are found in scholarship prompts, meaning that other students might face the same struggles as you. What’s important to remember 💭is how you flourished despite those struggles or moments, how the lessons learned have altered your future, and how you can use your growth to benefit others. This essay is more than an “essay”; it's an opportunity to exhibit your personality and be the host of your own immersive world the reader will want to come back to. It’s your moment to pull a Gatsby, throw an elaborate party to win the heart of Daisy–even if you die at the end 👀, at least the party holds your memory.  

The first step in developing your essay is choosing your tribulation or a moment of struggle in your life that has stayed with you. In an outline 📝, describe why this event was significant, what you learned, how others can learn from this, and how you might have approached the situation differently. These questions will get you thinking, and hopefully, you can produce at least five solid ideas. From those thoughts, you can cross some moments out.

During this process, it is essential to remember 🧠 that every moment you experienced has value. Crossing out a moment on a list doesn’t mean it’s being crossed out of your life; these moments have made you strong and better prepared for your future. You know you have chosen the right moment when you can write a “novel long” 📖 description of it; however, if the key lesson you learned is omitted from your “novel,” try again.

Now that you have a topic, it is time to captivate the reader. Just like in every English class, you need a strong opening statement! Your essay can be well written but a waste if there’s no eye-catching, breath-holding, heart-racing 😯 intro. This is probably the most important and equally tricky aspect of your essay, so you should designate a decent amount of time and attention to your introduction. You might not get it on the first try, but it’s ok! That is why the delete ❎ key exists.

Once you have your intro, it's time for your essay’s body, meat, and party. Your reader is your guest and if you don’t have the “perfect” theme, guests, food, music, party favors, they’re going to leave unsatisfied eventually. Although you might have all these party 🎉 plans in your head, they aren’t executed in the “real world” until you make it real! In this step, you describe your story, add immersive descriptions, make the reader feel as though they are living your struggles–the highs and the lows included. Don’t leave them wanting a cake slice 🍰. Although this is your opportunity to write a “sob story,” remember that what will make you stand out is the growth you have learned, achieved, and will continue to follow. How did your growth benefit you, your community, your future? Although you are creating a “perfect” party, you still want the reader to come back to celebrate 🙌 with you again.

As with all parties, your essay must come to an end, so make sure the guests are leaving satisfied! To close off your essay, talk about your future. Don’t stray from the lessons and personal growth 🌱 you have achieved. Talk about how you will follow through and use what you learned to uplift and inspire others. You’re the host of the party, and you always want your guests to leave on a positive note.

Tips to Remember

Continuing with the party analogy, although other people might host the same party, it’s imperative to put your own 💃 spin on it. You and another host might have the same theme, but what do you have that they don’t? These essays allow you to show off your personality and your challenges in a manner of different ways.

Being a first-gen student myself, I understand the difficulty in opening up and revealing your tribulations, pain, and vulnerability. However, readers are eager to read about your life–writing a first-gen essay allows you to present a personal glimpse of who you are 🤩.

It’s important to understand that good writing is not only about grammar; many first-gen students learned English as their second language. What's important is the effectiveness in delivering your ideas clearly and being able to communicate 🗣 effectively. After you write your essay, ask a teacher or a peer to edit your essay in order to better your grammar or receive comments that better strengthen your essay.

During this entire writing process, don't listen to the pessimistic voice 🙊 in your head, no matter how persistent it may be. That voice inside you roots from the unnecessary burden of centuries before you. This process might make you question your life, value, or identity, but what matters is that after every struggle you've marched on with your pride intact and spirits high, shaping who you are today. This may be a stressful moment, but you owe it to yourself to step back and relax 🧘. After all, the best parties always have a host that is enjoying themselves as well. Happy writing!  

For more tips about college essay writing, watch this video !

Next, check out these great TikToks and tweets for advice about the college application process!

Guide Outline

Related content, first-gen: preparing for the college application, what extracurriculars should high school sophomores do, college checklist: what to accomplish in your junior year, 5 goals for your freshman year of high school, 10 goals for your freshman year of high school.

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College Essays That Worked: See Examples

Experts say a good college essay features a student's voice and personality.

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Students should know themselves and write authoritatively so they can share a sense of their lives with admissions officers.

Many college applications require a personal essay, which can be daunting for students to write.

But a few simple tips, some introspection and insight into what admissions officers are looking for can help ease the pressure. U.S. News has compiled several college essay examples that helped students get into school. Shared by admissions staff or referenced from admissions websites, these essays stand out, they say, because the student voices shine, helping the school get to know the applicants.

"Students can get caught in the trap of overthinking it and write the essay that's going to impress the admissions committee," says Andrew Strickler, dean of admission and financial aid at Connecticut College . "The best essays, the ones that really pop, are the ones that come across as authentic and you really hear the student's voice."

The essay gives schools a feel for how a student writes, but it's the content of the essay that matters most, admissions professionals say. In other words, while it's important to showcase sound grammar and writing, it's even more important to showcase your character and personality.

"I care more about their stories than if it is a perfect five paragraph essay," David Graves, interim director of admissions at the University of Georgia , wrote in an email.

Many schools give students a wide range of topics to choose from, which experts say can be beneficial in helping students find their voice.

While you want your voice to be apparent, it's wise to be aware of your tone, says Allen Koh, CEO of Cardinal Education, an admissions consulting company that works with students to craft and revise their college essays. The goal of the essay is to make a strong case for why you’re different from all the other applicants, not necessarily why you’re better, he adds.

"You have to pass the genuine likability test. Sometimes kids are so busy trying to brag or tell their story that they’re forgetting they have to sound like a likable person. That’s a very simple test, but it’s really important."

Good essays tend to be "positively emotional," he says. It's best to avoid using sarcasm because it tends to fail on college essays.

Any humor used "really has to be a very positive, witty humor, not sarcastic," which he says can be hard to pick up on in an essay.

The Perils of Using AI for Essays

Choosing the right tone can be a challenge for many students, but admissions pros encourage them not to take shortcuts to completing their essay.

Though some college professors have embraced artificial intelligence tools like ChatGPT in their classrooms, Strickler says he's begun to stress in recent talks with high school audiences the importance of original work and avoiding the use of AI tools like ChatGPT to craft college essays. While it might produce a technically well-written essay and save time, your unique voice will be stripped away, and it may leave a bad impression on admissions offices as well as prevent them from truly getting to know you, he says.

Instead, Graves says, start early and take time to write it yourself, then "actually read it out loud to someone ... to listen to the rhythm and words as they are 'read.'"

Each spring on his admissions blog , Graves shares an enrolling student's essay and why it was strong. The essay excerpted below, shared with the permission of the University of Georgia, uses descriptive word choice and gives the admissions office deep insight into the student's life, their love for writing and their connection to their family, Graves says.

It was chosen as an example "to show our applicant pool how to express themselves through similes, sensory language (words that capture the senses of the reader), and emotion," Graves wrote on the blog.

Here's how the essay opened:

If you asked me what object I’d save in a burning fire, I’d save my notebook. My notebook isn’t just any notebook, it’s bubble gum pink with purple tie dye swirls, and has gold coil binding it together. But more importantly, it’s the key that unlocked my superpower, sending me soaring into the sky, flying high above any problems that could ever catch me. However, my notebook is simply the key. My real power rests in the depths of my mind, in my passion for writing. But to know how my powers came to be (not from a spider or a special rock), I must travel back to the first spark.

Four years ago, I wrote my first 6-word memoir in my eighth-grade rhetoric class. Inspired by my father’s recently diagnosed terminal illness, I wrote “Take his words, don’t take him”. It was as if all the energy of my powers surged into six meaningful words meant to honor the man that I would soon lose to a villain known as ALS. This was the first time I felt my writing. Three years ago, my dad’s disease severely progressed. The ALS seized his ability to speak and locked it in a tower with no key. The only way we could communicate was with an old spiral notebook. ...

The essay counted down each year ("three years ago," "two years ago," etc.) and concluded with this paragraph:

One month ago, I needed my powers more than ever before. I needed them to convey who I truly am for the chance at the future of my dreams as a writer. Except this time, I didn’t need the key because my powers grew into fruition. Instead, I opened my laptop only to type out one sentence… “If you asked me what object to save in a burning fire, I’d save my notebook.”

This style of storytelling, which shows not just the triumph at the end but also the conflict, struggle and evolution in between, makes for great essays, Koh says.

"The student also used an intriguing timeline (counting down years and month) to tell their story, and showed how she had grown," Graves says.

This next essay, by an anonymous writer and shared on Connecticut College 's admissions page , "manages to capture multiple aspects of the writer's personality, while not becoming overly cluttered or confusing," writes Susanna Matthews, associate director of admission at the school.

Every person who truly knows me believes that I was born in the wrong century. They call me "an old soul" because I'm a collector, attracted to books, antiques, vinyl records and anything from the 80's. But they also think I am unique in other ways. I believe it is because of the meaningful connections to my two languages and two cultures.

When we moved into our first American house, I was excited to decorate my new room. The first thing I knew I needed was a place to organize my most cherished possessions I have collected throughout my life. I searched and finally found a bookshelf with twenty-five thick sections that I could build and organize alphabetically ... Each shelf holds important objects from different parts of my life. ...

These books are a strong connection to my Brazilian heritage. They also remind me of the time when I was growing up in Brazil, as a member of a large Italian-Brazilian family.

The writer continues on, describing the types of books on each shelf, from Harry Potter to books used to learn English. They describe the bottom of the bookshelf housing some of their most prized possessions, like an old typewriter their grandfather gave them. They wonder about the words it has crafted and stories it has told.

As I grab my favorite Elvis vinyl to play, I can only wonder about the next chapter of my life. I look forward to adding new books, new friends, and a wide variety of experiences to my bookshelf.

"By placing one subject (the bookshelf) at the center of the piece, it lends some flexibility to layer in much more detail than if they had tried to discuss a few different interests in the essay," Matthews writes. "You learn a lot about the person, in a way that isn't in your face – a great thing when trying to write a personal essay."

Some colleges require a supplemental essay in addition to the personal statement. Typically, admissions pros note, these essays are shorter and focus on answering a specific question posed by the college.

The University of Chicago in Illinois allows students to submit essay prompts as inspiration for the admissions office and gives students some latitude in how they answer them. Essay prompts range from questions about the school itself to asking students to pick a question from a song title or lyric and give their best shot at answering it.

"We think of them as an opportunity for students to tell us about themselves, their tastes, and their ambitions," the school's admissions website reads. "They can be approached with utter seriousness, complete fancy, or something in between."

While the University of Chicago says there is no strict word limit on its supplemental essays, other schools prefer brevity. For example, Stanford University in California asks students to answer several short questions, with a 50-word limit, in addition to answering three essay questions in 100 to 250 words.

Georgia asks for a school-specific supplemental essay that's 200-300 words in addition to a 250- to 650-word personal essay.

"Sometimes a shorter essay response is not as polished an essay, but instead is a more casual, more relaxed essay," Graves says. "In addition, sometimes a student needs to get to the point or be concise, and this helps see if they can give us their story without overdoing it."

Other schools allow for a little more creativity in how the supplemental essay questions are answered. Babson College in Massachusetts, for example, gives students a 500-word limit to answer a prompt, or they can choose to submit a one-minute video about why they chose to apply to the school.

One student, Gabrielle Alias, chose to film a "day-in-the-life" video , which she narrated to answer the prompt, "Who Am I?"

"Visiting campus twice, I know I could see myself as one of the many interesting, innovative, and enticing students that come out of Babson," she says in the video. "But who am I you ask? I am a student. I am a reader. I am a researcher. I am a music lover. ... I am Gabrielle Alias and I am excited for who I will be as a graduate of Babson."

An essay by Babson student Bessie Shiroki, seen below, describes her experience in the school's admissions office and how she immediately felt comfortable.

I immediately smiled at the sight of my favorite board game. Babsonopoly. I love the combination of strategy and luck in this traditional family pastime. Seeing this on the wall in the admissions office gave me immediate comfort; I knew I was home.

Shiroki describes what she felt set Babson College apart from other schools, such as being surrounded by "sophisticated and mature individuals" and a tight-knit, entrepreneurial environment that would help her reach her career goals.

It is natural for me to be in a small class where more than one language is spoken. I am accustomed to discussions with diverse viewpoints, open minds, and where differences are seen as advantages. I embrace my cultural uniqueness, and I will add my voice to the community. I can’t imagine not continuing this in college.

She notes that as she toured the campus and saw students studying, she could see herself as one of them, feeding off of their studious and entrepreneurial energy. She mentions that Babson's Foundations of Management and Entrepreneurship class got her attention immediately and she saw it as a launch pad for a future that included running a business.

Babson recognizes the potential of their students, and FME is a great way for young entrepreneurs like me to find our place in the business world and learn from our mistakes. I am capable of this challenge and will conquer it with tenacity. I will bring my dedication, commitment, and innovative skills to Babson College.

Now it’s my turn to pass go and collect my Babson acceptance letter. I’ve found my next challenge.

Babson College offers several tips for what make good essays, including a strong "hook" to engage the reader from the start and a topic that allows you to share something that's not as obvious on your application.

When it comes to writing a college admissions essay – whether personal or supplemental – experts advise students to follow these rules:

• Find your voice.
• Write about a topic that matters to you.
• Share your personality.
• Express yourself.
• Proofread extensively.

With both traditional essays and supplemental essays, Koh says it's best to write long and work with someone you trust to edit it down. Teachers, friends and parents can all be helpful proofreaders, but experts note that the student voice should remain intact.

A good editor can help edit a long essay to keep the main message but with fewer words. “If I see 400 words, I know I’m a dozen drafts away from getting it to 650,” he says. “If I see 1200 words, we might just be one or two away. It’s at least going to be a shorter haul.”

Strickler encourages students not to stress too much over the essay or put unnecessary weight on it as part of their college application . While a strong essay helps, he says, it doesn't make or break an application.

"There's this sense that you write the most amazing essay and it gets you over the top because it opens the door to the pathway to the Magic Kingdom," he says. "But it's just one piece of a myriad of pieces that allow us to get to know a particular student and help us figure out if they're a good fit and how they're going to contribute to our community."

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Sat / act prep online guides and tips, getting college essay help: important do's and don’ts.

College Essays

If you grow up to be a professional writer, everything you write will first go through an editor before being published. This is because the process of writing is really a process of re-writing —of rethinking and reexamining your work, usually with the help of someone else. So what does this mean for your student writing? And in particular, what does it mean for very important, but nonprofessional writing like your college essay? Should you ask your parents to look at your essay? Pay for an essay service?

If you are wondering what kind of help you can, and should, get with your personal statement, you've come to the right place! In this article, I'll talk about what kind of writing help is useful, ethical, and even expected for your college admission essay . I'll also point out who would make a good editor, what the differences between editing and proofreading are, what to expect from a good editor, and how to spot and stay away from a bad one.

Table of Contents

What Kind of Help for Your Essay Can You Get?

What's Good Editing?

What should an editor do for you, what kind of editing should you avoid, proofreading, what's good proofreading, what kind of proofreading should you avoid.

What Do Colleges Think Of You Getting Help With Your Essay?

Who Can/Should Help You?

Advice for editors.

Should You Pay Money For Essay Editing?

The Bottom Line

What's next, what kind of help with your essay can you get.

Rather than talking in general terms about "help," let's first clarify the two different ways that someone else can improve your writing . There is editing, which is the more intensive kind of assistance that you can use throughout the whole process. And then there's proofreading, which is the last step of really polishing your final product.

Let me go into some more detail about editing and proofreading, and then explain how good editors and proofreaders can help you."

Editing is helping the author (in this case, you) go from a rough draft to a finished work . Editing is the process of asking questions about what you're saying, how you're saying it, and how you're organizing your ideas. But not all editing is good editing . In fact, it's very easy for an editor to cross the line from supportive to overbearing and over-involved.

Ability to clarify assignments. A good editor is usually a good writer, and certainly has to be a good reader. For example, in this case, a good editor should make sure you understand the actual essay prompt you're supposed to be answering.

Open-endedness. Good editing is all about asking questions about your ideas and work, but without providing answers. It's about letting you stick to your story and message, and doesn't alter your point of view.

Think of an editor as a great travel guide. It can show you the many different places your trip could take you. It should explain any parts of the trip that could derail your trip or confuse the traveler. But it never dictates your path, never forces you to go somewhere you don't want to go, and never ignores your interests so that the trip no longer seems like it's your own. So what should good editors do?

Help Brainstorm Topics

Sometimes it's easier to bounce thoughts off of someone else. This doesn't mean that your editor gets to come up with ideas, but they can certainly respond to the various topic options you've come up with. This way, you're less likely to write about the most boring of your ideas, or to write about something that isn't actually important to you.

If you're wondering how to come up with options for your editor to consider, check out our guide to brainstorming topics for your college essay .

Help Revise Your Drafts

Here, your editor can't upset the delicate balance of not intervening too much or too little. It's tricky, but a great way to think about it is to remember: editing is about asking questions, not giving answers .

Revision questions should point out:

• Places where more detail or more description would help the reader connect with your essay
• Places where structure and logic don't flow, losing the reader's attention
• Places where there aren't transitions between paragraphs, confusing the reader
• Moments where your narrative or the arguments you're making are unclear

But pointing to potential problems is not the same as actually rewriting—editors let authors fix the problems themselves.

Bad editing is usually very heavy-handed editing. Instead of helping you find your best voice and ideas, a bad editor changes your writing into their own vision.

You may be dealing with a bad editor if they:

• Add material (examples, descriptions) that doesn't come from you
• Use a thesaurus to make your college essay sound "more mature"
• Add meaning or insight to the essay that doesn't come from you
• Tell you what to say and how to say it
• Write sentences, phrases, and paragraphs for you
• Change your voice in the essay so it no longer sounds like it was written by a teenager

Colleges can tell the difference between a 17-year-old's writing and a 50-year-old's writing. Not only that, they have access to your SAT or ACT Writing section, so they can compare your essay to something else you wrote. Writing that's a little more polished is great and expected. But a totally different voice and style will raise questions.

Where's the Line Between Helpful Editing and Unethical Over-Editing?

Sometimes it's hard to tell whether your college essay editor is doing the right thing. Here are some guidelines for staying on the ethical side of the line.

• An editor should say that the opening paragraph is kind of boring, and explain what exactly is making it drag. But it's overstepping for an editor to tell you exactly how to change it.
• An editor should point out where your prose is unclear or vague. But it's completely inappropriate for the editor to rewrite that section of your essay.
• An editor should let you know that a section is light on detail or description. But giving you similes and metaphors to beef up that description is a no-go.

Proofreading (also called copy-editing) is checking for errors in the last draft of a written work. It happens at the end of the process and is meant as the final polishing touch. Proofreading is meticulous and detail-oriented, focusing on small corrections. It sands off all the surface rough spots that could alienate the reader.

Because proofreading is usually concerned with making fixes on the word or sentence level, this is the only process where someone else can actually add to or take away things from your essay . This is because what they are adding or taking away tends to be one or two misplaced letters.

Laser focus. Proofreading is all about the tiny details, so the ability to really concentrate on finding small slip-ups is a must.

Excellent grammar and spelling skills. Proofreaders need to dot every "i" and cross every "t." Good proofreaders should correct spelling, punctuation, capitalization, and grammar. They should put foreign words in italics and surround quotations with quotation marks. They should check that you used the correct college's name, and that you adhered to any formatting requirements (name and date at the top of the page, uniform font and size, uniform spacing).

Limited interference. A proofreader needs to make sure that you followed any word limits. But if cuts need to be made to shorten the essay, that's your job and not the proofreader's.

A bad proofreader either tries to turn into an editor, or just lacks the skills and knowledge necessary to do the job.

Some signs that you're working with a bad proofreader are:

• If they suggest making major changes to the final draft of your essay. Proofreading happens when editing is already finished.
• If they aren't particularly good at spelling, or don't know grammar, or aren't detail-oriented enough to find someone else's small mistakes.
• If they start swapping out your words for fancier-sounding synonyms, or changing the voice and sound of your essay in other ways. A proofreader is there to check for errors, not to take the 17-year-old out of your writing.

What Do Colleges Think of Your Getting Help With Your Essay?

Admissions officers agree: light editing and proofreading are good—even required ! But they also want to make sure you're the one doing the work on your essay. They want essays with stories, voice, and themes that come from you. They want to see work that reflects your actual writing ability, and that focuses on what you find important.

On the Importance of Editing

Get feedback. Have a fresh pair of eyes give you some feedback. Don't allow someone else to rewrite your essay, but do take advantage of others' edits and opinions when they seem helpful. ( Bates College )

Read your essay aloud to someone. Reading the essay out loud offers a chance to hear how your essay sounds outside your head. This exercise reveals flaws in the essay's flow, highlights grammatical errors and helps you ensure that you are communicating the exact message you intended. ( Dickinson College )

On the Value of Proofreading

Share your essays with at least one or two people who know you well—such as a parent, teacher, counselor, or friend—and ask for feedback. Remember that you ultimately have control over your essays, and your essays should retain your own voice, but others may be able to catch mistakes that you missed and help suggest areas to cut if you are over the word limit. ( Yale University )

Proofread and then ask someone else to proofread for you. Although we want substance, we also want to be able to see that you can write a paper for our professors and avoid careless mistakes that would drive them crazy. ( Oberlin College )

On Watching Out for Too Much Outside Influence

Limit the number of people who review your essay. Too much input usually means your voice is lost in the writing style. ( Carleton College )

Ask for input (but not too much). Your parents, friends, guidance counselors, coaches, and teachers are great people to bounce ideas off of for your essay. They know how unique and spectacular you are, and they can help you decide how to articulate it. Keep in mind, however, that a 45-year-old lawyer writes quite differently from an 18-year-old student, so if your dad ends up writing the bulk of your essay, we're probably going to notice. ( Vanderbilt University )

Now let's talk about some potential people to approach for your college essay editing and proofreading needs. It's best to start close to home and slowly expand outward. Not only are your family and friends more invested in your success than strangers, but they also have a better handle on your interests and personality. This knowledge is key for judging whether your essay is expressing your true self.

Parents or Close Relatives

Your family may be full of potentially excellent editors! Parents are deeply committed to your well-being, and family members know you and your life well enough to offer details or incidents that can be included in your essay. On the other hand, the rewriting process necessarily involves criticism, which is sometimes hard to hear from someone very close to you.

A parent or close family member is a great choice for an editor if you can answer "yes" to the following questions. Is your parent or close relative a good writer or reader? Do you have a relationship where editing your essay won't create conflict? Are you able to constructively listen to criticism and suggestion from the parent?

One suggestion for defusing face-to-face discussions is to try working on the essay over email. Send your parent a draft, have them write you back some comments, and then you can pick which of their suggestions you want to use and which to discard.

Teachers or Tutors

A humanities teacher that you have a good relationship with is a great choice. I am purposefully saying humanities, and not just English, because teachers of Philosophy, History, Anthropology, and any other classes where you do a lot of writing, are all used to reviewing student work.

Moreover, any teacher or tutor that has been working with you for some time, knows you very well and can vet the essay to make sure it "sounds like you."

If your teacher or tutor has some experience with what college essays are supposed to be like, ask them to be your editor. If not, then ask whether they have time to proofread your final draft.

Guidance or College Counselor at Your School

The best thing about asking your counselor to edit your work is that this is their job. This means that they have a very good sense of what colleges are looking for in an application essay.

At the same time, school counselors tend to have relationships with admissions officers in many colleges, which again gives them insight into what works and which college is focused on what aspect of the application.

Unfortunately, in many schools the guidance counselor tends to be way overextended. If your ratio is 300 students to 1 college counselor, you're unlikely to get that person's undivided attention and focus. It is still useful to ask them for general advice about your potential topics, but don't expect them to be able to stay with your essay from first draft to final version.

Friends, Siblings, or Classmates

Although they most likely don't have much experience with what colleges are hoping to see, your peers are excellent sources for checking that your essay is you .

Friends and siblings are perfect for the read-aloud edit. Read your essay to them so they can listen for words and phrases that are stilted, pompous, or phrases that just don't sound like you.

You can even trade essays and give helpful advice on each other's work.

If your editor hasn't worked with college admissions essays very much, no worries! Any astute and attentive reader can still greatly help with your process. But, as in all things, beginners do better with some preparation.

First, your editor should read our advice about how to write a college essay introduction , how to spot and fix a bad college essay , and get a sense of what other students have written by going through some admissions essays that worked .

Then, as they read your essay, they can work through the following series of questions that will help them to guide you.

Introduction Questions

• Is the first sentence a killer opening line? Why or why not?
• Does the introduction hook the reader? Does it have a colorful, detailed, and interesting narrative? Or does it propose a compelling or surprising idea?
• Can you feel the author's voice in the introduction, or is the tone dry, dull, or overly formal? Show the places where the voice comes through.

Essay Body Questions

• Does the essay have a through-line? Is it built around a central argument, thought, idea, or focus? Can you put this idea into your own words?
• How is the essay organized? By logical progression? Chronologically? Do you feel order when you read it, or are there moments where you are confused or lose the thread of the essay?
• Does the essay have both narratives about the author's life and explanations and insight into what these stories reveal about the author's character, personality, goals, or dreams? If not, which is missing?
• Does the essay flow? Are there smooth transitions/clever links between paragraphs? Between the narrative and moments of insight?

Reader Response Questions

• Does the writer's personality come through? Do we know what the speaker cares about? Do we get a sense of "who he or she is"?
• Where did you feel most connected to the essay? Which parts of the essay gave you a "you are there" sensation by invoking your senses? What moments could you picture in your head well?
• Where are the details and examples vague and not specific enough?
• Did you get an "a-ha!" feeling anywhere in the essay? Is there a moment of insight that connected all the dots for you? Is there a good reveal or "twist" anywhere in the essay?
• What are the strengths of this essay? What needs the most improvement?

Should You Pay Money for Essay Editing?

One alternative to asking someone you know to help you with your college essay is the paid editor route. There are two different ways to pay for essay help: a private essay coach or a less personal editing service , like the many proliferating on the internet.

My advice is to think of these options as a last resort rather than your go-to first choice. I'll first go through the reasons why. Then, if you do decide to go with a paid editor, I'll help you decide between a coach and a service.

When to Consider a Paid Editor

In general, I think hiring someone to work on your essay makes a lot of sense if none of the people I discussed above are a possibility for you.

If you can't ask your parents. For example, if your parents aren't good writers, or if English isn't their first language. Or if you think getting your parents to help is going create unnecessary extra conflict in your relationship with them (applying to college is stressful as it is!)

If you can't ask your teacher or tutor. Maybe you don't have a trusted teacher or tutor that has time to look over your essay with focus. Or, for instance, your favorite humanities teacher has very limited experience with college essays and so won't know what admissions officers want to see.

If you can't ask your guidance counselor. This could be because your guidance counselor is way overwhelmed with other students.

If you can't share your essay with those who know you. It might be that your essay is on a very personal topic that you're unwilling to share with parents, teachers, or peers. Just make sure it doesn't fall into one of the bad-idea topics in our article on bad college essays .

If the cost isn't a consideration. Many of these services are quite expensive, and private coaches even more so. If you have finite resources, I'd say that hiring an SAT or ACT tutor (whether it's PrepScholar or someone else) is better way to spend your money . This is because there's no guarantee that a slightly better essay will sufficiently elevate the rest of your application, but a significantly higher SAT score will definitely raise your applicant profile much more.

Should You Hire an Essay Coach?

On the plus side, essay coaches have read dozens or even hundreds of college essays, so they have experience with the format. Also, because you'll be working closely with a specific person, it's more personal than sending your essay to a service, which will know even less about you.

But, on the minus side, you'll still be bouncing ideas off of someone who doesn't know that much about you . In general, if you can adequately get the help from someone you know, there is no advantage to paying someone to help you.

If you do decide to hire a coach, ask your school counselor, or older students that have used the service for recommendations. If you can't afford the coach's fees, ask whether they can work on a sliding scale —many do. And finally, beware those who guarantee admission to your school of choice—essay coaches don't have any special magic that can back up those promises.

Should You Send Your Essay to a Service?

On the plus side, essay editing services provide a similar product to essay coaches, and they cost significantly less . If you have some assurance that you'll be working with a good editor, the lack of face-to-face interaction won't prevent great results.

On the minus side, however, it can be difficult to gauge the quality of the service before working with them . If they are churning through many application essays without getting to know the students they are helping, you could end up with an over-edited essay that sounds just like everyone else's. In the worst case scenario, an unscrupulous service could send you back a plagiarized essay.

Getting recommendations from friends or a school counselor for reputable services is key to avoiding heavy-handed editing that writes essays for you or does too much to change your essay. Including a badly-edited essay like this in your application could cause problems if there are inconsistencies. For example, in interviews it might be clear you didn't write the essay, or the skill of the essay might not be reflected in your schoolwork and test scores.

Should You Buy an Essay Written by Someone Else?

Let me elaborate. There are super sketchy places on the internet where you can simply buy a pre-written essay. Don't do this!

For one thing, you'll be lying on an official, signed document. All college applications make you sign a statement saying something like this:

I certify that all information submitted in the admission process—including the application, the personal essay, any supplements, and any other supporting materials—is my own work, factually true, and honestly presented... I understand that I may be subject to a range of possible disciplinary actions, including admission revocation, expulsion, or revocation of course credit, grades, and degree, should the information I have certified be false. (From the Common Application )

For another thing, if your academic record doesn't match the essay's quality, the admissions officer will start thinking your whole application is riddled with lies.

Admission officers have full access to your writing portion of the SAT or ACT so that they can compare work that was done in proctored conditions with that done at home. They can tell if these were written by different people. Not only that, but there are now a number of search engines that faculty and admission officers can use to see if an essay contains strings of words that have appeared in other essays—you have no guarantee that the essay you bought wasn't also bought by 50 other students.

• You should get college essay help with both editing and proofreading
• A good editor will ask questions about your idea, logic, and structure, and will point out places where clarity is needed
• A good editor will absolutely not answer these questions, give you their own ideas, or write the essay or parts of the essay for you
• A good proofreader will find typos and check your formatting
• All of them agree that getting light editing and proofreading is necessary
• Parents, teachers, guidance or college counselor, and peers or siblings
• If you can't ask any of those, you can pay for college essay help, but watch out for services or coaches who over-edit you work
• Don't buy a pre-written essay! Colleges can tell, and it'll make your whole application sound false.

Ready to start working on your essay? Check out our explanation of the point of the personal essay and the role it plays on your applications and then explore our step-by-step guide to writing a great college essay .

Using the Common Application for your college applications? We have an excellent guide to the Common App essay prompts and useful advice on how to pick the Common App prompt that's right for you . Wondering how other people tackled these prompts? Then work through our roundup of over 130 real college essay examples published by colleges .

Stressed about whether to take the SAT again before submitting your application? Let us help you decide how many times to take this test . If you choose to go for it, we have the ultimate guide to studying for the SAT to give you the ins and outs of the best ways to study.

Anna scored in the 99th percentile on her SATs in high school, and went on to major in English at Princeton and to get her doctorate in English Literature at Columbia. She is passionate about improving student access to higher education.

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What should I write my college essay about?

by: Connie Matthiessen | Updated: December 13, 2022

Print article

It’s college essay time: a season of sighs, false starts, revisions, tears — and many late nights. Few students breeze through this part of the college application process because writing a good college essay is no easy task. It can be particularly challenging for first-generation college students, who tend to dismiss the real-life circumstances that make their experience unique. Here, first-generation students and experts who work with them offer valuable insights and advice.

Sharing who you really are

One of the most challenging aspects of the essay-writing process is identifying a topic to write about. Many first-to-college applicants think their experiences and accomplishments aren’t impressive enough to wow college admissions officers, so they get discouraged before they even begin. But first-generation college applicants have typically overcome obstacles that other students haven’t — and it’s a story worth sharing.

“It is hard for anyone at any age to reflect on their lives,” says Marisa Urrutia Gedney, Director of In-School Programs and College Access at 826LA , a nonprofit that helps students improve their writing skills and promotes access to college for low-income and first-generation college students. “That is what the essay process is asking students to do. And they are just 17 years old!”

Many students think that the essay is primarily about proving how accomplished they are academically, according to Urrutia Gedney. “Kids will say, ‘Colleges want really smart people!’ And of course, that is intimidating.”

In fact, the purpose of the college essay is to give college admissions officers a glimpse of a student that they can’t glean from their high school transcript or other questions on their application. “We tell students, ‘Colleges really want to get to know you,” says Urrutia Gedney. “It isn’t just about GPAs and test scores. They want students who are well-rounded, who show character and resilience in difficult circumstances. We tell them, ‘Colleges aren’t looking for superheroes. You’ve accomplished a lot. You don’t have to make things up.'”

“I tell kids that the essay is important because it allows you to tell a different story from the basic demographic information that you provide in your application,” says Nick Watson, Director of College Access at ScholarMatch , a San Francisco nonprofit that helps kids navigate the college process . The essay can — and should — help kids “come alive” for admissions officers, he says, and be more than a GPA and SAT score.

Choosing which story to tell

Experts like Watson and Urrutia Gedney agree that the everyday challenges students face often make the most compelling essay topics of all. “The thing I see most often with first-generation kids is that they think they don’t have a story to tell,” says Watson, “but most have had rich experiences that colleges are going to want to hear.”

These experiences might include taking care of younger siblings every day after school, for example, or picking up groceries for a grandparent, or working an after-school job to help the family cover rent. In rapidly gentrifying urban areas across the country, low-income families are often displaced, which means that students must leave neighborhoods they’ve known all their lives and start over at a new school or endure a long commute. Such experiences demonstrate qualities that colleges are looking for, including courage, grit, responsibility, leadership, and resilience.

“By asking deeper questions, we try to help students see that they do have a story to tell,” Watson says. “I ask kids, ‘What have you learned from helping your mom pay the bills? What has that weekend or after-school job taught you? How are you going to use that knowledge going forward?’ It often takes some digging to help them get there.”

For Ernesto Ye Luo, it took many drafts and a college rejection to help him get there. Ye Luo lived in Panama until the age of 10, when his family moved to San Francisco. He says his original essay, which he submitted to Middlebury College in his early decision application, covered too many topics. “I talked about moving from Panama to San Francisco,” he recalls. “I talked about my life in Panama. I talked about summer programs I’d done. Nick and the other writing coaches at ScholarMatch told me to focus on just one topic, but I guess I didn’t understand what they meant. My essay was all over the place.”

Ye Luo wasn’t accepted at Middlebury and he was devastated. Looking back, he thinks he may have been rejected, at least in part, because his essay was so scattered. He went back to ScholarMatch, and this time he wrote about his family’s move from Panama, and the challenges he faced starting over in a new country where he didn’t speak the language.

Ye Luo had a compelling story to tell. As a Chinese person in Panama, he never felt that he fit in. But in the US, he felt just as out of place. “Kids made fun of me because I was a Chinese kid who could only speak Spanish,” he says. His family was very poor and lived in a cramped, one-room apartment. They shared a bathroom and kitchen with other tenants. Ye Luo became withdrawn and discouraged, and he was failing in school.

His parents helped him turn things around. His family is Hakka, a Chinese ethnic group that has always faced discrimination. His parents told him, “We Hakka people move everywhere around China and around the world, and we adapt to new environments all the time. That is our history.”

Ye Luo says that their words gave him a sense of pride and determination to succeed. “It was the first time I really looked at myself,” he recalls. “I started to work hard in school. Up until then, I wasn’t trying. I tried to adapt socially and academically.” Ye Luo enjoyed high school far more than middle school, he made friends, joined the wrestling team, and took his GPA from a 1.9 to a 4.0.

After Ye Luo rewrote his essay with a narrower, deeper focus, he was accepted by a number of colleges, including Wesleyan University, where he is now a freshman. He hasn’t yet declared a major, but he’s studying Chinese in Wesleyan’s College of East Asian Studies.

What colleges want to know

At ScholarMatch, Watson uses freewriting exercises to help students start their essays. Students come to ScholarMatch workshops feeling nervous about the process. Freewriting helps kids relax and simply write; it also usually helps elicit an essay topic. For the exercises, Watson asks students to write whatever comes into their minds. From the freewriting, he and other writing coaches help students identify points they can develop into an essay.

At 826LA, Urrutia Gedney and volunteer coaches help students identify essay topics by asking questions like the following:

• What responsibilities do you have at home and in your family?
• What do you enjoy doing that makes you feel happy?
• What do you consider your greatest joy?
• What are you proud of?
• Do you have a greatest accomplishment?
• What do you do when you don’t have enough (money, time, help, etc.) to do the things you have to do/wish to do/dream of doing?

“We listen to their experiences and give them feedback,” says Urrutia Gedney. “Like, ‘I learned x, y, and z about you. These are the kinds of things colleges want to know,'” says Urrutia Gedney.

Not your typical high school essay

Many kids get overwhelmed by the format of the college essay. They’re used to writing five-paragraph essays for high school, and it is difficult for them to ditch that structure to tell a better story. “They’re thinking in terms of introduction, body, and conclusion,” says Urrutia Gedney. “I tell them, ‘Don’t think of this as a writing assignment. Instead, think about what you would say if the person was standing right in front of you.’ This seems to help kids write in their own voice.”

Students’ first drafts are often overly general, and Urrutia Gedney and Watson both encourage students to use details. “If you take care of your siblings after school, what does that care look like?” says Urrutia Gedney. “Do you pour them a bowl of cereal or do you make a meal? What do you make? Do you help them with their homework or go to their parent-teacher conferences? These kinds of details will take your essay from the general to the personal.”

Watson often has to work with kids from immigrant backgrounds to tell their own stories. “Some of their essays have been among the best I’ve seen,” he says. “Their stories are about resiliency and persistence. The only thing is they often want to tell the story from the perspective of their parents. They see that their parents have had to work so hard to get where they are. They have such reverence for what their parents have been through that it is hard for them to think about themselves. I have to ask them, ‘What has it been like for you?’ They don’t realize that they have global experience, and can bring so much to the table.”

Life stories

Watson marvels at some of the stories he’s heard from students. He recalls a high school senior who was homeless and lived for several months with his mother in their car. For Watson, it wasn’t just the student’s circumstances that were noteworthy, but the way he talked about them. “He described being homeless in just a few sentences,” says Watson. “What he focused on in his essay was lying in the car at night, and thinking about school, and why school brought him so much joy. He was just so grateful for the opportunity to learn.”

For Urrutia Gedney, the college essay has value beyond helping a student get into college. “Kids start out thinking that they just have to prove to colleges, ‘I am a good student,’ vs. ‘I help raise my brother,’ or, ‘I take care of my grandma.’ This is an eye-opener. It’s the first time they’ve been asked to talk about what they do, and they realize that they have handled responsibilities that many adults couldn’t handle. It’s an exciting moment, not just in terms of their essay, but for their own sense of pride in what they have accomplished.”

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• College Life Essay

Anticipated Experiences During Our College Life

College Life is one of the most remarkable and lovable times of an individual's life. Unlike School Life, College Life has a different experience, and a person needs to have this experience in his/her life. College Life exposes us to whole new experiences which we always dream of experiencing after our school life. Lucky are those who get the chance to enjoy their college life, as many people don't get this chance due to their circumstances or financial issues. For every person, College Life has a different meaning. While some people spend their college life partying with friends, others become more cautious about their careers and study hard. Whatever the way, every individual enjoys their college life and always wishes to relive that time once it is over.

College Life Experience: How is it different from School Life?

Both school life and college life is the most memorable time of a person's life, but both of them are quite different from each other. While in School life, we learn everything in a protected environment, College Life exposes us to a new environment where we have to learn new things and face new challenges by ourselves. We spend half of our young lives in school, and thus we get comfortable living in that environment. But College Life is for three years only, where every year introduces new challenges and lessons to us. While in school, our teachers and friends always protect and guard us, in college life we form a relationship with our mentors, and they don't protect us all the time as our school teachers did. 

Unlike school life, we don't have many limitations in college life, and it is up to us how we want to spend our college life. In college life, we see new faces and experience a unique environment in which we have to mingle ourselves. We make new friends there who stay with us for the rest of our lives. Also, we get a chance to shape our careers asking the right decisions and studying hard. College life is not only about the study but also about the overall development of an individual through various activities and challenges.

In College Life, one gets a chance to make their own decisions. In school life, students get an opportunity to be class monitors. In College Life, an individual gets a chance to nominate himself/herself for more prominent positions like College President, Vice President, Secretary, and Vice Secretary. Apart from deciding the course and stream, an individual gets a chance to build his/her confidence by being a part of various societies and events that take place all year.

Different from School Life, College Life has its importance in a person's life, and one should always enjoy his/her college life.

A Bridge Between Our Student and Adult Lives

College life is considered a bridge in our lives between our school days and our career. It prepares us with the finest academics and platform to generate dreams into realities. It acts as a transition to prepare us to be more independent. In school, we were dependent on our parents. However, we became independent in college regarding studying, traveling, decision-making, and financially independent after college. It is a valued and very smooth transition where we do not realize that we have become independent. 

Some Fun Memories from College Life

Firstly, some of the most fun memories of college are “college canteen”. The canteen is supposed to be where most of the students satisfy their hunger and hang out with their friends. 

Secondly, it’s the “annual fest” of the colleges. Fests always filled the student’s life with excitement and buzz. It gave new opportunities to explore, compare, compete and provide a platform to showcase their talent. It became a place where students take lots of pictures and record their experiences. 

Last but not the least, it’s the college trips. One of the best things in college life is field trips where they can go out and have quality time with their friends and teacher and learning experience. Field trips or just any other college trips are filled with stories and dramas. Every student has their own story to tell about their college trips. 

We should enjoy our college days as they cannot be brought back just like our school days. 

The Hardest Part of College Life

As a college student, the hardest part of college life was leaving college after graduation or post-graduation. The last days of college were the hardest, knowing that soon you will be departing your friends, the campus, teachers and completely leaving behind a part of life.  

My College Days Experience

Talking about my college life, I had enjoyed my college life to the fullest and had some of the best college days of my life. I was a student of one of the most reputed colleges of Delhi University and, i.e. Gargi College. I have completed my B.A. (Hons.) in Applied Psychology from there. Gargi College is one of the renowned and best colleges of Delhi University. Built in a larger area, it is a beautiful college with many courses in streams like Science, Commerce, Arts, and Humanities. With an outstanding academic record, it is a girls college.

When I took admission to this college, I was really afraid as all the people were new to me. But soon, I started enjoying my college life and made some fantastic friends. I loved everything about my college and participated in the events at my college. Even I joined the dance society of my college and participated in many dance competitions that occurred in different colleges of Delhi University. 

One of the best things about college life is that you get a new experience every day. In my college life, along with studying, I and my friends enjoyed a lot of other things. We traveled to lots of places, had new experiences, and learned many new things. Our college's canteen was a remarkable place in my college life as whenever we got time, we used to chill in the canteen. 

Another thing I loved about my college life is Annual Fests. Every year, every college of Delhi University organizes an annual fest that lasts for 2-3 days. In this annual fest, various competitions happen, and students from various colleges come to be a part of this annual fest. Every year, our college organizes a massive annual fest and all the students of our college participate in various events and enjoy a lot in this fest. These fests allow students to socialize with new people and showcase their talent to everyone which builds their confidence and helps them in their future. I have participated in my college's annual fest for all three years, and I have got the best exposure and experience of my life through this fest. I had the best time of my life in college, and my college life memories will always make me happy.

Life After College

One fine day, you will be silently smiling with wet eyes, looking at the pictures from your college and old friends, and remembering all the good times you had in your college days. That is the beauty of studying in a college. Despite climbing the ladders of success, you will cherish the memories of your college life.

College Life is a remarkable and essential time in a person's life, and everyone should enjoy it. College Life teaches us many things and builds our confidence to face the challenges and struggles in our future. Instead of just focussing on the study, a person must participate in other activities and socialize as much as possible in his/her college life as all these things help in the overall development of a person.

FAQs on College Life Essay

Q1. What is the difference between college life and school life?

When compared to each other, they both are completely different from each other. College life provides us with different opportunities to explore to nurture our confidence in the outside world. In school, the teacher acts as a monitor whereas, in college, they act like our friends, and not to forget, in college, we face more challenges than we had in our school.

Q2. Explain some of the common memories of college life.

Whenever you hear the word college, the first thing that comes to our mind is “college canteen”. The most beloved place for every student was to feed their empty stomach, spend time with friends, and create thousands of memories. Another most common memory is of the annual fest that bought buzz in every student’s life.

Q3. Why are colleges necessary?

When we go to school, they ensure that we have common educational knowledge. Whereas in college, we get specialization in a particular field we want to pursue as our career. That’s the reason our school friends get scattered in various colleges to make their dreams a reality and open better career options.

Q4. Which two things need to be focused on the most in college?

The two most important things in college are the Grade Point Average (GPA) and your participation in other co-curricular activities.

College Life Essay for Students and Children

500 words essay on college life.

College life is known as one of the most memorable years of one’s life. It is entirely different from school life. College life exposes us to new experiences and things that we were not familiar with earlier. For some people, college life means enjoying life to the fullest and partying hard. While for others, it is time to get serious about their career and study thoroughly for a brighter future.

Nonetheless, college life remains a memorable time for all of us. Not everyone is lucky enough to experience college life. People do not get the chance to go to college due to various reasons. Sometimes they do not have a strong financial background to do so while other times they have other responsibilities to fulfill. The ones who have had a college life always wish to turn back time to live it all once again.

The Transition from School Life to College Life

College life is a big transition from school life. We go through a lot of changes when we enter college. Our schools were a safe place where we had grown up and spent half our lives. The transition to college is so sudden that you’re no longer protected by your teachers and friends of your school time.

College life poses a lot of challenges in front of you. You are now in a place full of unfamiliar faces where you need to mingle in. It teaches us to socialize and form opinions of our own. In college, students learn their free will and they go on to become more confident and composed.

In school life, we were always dependant on our friends or teachers. College life teaches us to be independent. It makes us stronger and teaches us to fight our own battles. It also makes us serious about our careers. We make decisions that will affect our future all by ourselves, as in school life our parents did it for us.

Additionally, in schools, we viewed our teachers as our mentors and sometimes even parents. We respected them and kept a distance. However, in college life, the teacher-student relationship becomes a bit informal. They become more or less like our friends and we share our troubles and happiness with them as we did with our friends.

Get the huge list of more than 500 Essay Topics and Ideas

College Life Experience

College life experience is truly one of a kind. The most common memories people have of college life are definitely goofing around with friends. They remember how the group of friends walked around the college in style and playing silly pranks on each other.

Moreover, people always look back at the times spent in the college canteen. It was considered the hub of every student where they enjoyed eating and chatting away with their friends.

Another college life experience I have seen people cherish the most is the annual fest. The annual fest created so much excitement and buzz amongst the students. Everyone welcomed other colleges with open arms and also made friends there. All the competitions were carried out in a good spirit and the students dressed their best to represent their college well.

FAQs on College Life

Q.1 How is college life different from school life?

A.1 College life is completely different from school life. It gives us more exposure and also makes us more confident. Our teachers act more like friends in college, whereas in school they’re like our mentors. Most importantly, college life gives us various challenges than our school life.

Q.2 What are some memories of college life?

A.2 Those who have experienced college life have some common memories. People always remember their free time which they spent with friends goofing around. Everyone remembers the annual fest of the college which brought so much excitement and buzz in student’s lives. Furthermore, they remember the college canteen which always fed their empty stomachs.

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Essays That Worked

The essays are a place to show us who you are and who you’ll be in our community.

It’s a chance to add depth to something that is important to you and tell the admissions committee more about your background or goals. Below you’ll find selected examples of essays that “worked,” as nominated by our admissions committee. In each of these essays, students were able to share stories from their everyday lives to reveal something about their character, values, and life that aligned with the culture and values at Hopkins.

Read essays that worked from Transfer applicants .

Hear from the class of 2027.

These selections represent just a few examples of essays we found impressive and helpful during the past admissions cycle. We hope these essays inspire you as you prepare to compose your own personal statements. The most important thing to remember is to be original as you share your own story, thoughts, and ideas with us.

Ordering the Disorderly

Ellie’s essay skillfully uses the topic of entropy as an extended metaphor. Through it, we see reflections about who they are and who they aspire to be.

Pack Light, But Be Prepared

In Pablo’s essay, the act of packing for a pilgrimage becomes a metaphor for the way humans accumulate experiences in their life’s journey and what we can learn from them. As we join Pablo through the diverse phases of their life, we gain insights into their character and values.

Tikkun Olam

Julieta illustrates how the concept of Tikkun Olam, “a desire to help repair the world,” has shaped their passions and drives them to pursue experiences at Hopkins.

Kashvi’s essay encapsulates a heartfelt journey of self-discovery and the invaluable teachings of Rock, their 10-year-old dog. Through the lens of their companionship, Kashvi walked us through valuable lessons on responsibility, friendship, patience, and unconditional love.

Classical Reflections in Herstory

Maddie’s essay details their intellectual journey using their love of Greek classics. They incorporate details that reveal the roots of their academic interests: storytelling, literary devices, and translation. As their essay progresses, so do Maddie’s intellectual curiosities.

My Spotify Playlist

Alyssa’s essay reflects on special memories through the creative lens of Spotify playlists. They use three examples to highlight their experiences with their tennis team, finding a virtual community during the pandemic, and co-founding a nonprofit to help younger students learn about STEM.

More essays that worked

We share essays from previously admitted students—along with feedback from our admissions committee—so you can understand what made them effective and how to start crafting your own.

Application Workshops

Our interactive workshops—on topics like the college search process and essay preparation—will help you build your strongest application when you’re ready to apply.

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A first-generation college student’s guide to navigating the application process.

Senior Associate, JPMorgan Chase

If you’re the first person in your immediate family who’ll be attending college, you may be on your way to becoming a first-generation college student. While this may feel intimidating, know that you aren’t alone. According to recent data by the Center for First-Generation Student Success, about one in four college students have parents who didn’t attend any form of schooling after high school.

Being the first person in your family to attend college is an outstanding achievement. Not only will you be furthering your education, but you’ll also set yourself up for future career success . While you don’t need a college degree to land a job, some estimates show that having a bachelor’s degree may help you earn 84% more than having only a high school diploma . A college degree may also serve as a buffer during an economic downturn.

Understanding the benefits of college is one thing, but navigating applying and enrolling in college as a first-generation college student is another. How do you get started on your college application journey and ensure your transition is a successful one?

Keep reading as we break down the college application process for first-generation college students and provide resources that may help you on your journey.

What’s a first-generation college student?

First things first, what’s a first-generation college student? According to the federal government, a first-generation college student is someone whose parents did not complete a bachelor's degree or some kind of higher education. In a scenario in which you only lived with one parent your whole life who cared financially for you (and this could be for many reasons), and this parent didn’t complete a bachelor’s degree, and you end up attending college, you too count as a first-generation college student under this definition. This definition is important to understand because the federal government uses it to determine eligibility for financial aid programs like the TRIO programs, for instance.

The definition of what a first-generation college student is may vary among colleges and universities, though. For instance, the University of Pennsylvania definition includes students whose parents received a degree outside of the U.S.

Given that institutions define first-generation student differently and offer benefits and resources to first-generation students specifically, you may want to check with college and university admissions offices during the application process to see if you qualify as a first-generation student, according to their unique standards.

How to apply to college as a first-generation student

The college application process may feel daunting, especially if you don’t have parents or immediate family who’ve attended college to guide you. During the process, you’ll have to research colleges, study for standardized exams, fill out school applications, potentially apply for financial aid, and decide where to attend. Fortunately, many resources are at your disposal to make these responsibilities easier.

Checklist for first-generation college students applying to college

Here’s a list that may help you prepare for college applications.

1. Start preparing early (like in your sophomore year of high school)

• Research potential colleges and universities to understand their offerings, campus culture, and admissions requirements.
• Identify the type of college experience you want (size, location, majors, extracurriculars).

2. Understand the academic requirements you need to meet

• Understand your target schools’ grade point average (GPA) and standardized test score requirements.
• Consider meeting with your high school academic advisor and college counselor often to ensure you’re enrolled in the right classes and overall tracking toward your goal of attending college.

3. Prepare for standardized tests

• Register for the SAT or ACT exams and check if your desired schools require or recommend taking them.
• Prepare for these exams using online resources, books, or classes.

4. Research and apply for financial aid and scholarships

• Fill out the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA ® ) to determine if you're eligible for federal financial aid along with other types of financial aid.
• Consider researching and applying for scholarships. Consider looking for those that specifically support first-generation students (see below for tips for this).

5. If you’re able to, plan college visits

• Schedule campus visits if it’s feasible for you to get a feel for the environment and ask questions.
• Attend college fairs in your area and meet with college admissions representatives.

6. Tee up your letters of recommendation

• Identify teachers, counselors, or mentors who can write strong, personal recommendations.
• Request these letters well in advance of deadlines.

7. Prepare your personal statement and essays

• Start brainstorming and drafting your college essays early (see below for tips for this).
• Have teachers, counselors, and others review your essays for feedback.

8. Complete your college applications

• Familiarize yourself with the Common App (which you can use to apply to over 1,000 U.S. colleges) and individual college applications.
• Complete all sections of applications carefully and accurately.

9. Keep track of deadlines to make sure you meet them

• There are many deadlines to keep track of during the college process, including college application deadlines, financial aid deadlines, and scholarships deadlines.
• Consider Early Decision or Early Action applications in which you’d apply to colleges earlier in the process.

10. Utilize all the resources that you can

• Connect with organizations and programs that support first-generation college students.
• Look for mentorship programs at potential colleges and within your community to help with the college process.

11. Undergo interview preparation

• If interviews are required, prepare by practicing with teachers, counselors, or mentors.
• Research common interview questions and think about your responses.

12. Do a final review and submit your applications

• Review all materials for completeness and accuracy.
• Submit applications and confirm receipt with each college.

13. Start preparing to enroll in college

• Prepare for potential waitlist or deferral outcomes that may come from your college applications.
• Accept an offer and complete any necessary steps for enrollment.

First-generation college student essay tips

As covered briefly above, you’ll likely need to write one or several personal essays during the college application process. As a first-generation college student, your college essay is a unique opportunity to showcase your perspectives, experiences, and the obstacles you’ve overcome on your road to college.

You may want to begin by reflecting on your journey — what being the first in your family to attend college means to you, the challenges you’ve faced, and how these experiences have shaped your ambitions and character. By crafting a compelling essay, you may help admissions officers understand your background and the resilience you bring to your educational pursuits.

As you write your essay, you may want to focus on specifics rather than generalities to bring your story to life. Instead of simply stating that you’ve faced challenges, describe a moment that illustrates how you’ve been challenged and how you responded. Remember, the goal is to let college admissions committees see the world through your eyes and appreciate the context of your achievements.

After you have a draft of your essay or essays ready, don’t hesitate to seek feedback from teachers, mentors, and counselors who understand the college application process. They may be able to provide valuable insights into how college admissions officers might perceive your essays. 

First-generation college student scholarship tips

As briefly covered above, alongside the college application process, if you’re looking for financial aid to support your college journey, you may consider looking into scholarships specifically for first-generation college students. Some organizations and nonprofits are specifically seeking to help students like you.

Here are a few scholarships you may consider as a first-generation college student:

• The Thurgood Marshall College Fund and The Sallie Mae Fund Completing The Dream Gap Scholarship
• Esperanza Scholarship Foundation Dollars for Scholars Scholarship
• The National Society of High School Scholars First Generation Scholarship
• EducationDynamics Minority First Generation Scholarship Contest

Programs that support first-generation college students

If the steps involved in applying for college seem overwhelming, the good news is that many programs aim to support first-generation college students on their educational journey. Here are a few.  

College Track Scholar Program

College Track is a nonprofit organization dedicated to helping students with limited resources achieve their dream of attending college. The organization works with students from the time they’re in ninth grade through college to help them on their journey to receiving a bachelor’s degree.

At the high school level, they help students through academic learning labs, college counseling, and even individualized coaching. When students reach college, the organization helps with career readiness, community building, and financial wellness activities. Finally, they provide early career support in the first two years after a student’s college graduation.

Let’s Get Ready

Let’s Get Ready prioritizes admittance for students who meet specific criteria, such as first-generation college students or students from historically underrepresented communities. It provides students with free college application support with help from peer-led coaches and virtual SAT exam prep courses, and other tools. For those who’d like to seek help from someone who’s been in their shoes, Let’s Get Ready pairs program participants with current college students who act as mentors.

America Needs You

For first-generation students already enrolled in college, America Needs You is a nonprofit organization with a Fellows Program that supports low-income, first-generation college students with resources to help them successfully graduate college, succeed in their careers, and remain competitive in today’s workforce. The Fellows Program helps with internship placements, provides up to $1,000 in grant funding annually, and offers one-on-one mentorship to all enrollees.

Navigating the summer before college starts as a first-generation college student

After you commit to college, you may want to see if any summer orientation programs or bridge programs at your chosen college specifically for first-generation students are available to you before you start school.

Some colleges offer orientation programs that bring together faculty, students, and in some cases, family members to help ensure first-generation students have an easy transition into college life.

If the college you’re enrolling in offers one of these programs, consider taking part. They typically last from between two to four weeks during the summer months. During these programs, you can also ask questions related to everything from picking out classes to navigating dorm life if you plan to live on-campus. You can also start to make college friends.

Final thoughts

If you’re a first-generation student embarking on your college journey, know that it may feel confusing at first, though many resources are available to help. Above all else, as you undergo this journey, you should feel proud that you’re the first in your family to start this path toward higher education. You may inspire many others in your professional and personal circles for years to come.  

Colleges Rates and Requirements

Find the right college for you., core college requirements for competitive acceptance rates.

As you start thinking about which colleges to apply to and how to put together your college applications, don’t forget to familiarize yourself with current admissions requirements and acceptance trends. You may have seen recent headlines about college acceptance rates and how low they were for students who applied to the most selective colleges and universities. It’s important to remember that while admissions requirements for the most competitive schools didn’t change, the number of students applying to these types of institutions has gradually increased. As a result, acceptance rates of colleges, particularly elite universities, decreased. You should also keep in mind that due to the covid-19 pandemic, most institutions saw a spike in applications. This has caused acceptance rates to further decrease.

The headlines shouldn’t deter you from moving ahead with the application process. Although it might feel seem like there’s more competition than ever before, it’s important to remember two things: Acceptance rates vary among colleges, and most colleges accept two-thirds of applicants. Once you understand what college entrance requirements are and how to interpret college admission rates, you'll be better prepared to find the right school for you.

Understand These Key Requirements for College Applications.

Each college uses its own formula when evaluating applicants, and these practices vary from school to school. In addition, many colleges over the last few years have begun instituting "test optional" and "test flexible" policies for the SAT and ACT. Despite these factors, colleges still look for certain key requirements. You can learn more about admissions requirements for individual colleges in College Search .

Standard Core Curriculum and Beyond

All colleges emphasize GPA requirements, but they focus particularly on performance in core subject areas such as mathematics, science, English, and history. Colleges look at your grades, curriculum, and the courses you take as indicators of your ability to be successful in college. To get a better understanding of which colleges might be the best fit for you, research the GPA requirements for colleges you’re interested in. Also look at the range of GPAs accepted at those institutions on the BigFuture College Search tool. Consider taking more advanced coursework such as AP courses if it fits with your career goals and if your school offers them.

Extracurriculars

Extracurriculars are where you can really stand out, especially from others with similar grades. Extra academic activities show off your personal strengths and interests to admissions officers. Ideally, they want to see students who were deeply involved in school activities outside of the classroom and held leadership positions. Learn more about how extracurriculars matter to you and colleges .

Application Essay

For colleges that require it, the application essay can be a very important part of your application and is your pitch to the university. This is your opportunity to show the school of your dreams the unique individual you are, something that may not necessarily be conveyed in your transcript. It indicates how your talents will contribute to their community. Find tips for writing your college essay here.

Standardized Test Scores

Though the trend in some U.S. colleges has been to put less emphasis on SAT scores, make no mistake: They still play an important role in the college admissions process. Test scores are still used by many colleges for course placement and merit aid. High test scores can also help you stand out and strengthen your college application. If you’re not sure if you should submit your scores, talk to your school counselor or the college’s admissions officer for guidance.

Letters of Recommendation

Although not required by all colleges, letters of recommendation can give admissions counselors insight into who you are beyond just your grades and activities. If letters are required by the institutions you’re applying to, the college will let you know who they want letters from. It’s usually a teacher or counselor. Pick someone who knows you well.

Keep on Top of College Application Deadlines.

Application deadlines can sneak up on high school seniors like a tiger in the night. It’s of utmost importance that you double-check your prospective school’s application deadlines and submit everything you need sooner rather than later. Most college application deadlines fall into the following categories:

Understand the College Application Platform.

There are two main types of college applications : The Common Application and the Coalition Application, which allow students to apply to multiple schools using a single application platform. You should check with the institutions you’re interested in applying to see which application platform they prefer.

How Do College Acceptance Rates Work?

A college’s acceptance rate is actually a ratio. It's the total number of applicants in relation to the number of students who were accepted. For example, Harvard received applications from 61,220 students in 2022─the highest-ever number of applicants to the school. Of those, only 1,214 received admission, leading to the school’s lowest-ever acceptance rate of 3.19%.

This illustrates the point earlier that college acceptance rates are on a decline as the number of applicants increases, saturating the pool with more competition than ever before.

Acceptance rates are based on the number of spots available at a college. This is a set number of applicants who can be admitted to that class of graduates, and it's not subject to change based on the volume of applicants. As you can imagine, more competitive schools, such as Ivy League colleges and universities, have fewer spots available and are thus affected more by the number of applicants.

This same logic applies to private and public colleges. Public colleges, which are characteristically larger institutions, will admit greater numbers of students, leading to higher acceptance rates. However, public colleges have also been impacted by a larger number of applicants. When you’re building your college list, it’s advisable to include a balance of reach, match, and safety schools to improve your chances of acceptance.

It's important to keep in mind that college admission rates don’t necessarily reflect the quality of education or the quality of students who apply, and you shouldn’t be discouraged from applying to schools based on these numbers.

What is the Difference Between Admission Yield and Enrollment Rate?

Admission yield is the percentage of students who accepted enrollment into a college after being granted admission. These vary significantly from school to school. For example, the University of California, Berkeley’s yield rate for 2022 was just 40% while the yield rate for Yale was a whopping 83%.

As students apply to greater numbers of colleges and have more options, yield rates decline.

Review the Latest College Acceptance Rate Stats.

Students faced competitive acceptance rates in 2022. Common Application public colleges and universities saw a 24% surge of applicants since 2019-20 and 17% for private institutions. Meanwhile, the acceptance rates continue to decline. For example, Emory University’s acceptance rate fell 8 percentage points between 2020 and 2022.

Students who are eyeing colleges with highly competitive acceptance rates must focus more than ever on the things that will set them apart: exceptional performance beyond the standard core curriculum, strong extracurricular participation, powerful application essays, letters of recommendation, and excellent standardized test scores. However, even with all of these differentiators, it’s important to remember that none of these can guarantee acceptance, especially at selective institutions. Be sure to build a balanced college list that gives you options.

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Dignity health and aetna reach agreement, relieve yolo county patients’ worries, latest headlines, subscriber only, ‘ink’ is a link for creative side of woodland community college students.

For the past 12 years, students at Woodland Community College have had the opportunity to share their creative side through poems, essays, short stories and artwork.

Published twice yearly, “Ink” magazine is an opportunity for students taking English classes as well as others across the three-county campus of Woodland, Lake and Colusa to express their creativity.

Operated under the direction of English instructor Kevin Ferns, “Ink” allows students to put into practice the elements of style learned in the classroom through written or visual formats.

For example, in its Fall 2023 issue, there are 22 examples of visual art and photography, and 23 pieces of “prose and poetry” with submissions running the entire literary genre.

One of the magazine’s editors, Flora Ibarra, wrote a poem titled “I Think,” which reveals the memories of companionship and concludes:

My friend where does the memory of me hide Or have I been forgotten? Do you still use that turn of phrase? I love you still with this scar on my heart And I wish you well with all that remains of it. A life well lived without my hand in yours. I think of you.

Fellow editor, Triston Miller, in a four-stanza piece titled “What Next” captures the uncertainly of each passing day, noting in his conclusion:

What fate awaits when life’s pawn is played, and the curtain of existence must then fade? The unanswered mystery lingers on, What lies ahead when our time is gone?

Other poems are brief but telling, such as one by Alyssa Stewart, titled “My Poem” which is only four lines long:

So much depends on the choices we make, In the paths we choose and the risks we take. With each decision, our futures designed, An intense painting our life’s grand design.

For both Ibarra, 26, and Miller, 25, “Ink” is not only a creative outlet, it’s also a serious business because both have the responsibility of gathering material, editing where necessary and then making sure it’s printed and published on time.

They have recently been joined by a third editor, Sebastian Campbell, 19, who is actually an English major in his second semester in the district. He has been involved with Ink for just under a month.

All three are residents of Lake County, where they attend classes in-person, and remotely in Woodland.

Artwork ‘Taylor’ and ‘Tyler’ by Salma Pimentel. (Courtesy)

‘EPSONOO1’ by Daniel Zapata-Kraft. (Courtesy)

‘EPSONOO9’ by Daniel Zapata-Kraft. (Courtesy)

Ibarra is a sophomore studying communication science and is planning to transfer to Sacramento State in May, where she will continue studying the mechanics of speech therapy.

Miller is a sophomore studying early Childhood Education who plans to transfer in May. He got involved when taking an English class offered by Ferns.

Ink came into being in the Spring of 2012 and has been receiving student work ever since.

Ibarra and Miller said there is no specific theme for each magazine, and that sometimes it’s difficult to get students to write and make submissions, with Ibarra adding in the most recent semester they were actually having to “chase students down” for their work.

“We allow anything and everything as long as it’s appropriate, but generally it’s pretty wide open,” she said. “Even though this semester we had a couple of submissions that touched on themes of abuses.”

Miller added that because they are usually in college for about two years at most, each editor has his own way of doing things “and for us it’s been more or less looking at the students and seeing what stands out. “For the most part, the theme is the student body.”

“One thing we do allow in case some things get too personal is to allow pseudonyms. So, it has to be a student submission but doesn’t have to be under their real name,” Ibarra said.

Miller noted that one small move allows for more student creativity and openness.

“We feel it allows students to be more authentic in their feelings,” Miller continued. “We like that authenticity because once you put that information out there, you’re more likely to feel better about yourself and being able to voice those things.”

“I also think that because we’re a small community it can be a bit daunting to put those personal aspects of yourself out there,” Ibarra added. “That pseudonym allows students to be more free.”

As editors, the three have an obligation to review the stories and poems submitted and then make decisions on how “heavy” or “light” they will be on the writing. In general, however, they favor a light approach.

“It varies a bit, but we try very hard to not interfere with the writing,” Ibarra said.

“For me personally, particularly with poetry, I try not to manipulate it,” Miller said. “With short stories I go through looking for spelling errors, punctuation errors and then when I’m finished, I’ll send (the author) a revision before it’s published so it doesn’t stray from what the writer intended. I don’t want to publish anything in their words without making sure the writer is OK with those revisions.”

There are, however, some limits. While poems can go for many a line, short stories are usually between 500 and 600 words but it does vary depending on the number of submissions. Last quarter, for example, more “shorter” stories were submitted. If longer stories had been turned in then the number would have been limited.

Ibarra also said student writers generally turn in “more realistic” stories and not as much fantasy. The fantasy usually occurs in the poetry and artwork, which can, indeed, be impressionistic, realistic or devoid entirely of allegory offering a visual statement on or about life.

Poetry titles offer clues on the topics addressed such as “Unnoticed,” “It’s Not That Hard, Right?”, “Memories of Graduation,” “The Perfect Summer,” and “Counting Down the Years.”

Artwork also runs the gamut, varying from black-and-white pencil drawings to full-color illustrations.

In any respect, “Ink” affords students an opportunity to do something a little bit different through freely written and visual expression rather than traditional college essays written for credit, or artwork done around a common classroom theme.

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I recently used EssayPro, an essay writing service that really stands out because of its commitment to quality and originality in everything from college essays to academic research. It’s a great help for students who need support with writing, rewriting, editing, or proofreading their assignments.

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You can pick your own essay writer, chat directly with them, and place orders at reasonable prices. They promise a stress-free process with top-notch customer support and deliver quality work fast—sometimes in as little as six hours.

Additionally, EssayPro offers a range of services like case studies, dissertations, and business plans, among others. They provide unique perks like a free originality report, guaranteed anonymity, 24/7 support, and unlimited revisions.

From my experience, what really sets them apart is their transparent approach. You can view detailed profiles of their essay writers online and choose who you want to work with based on a flexible bidding system. This flexibility extends to their pricing, making it easier to work within your budget—unless you’re after the most sought-after professional essay writers, as their fees can go up with demand.

If you’re good at academic writing and looking for freelance opportunities, EssayPro might be worth considering. They manage to keep their rates competitive by handling a large volume of work.

The design of the website is clear and easy to navigate, with a pleasing aesthetic and a straightforward interface. It’s definitely a reliable choice for anyone needing academic writing help.

5.  ExpertWriting  — Best for Discounts and Bonuses

Reasonable price, good quality;

Great discounts for regular customers, good choice for resellers.

The company doesn’t clearly communicate the fact that some disciplines can cost more than others;

Customer service couldn’t be more responsive.

I’ve used ExpertWriting for various academic assignments, and I’ve found it to be a reliable service. This platform offers a variety of academic writing services, including essay writing, research papers, term papers, and coursework, as well as editing and proofreading to improve your essays.

The process is straightforward. You submit your assignment details, and they quote a rate. If you agree, you gain access to their pool of essay writers and editors who can assist with your writing needs. You’ll receive your completed work by the deadline you set.

ExpertWriting is known for being affordable, which is great for students on a budget. They are often recommended on platforms like Reddit as a cost-effective option without compromising on quality. They also offer discounts for bulk orders, which can help save even more.

I’d particularly recommend ExpertWriting if you’re pressed for time. We’ve all been there—needing to complete a solid piece of academic work in a rush. While their prices go up for tighter deadlines, they manage them well. For example, they can deliver work in as little as three hours, though for more complex papers, more time will naturally be required.

However, it’s wise not to expect miracles for extremely short deadlines, especially for lengthy papers. For a more realistic turnaround, an eight-hour deadline is doable for them without sacrificing the quality too much.

Pricing on ExpertWriting is reasonable. For a less urgent two-week deadline, you’ll pay around $11 per page, which can increase depending on the urgency, academic level, and length of your paper. This is pretty standard across most professional writing services.

Lastly, they don’t just handle essays. You can get help with almost any type of academic writing, including research proposals, creative writing assignments, cover letters, and literature reviews. It’s a versatile platform that can meet various academic needs.

6.  ExtraEssay  — Best Customer Service

Affordable prices and good quality;

Free, unlimited revisions for 10 days after order delivery;

Exceptional customer service, the customer support team is always ready to help anytime.

Sometimes ExtraEssay fails to meet customers’ deadlines.

I’ve been turning to ExtraEssay for my academic writing needs for a couple of years now, and they’ve been a reliable resource ever since they started up about seven years ago. Their focus is clear—they prioritize attention to detail, reliability, and professionalism.

They offer a broad spectrum of about 20 services, primarily catering to students. You can get anything from basic essays to more specialized documents like resumes and cover letters, all tailored to meet your needs.

What really sets ExtraEssay apart for me is their competitive pricing. It’s rare to find such affordable rates without compromising on quality. The essays and support you receive are absolutely top-tier. Speaking of support, their customer service is remarkable. I’ve had several interactions with their team, and each time they were exceptionally helpful and knowledgeable.

Navigating their website is a breeze too. The homepage is packed with useful information, making it easy for anyone to understand their offerings right off the bat. From a handy price calculator to detailed descriptions of the ordering process, everything is laid out to ensure a smooth user experience.

They don’t just cater to experienced users, and newcomers will find themselves comfortably making their way through the site. They’ve also detailed essential features like free revisions and continuous customer support, which have been lifesavers for me on more than one occasion.

With thousands of clients each year and an 85% return rate, it’s clear they’re doing something right. Their commitment to their customers really shows through in every aspect of their service.

7.  GradeMinders  — Best for Quick Turnaround

Reputable company, solid and consistent quality;

The fastest college essay service on the market (1-hour turnaround time available);

Finding a writer during crunch season might be time-consuming.

GradeMiners is more expensive than most essay writing sites in the industry.

I’ve been using GradeMiners for a while now, and I have to say, they offer a solid service at a fair price. A high school essay runs about $16 per page, and a college paper is $18 per page. They offer a wide array of professional academic writing services beyond just essays; you can get help with everything from presentations and book reviews to lab reports and dissertations.

The process is straightforward: you go to their website, pick your subject, set your deadline, and the professional writers take it from there. They assure that your paper will be completely original and plagiarism-free, which is crucial.

One of the standout features is their speedy delivery. If you’re pressed for time, you can get a college paper done within an hour—as long as it’s not too long. This frees you up to concentrate on other things that might need more of your attention or are more appealing to you.

8. EssayTerritory — Best New Essay Writing Company

Good quality, fair price;

Great loyalty program, good choice for students who are looking to use this site regularly;

Exceptional customer service.

No sample essays available;

Plagiarism report doesn’t come for free;

Expensive extras.

I recently tried out EssayTerritory, a new but promising college paper writing service. It was easy to find an essay writer that matched my specific needs, and the platform has a roster of over 800 active paper writers. They’ve already completed more than 1300 orders, which is impressive for a newcomer.

What stands out most about EssayTerritory is their 98% satisfaction rate. It seems they really know how to please their customers, as about 85% of users return for more academic papers. They offer a plagiarism-free guarantee like many top essay writing services, and they’ll give you a full refund if they miss your deadline or if your work contains plagiarism.

You can order various assignments from them—essays, research papers, case studies, term papers, dissertations, and even help with presentations or speeches if that’s what you need. They also provide proofreading and editing services.

Privacy and confidentiality are top priorities for them. They ensure that every “write my essay” request is kept anonymous and your personal details are secure. They have robust measures in place to prevent any data leaks. This level of security gave me a lot of confidence in using their essay writer service.

FAQs About Best Paper Writing Services

Should i trust essay writing service reviews.

Trusting essay writing service reviews can be tricky. Unfortunately, some companies that offer a custom essay writing service also operate fake review sites to maintain a positive online reputation. This means you need to be cautious about where you look for reviews.

For more reliable information, it’s better to use independent review platforms like SiteJabber and Reviews.io. These sites are generally more trustworthy because they’re not directly affiliated with any essay writing services.

However, even with these platforms, it’s wise to approach reviews with a critical eye. Some dedicated essay writing review sites might have biases or hidden motives, so take their recommendations with skepticism and always cross-reference multiple sources if possible.

How long does it take to have my essay written for me?

Essay writers generally focus on producing high-quality work, and the time it takes to write an essay largely depends on its length. For a standard 275-word essay, the average turnaround is about 3 hours. Most essay writing services strive to meet these deadlines consistently.

If you’re in a rush and your deadline is just a few hours away, you can opt for a premium service. This usually involves having several top-rated writers collaborate to deliver your essay in about half the standard time.

It’s worth noting that the best college paper writing services might experience delays during peak times when demand is high. Typically, they recommend giving writers at least six hours to complete an essay. If you’re willing to pay extra, your order can be prioritized to ensure a faster delivery.

For more complex assignments like thesis papers or extensive research projects, the process can take up to five days. Writers often submit a partial draft by the second day for client feedback, allowing any revisions to be included in the final submission by day five.

Will my essay be written by a professional essay writer?

Picking a reliable essay writing website is crucial for ensuring the safety, confidentiality, and quality of the service.

When hiring writers, most companies put them through a rigorous vetting process. They typically require that writers have native or near-native proficiency in the language they’ll be writing in, along with a relevant degree from an accredited university.

Once hired, these writers undergo further training on the platform to polish their linguistic and formatting skills. They only start working on actual assignments once their writing meets the company’s professional standards.

The best writing services take extra steps to maintain high-quality standards. For example, every piece of work is checked by a moderator before it goes to the client. Writers are also provided with ongoing opportunities to enhance their skills within the company’s supportive environment.

The person who is labeled as a premium paper writer often has more experience and higher qualifications, like a Ph.D., and at least two years of writing experience. While their services cost a bit more, the quality they deliver usually makes the investment worthwhile.

Is using a paper writing service confidential and safe?

The internet is a vast resource where people often share their knowledge, which is a huge help, especially for college students working on their homework. It’s also completely legal and secure to purchase essays and custom papers online if you need them. However, it’s crucial to choose a reputable provider to avoid issues like plagiarism or low-quality work, which could waste your time, money, and effort.

I’ve found that doing your homework on these services is essential. Make sure to look at the company’s refund policy in case you’re not satisfied with their work, and confirm that they’ll keep your school’s name confidential. It’s also a good idea to check reviews of their past work to see if it’s well-written and structurally sound.

From my experience, as long as you do this research beforehand, buying essays online can be a safe option that keeps your details private. Just be vigilant to avoid scams.

What if I’m not satisfied with my paper?

Most top-rated essay writing companies strive to deliver excellent quality, because they want their customers to come back. They have skilled writers who are well-versed in various academic tasks, including essays, lab reports, and research papers. They work hard to produce top-quality work.

If there are any issues with the finished product, these services usually offer free revisions until you’re satisfied with the quality. Client satisfaction is a high priority for these companies, driven by stiff market competition. The goal is to deliver a flawless paper that helps you achieve a high grade.

What are the main drawbacks of using essay writing services?

For many students, using essay writing services is considered a luxury, primarily because the reputable ones that offer great reviews, unlimited revisions, and maintain confidentiality tend to be more expensive. Opting for cheap essay writing services often means risking quality and reliability, especially when it comes to meeting deadlines.

Plagiarism is another serious issue. Both intentional and unintentional plagiarism can occur, particularly with services that don’t carefully vet their writers. Sometimes, clients don’t discover the plagiarism until it’s too late to rewrite the paper and meet their deadline.

Moreover, if an essay writing company lacks a quality control team, the work submitted by writers might be subpar, filled with typos and grammatical errors. Some writers might also resist feedback, making it hard to get the necessary revisions to ensure the essay meets your standards.

Who will write my work and what determines the price?

Your assignment will be handled by writers with diverse backgrounds. Some are full-time professionals dedicated solely to writing, while others are former academics who’ve embraced the flexibility of working from home. There are also those who write as a side job.

Regarding pricing, we’ve discussed the main factors in our article: the length of the assignment, its complexity, and the deadline. Another element influencing cost is the location of the company. Businesses based in regions like Eastern Europe, North Africa, and Central Asia often have lower rates because the cost of living is lower there, making the dollar stretch further.

Comparison of the Top Paper Writing Services

#1. paperhelp 🏅.

Academic papers written from scratch by writers with Ph.D. and Master’s degrees;

No need to provide any personal information;

Reasonable price, great quality, plagiarism-free papers.

#2. BBQPapers 🥈

Premium quality, best writers in the industry;

On-time delivery guarantee, even on rush orders;

Free revisions.

#3. EssayPro 🥉

Good quality at a reasonable price (ENL writers);

Free plagiarism report;

Good reputation.

Best Essay Services: Conclusion

Working with a professional essay writing service is important not only for the quality of the work you’ll receive but also for the security of your personal details. Many students turn to these services when they’re pressed for time and need to complete their academic tasks—there’s nothing wrong with this approach.

Today, numerous legitimate essay writing services uphold high standards of academic integrity and deliver plagiarism-free papers. These paper writing websites are generally affordable for most students, although there are some exceptions.

Before placing an order, it’s important to do your homework. Check the company’s reviews, find out if it offers a refund policy, and look into its track record on past projects. A reliable service will prioritize your confidentiality, which is a vital consideration.

The news and editorial staff of the Santa Cruz Sentinel had no role in this post’s preparation. This is a paid advertisement and does not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the Santa Cruz Sentinel, its employees, or subsidiaries.

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So Your High School Doesn’t Offer APs—Are AP Exams Still Important For College Admissions?

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Brown University

Advanced Placement courses are offered at thousands of high schools across the U.S.— approximately 35% of public high school graduates in the Class of 2023 took at least one AP exam, and approximately 2.8 million students sat for AP exams in 2023. However, a large number of schools do not offer AP courses. In many cases, this is due to a lack of resources—though strides have been made to increase access to AP courses in underprivileged schools, a gap in access persists along racial and socioeconomic lines. In other cases, schools are ditching the AP curriculum as a result of their educational philosophy. In 2018, elite private schools in the D.C. area such as Sidwell Friends and Georgetown Prep announced their intention to phase out AP classes, citing their desire for a more independent curriculum and a growing frustration with the AP’s orientation toward testing rather than other metrics for success.

Despite these drawbacks, AP courses and exams remain highly regarded by many colleges and universities, as they offer insight into students’ academic acumen and potential to complete college coursework successfully. As a result, many students without access to AP courses are left wondering whether they should still register, study and sit for AP exams.

First and foremost, students should know that colleges and universities evaluate their applications in the context of their school and the opportunities available to them. This means that if students did not have AP classes available to them at their schools, admissions officers will not expect to see AP courses or AP exam scores included in their applications. As such, these students’ applications will not be disadvantaged in any way by not including AP exams.

That being said, there are some scenarios in which a student may still wish to take an AP exam despite not having taken an AP course. These are the top three reasons that students might consider sitting for one or more AP exams:

1. To Earn College Credit

One of the main reasons students take AP exams is to earn college credit. Many colleges and universities grant credit for high AP exam scores (typically for 4s or 5s). By earning credit through AP exams, you may be able to fulfill prerequisites, skip introductory courses, or accelerate your progress toward graduation once you enroll in college. However, this is not the case at every school. In order to determine whether the time and effort you will put into studying and taking an AP exam will be justified, you should research whether the schools you are considering applying to give college credit for high AP exam scores. You can often find this information on admissions or departmental websites, or by contacting admissions representatives at each respective school. You can also check the College Board website to see if the schools on your list accept AP credits, but note that these policies change frequently, so you should still follow up with the schools for verification. If a handful of the schools on your list do accept high scores for credit, it may be a strategic choice to sit for one or more exam.

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Huawei s pura 70 ultra beats iphone with pioneering new feature, meet the fintech billionaire making a fortune rewarding home renters, 2. to use exam scores in lieu of the sat or act.

As Ivy League and other top schools reinstate their standardized testing requirements, some schools have announced their intention to allow students to submit test scores from AP examinations in place of ACT or SAT scores. Dartmouth allows students applying from schools outside of the U.S. to satisfy their testing requirement by submitting three AP exam scores. Meanwhile, Yale’s new test-flexible policy also allows students applying domestically to submit AP and IB scores in lieu of other standardized tests. If you are applying internationally or if you have reason to believe that you will achieve a stronger score on AP exams than on the SAT or ACT, you can consider sitting for the exams. Note that not all schools have such flexible testing policies, so you will likely still need to sit for the SAT or the ACT.

3. To Demonstrate Your Academic Abilities

It is important to remember that while they are not the only way to demonstrate their academic capabilities, AP exams are an unbiased and quantifiable way to assess students’ preparedness for college coursework. Students who struggled academically earlier in their high school years or who want to highlight their skills in a specific discipline may benefit from the inclusion of AP scores in their applicant profiles.

Finally, while students who do not have access to AP classes should consider their options and make a strategic decision about taking exams on the basis of their applicant profiles and academic goals, students who have taken AP courses absolutely should take AP exams. Failing to sit for the exams will not only foreclose the possibility of earning college credit, but it will also reflect poorly on your application and raise questions with admissions committees.

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