With Barnard really emphasizing its holistic approach, the personal statement portion of your application is probably one of the most important aspects. I remember in high school, I was panicked by the idea of writing my entire life story in 650 words. Somehow the word limit felt both too much and not enough. I’m going to be honest—I went a little overboard with my essay. I started writing and drafting in my junior year and by my senior year, I had three completely different versions of the essay, each with three different topics. That definitely sounds scary but for me, there was a lot riding on this essay. No matter how many times I revised it and how many people gave me feedback, I was not satisfied until my third version of it, which was the one I submitted. But now that I am at my dream college, I’m here to help give you all some advice and tips I picked up through the process.
Start early. The beginning of your senior year is probably going to be a stressful period of time between applying to colleges, writing supplements, and attending interviews on top of your course load. Start the process of writing your college essay as early the end of your junior year or the summer before senior year. This allows you to go through all the phases of the writing process and relieves a lot of the pressure you will feel later down the road.
Tell a story. The best personal essays are not the ones that spew out as much information about yourself as you can. The best personal essays are not a reiteration of your grades and extracurriculars. The best personal essays are not the ones that use a vast vocabulary that read like a theory text. Personal essays are meant to be personal. They don’t tell your life story, but may hone in on a specific topic or experience that is important to you and helps define you as a student and as a person. At the end of the day, you are trying to persuade an admissions officer to let you into their institution. What do you want them to know about you that can’t be seen through the other parts of your application? For me, I wanted admissions reps to know why writing was so important to me ,the change I want to see in my world, what my perspective could contribute to their institution. I wrote about my journey of being a Bengali Muslim hijabi post 9/11 and how going to high school two blocks away from the World Trade Center had changed how I think and how I approach situations. I specifically wrote about the hateful comments I would get and how the intense political climate had made me fear for my life every time I left the house. It was only when I was able to tell my story to my peers and those around me that I truly felt the power behind words.This was a turning point in my life—my passion for writing increased thereafter as I wanted to be someone who could share stories and give others a voice. My essay was not a summary of every single moment of my life, but it told a short story about something that was personal and life changing while leaving hope for the future, specifically a future in higher education.
Trust the process. If you told me these three words to high school Adiba, I would probably roll my eyes and continue to panic. However, looking back this is the biggest lesson I have learned. Your first draft of the essay is likely not going to be the one you end up submitting. While you do not necessarily have to write three different versions of the essay like I did, you will most likely do a few more drafts before being satisfied with the result. The writing process is a frustrating one and there is even more pressure added for college application essays. But in the end, as long as you stay true to yourself, you will get through it and it will pay off.
Good luck. You got this!