The author's advice and insights have helped tens of thousands of students write distinctive college application essays. Now her new book gives you the benefit of her expertise. With this guide, you can make your college application stand out from all the rest by creating unique and memorable essays that reveal you in your best light.
The College Application Essay
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Book Description
Editorial Reviews
Amazon.com Review
Sarah Myers McGinty wants you to keep the college-application process in perspective. Don't panic, she says. "The goal of this process is not to sell an ideal image of yourself. It is to find the right school for you." But of course once you've found that school, you do have to convince its admissions officers that the school wants you as much as you want it. McGinty's The College Application Essay discusses such topics as recommendation letters and college interviews, but its main focus is the essay. Essay questions vary from school to school (this book is loaded with specific examples), but McGinty groups them into three categories: the "tell us about yourself" question, the "why do you want to attend this particular school" question, and "the creative question" (which asks you to comment on an issue, a hero, a book, a quotation, the future, or the like). How you write is as important as what you write, and whatever you do, don't get someone else to write it for you. "Admission people usually can tell," warns McGinty. "If they mark the essay 'DDI,' they've concluded that 'Daddy did it.'"
McGinty also gives some attention to non-traditional, or "high risk," essays. While not for everyone, the high-risk essay can work wonders when you chances of getting into a given school are slim. "We'll take a risk for the right reason," says Simmons College admissions dean Deborah Wright, and perhaps you should, too. After all, says McGinty, "I am sure in the final hours of committee meetings on 'gray zone' applications, no one has ever said, 'Hey, wait a minute, what about that kid who wrote the essay about his family?'" --Jane Steinberg
Review
"An invaluable how-to manual, written with authority and humor by the reigning expert on the topic. [It is] the definitive book on the college application essay." --Carl Bewig, Director of College Counseling, Phillips Academy
"...a clear, on-point, and practical guide-it takes the student from the reasons why essays count in admission decisions to the craft of college essays." --William C. Hiss, Vice President for Administrative Services, Bates College
"...a clear, on-point, and practical guide-it takes the student from the reasons why essays count in admission decisions to the craft of college essays." --William C. Hiss, Vice President for Administrative Services, Bates College
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
16 of 16 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Don't start your essays before reading this book!,
This review is from: The College Application Essay, Revised Edition (Paperback)
I've thought very carefully about making this statement, and must submit that this book contributed significantly to my daughter's successful application process. Her grades were hardly top level, but, inspired by McGinty's clear and direct recommendations, she worked hard on her essays and is now enrolled in an Ivy League college. Unlike other purportedly helpful books in this field, this one focuses on the reflective and personal process that actually makes this rite of passage an edifying one for the student. McGinty helps her readers write an essay that will fulfill its purpose; i.e., enable a college admissions officer to learn about the applicant. Rather than dictating a series of rote "How-tos," she encourages self-exploration and -expression as a means to this end. Her unique perspective as an educator and college admissions consultant make her eminently qualified to guide a teenager through the swamp that the application essays can come to feel like. As a writing teacher myself, I wholeheartedly recommend this book.
10 of 11 people found the following review helpful:
1.0 out of 5 stars
One of the weaker College Application Essay books,
This review is from: The College Application Essay, Revised Edition (Paperback)
This book seems to be written from a defensive mode. It clearly doesn't take chances where it has to, such as giving clear examples of points mentioned in the book. This book should change its name to "How to Write a Paper for College" as it does just that.
The first 66 pages are what you would find in any beginning composition class, but as seniors approaching college, students need more than just the basics. Almost all of the examples aren't even application essay examples, but literary examples which don't serve a purpose. Examples such as an introduction on Dickens is completely useless. How about an introduction for a college application essay? And the examples go on from there including, desert animals, The Simpsons, Hamlet, Moby Dick, and a comparison of FDR and Wilson. It's almost as if the writer can't write a good application essay, which is why the examples are literary and historical in nature. What students really need are powerful introductions, a method of how to bring out themselves in an essay, and memorable conclusions, not just worthless literary examples.
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
An invaluable resource in my successful MBA applications,
This review is from: The College Application Essay, Revised Edition (Paperback)
I invested a lot of time learning Sarah's rules and techniques to successful application writing and let me tell you there are a few tricks to the trade that aren't as intuitive as one may think. The most valuable part of her `program', for lack of a better word, is helping come up with a cohesive application profile. It helps you choose essay topics that reflect this profile and ensure that you are presenting yourself fairly and adequately to the admission committee. Her book clearly identifies the traps that unsuccessful applicants fall into and helps you steer clear of the canned essays so many are unsuccessful with. I have recently been accepted to one of the top 3 business programs worldwide by following Sarah's methods. I highly Sarah's essay writing program.
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