Read On

A personal statement (sometimes called the personal essay or Common App essay) is required for most college applications. To learn to write one effectively, it is important to understand that the essay belongs to the genre of narrative writing, A good personal essay has less in common with the kind of five-paragraph analysis you may have learned to write English class and more in common with, well, a story.

Together with admissions consultant and author Irena Smith, I have compiled this (rather long!) list of personal narratives that demonstrate both the craft and courage that I hope will inspire you to create a compelling essay. But before you trust our narrative judgment, you might like to read essays we have written.

“Albums of Our Lives: Heart Like A Wheel”  by Laurie Filipelli

Laurie drafted this essay on her phone in the middle of the night, and then emailed it to herself. There were at least ten messy drafts, plus some wince-worthy cuts from an editor before this version came about. Note: while the memories recounted emerged fully formed, her older brother still holds out that he never squeezed $5 unfairly from his kid sister. 

“My Father’s Arithmetic”  by Irena Smith

Irena confesses to jotting fragments of this essay in a series of notebooks (and on various scraps of paper) over a period of several years—and never quite knowing what to do with them. The “aha” moment came when she realized the story she was telling was not just about being bad at math; it was also a story about growing up, and understanding what she was good at, even if that realization went against the wishes of her parents. 

A word to the wise: use good judgment about what you take away from autobiographical writing, particularly by adult authors. A writer from The New York Times may choose to focus on a marriage gone wrong, a memoirist might confess her alcoholism. We are not sharing these recommendations because such topics are appropriate for a college essay. We are sharing them because they are good writing, and reading good writing is how writers learn.