“It’s the essay,” said college admissions advisor Todd Blechner when asked what sets you apart in college admission. 

As a junior in highschool, college has been on my mind lately. In under a year, I’ll have applied to and selected the school that I’ll attend for a whole four years, the school that will determine my job opportunities and future. However, only a handful of students are able to attend their top choice of school. The reason these people can, while others can’t is simple. They understand how to create an enticing application.

When talking with Blechner, whose clients have been accepted into Ivy League schools like Brown, I came to understand that there is one thing that sets students apart in their applications: the essay. 

When applying to a school, there are always students exactly like you. They have the same extracurriculars, GPA, and class rank, with probably more volunteer hours. However, every student writes a different essay, so that is where you have to set yourself apart. The essay should “show them who YOU are,” meaning that it has to make the admissions office feel like they know you, and understand why you are the type of student they want. 

Blechner stated that when writing a college essay you have to make it, “personal, but not too personal.” It should be “authentic,” meaning that you can’t make it so personal that it feels made up or exaggerated, but personal enough that they know that the emotions you are portraying in it are real. 

Your essay also has to be original. The admissions office sifts through thousands of essays every year, and reads repeat topics over and over again. Examples include sports stories, taking a hard test or class, and grieving the loss of a family member or friend. While all of these experiences are life changing and personal, they tell a college that you are just like everyone else, because in some way everyone has experienced something like you have. You want to be different, so your essay has to have a unique and different topic than everyone else’s. 

When applying to schools, highschoolers often feel they just aren’t good enough. However, the essay provides a look at something beyond the résumé: you. And for those who write their essays right, and truly make themselves seen, anything is possible.