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3 Must-haves for a Perfect College Essay Anecdote

3 Must-haves for a Perfect College Essay Anecdote

by | Feb 10, 2023 | Common Application Essay Guide

When writing the college application essay, the biggest struggle for students is… How do you find the perfect anecdote for your Common App and college application essays?

Here’s the thing: Nowadays, as the college admissions process gets more competitive, the anecdote you pick is absolutely essential. It’s the only platform (apart from interviews) in the entire application process where you can speak directly to the admissions officer of your dream schoo.

The essay is the only opportunity where you can showcase your passions and unique voice that set you apart from the rest of the applicant pool.

So, you must take advantage of it!

Well, what makes a good anecdote? Actually, how do you even brainstorm a good anecdote? I’ll show you how.

3 Must-haves for the Perfect College Essay Anecdote

Your college essay must:

  • Showcase growth
  • Have a message & showcase your personality
  • Be laser-focused and specific

1. Your College Essay Anecdote Must Showcase Growth

College admissions officers want to understand how you’ve grown over the years and throughout your high school career. I mean, college can be tough — the lessons you’ve learned from various life experiences will help determine how well you’ll adjust and succeed to college culture and college academics. So, your anecdote must paint a picture of an experience that has TAUGHT you something.

Don’t be VAGUE about the learnings from an experience.

For instance, don’t say that a takeaway from a story is that… you’re hardworking and you’ve learned to overcome obstacles from an experience. I hear these general analyses all the time!

These examples are vague and oftentimes just plan silly. Most students applying to your dream schools are hardworking, resilient people. So, saying that you’re hardworking doesn’t distinguish you from the crowd.

The trick is to go one step deeper: Yes, you’re hardworking, but what specific experience(s) have led you to be resilient and hardworking? These experiences that taught you the value of (insert trait here) will make you stand out.

What pivotal moment in your life has made you realize that (insert trait here) is crucial? Think of the answers to this question and sit with it. You know if your answer is trite and generic. Force yourself to keep delving deeply and be insightful!

2. Your College Application Essay Needs to Showcase Your Personality

If you have a working draft of your essay, read it out loud.

Once you’re done, ask yourself this: Based on this essay anecdote, in three words, how would you describe the personality of this writer?

Then, ask yourself these two questions: Are these three personality traits unique to YOU? Are these traits that you’d consider to be your core values?

Make sure your answer is “Yes!” to the above two questions. Your essay must very clearly showcase your personality.

Once you’ve solidified the personality part of your essay, ask yourself the final (and possibly the most important) question of all: What is the message you want to convey in your essay anecdote? How do you want to be remembered? Is this clearly evident in the conclusion and analysis part of your essay?

The message and personality aspects of the essay are actually quite intertwined… as Maya Angelou said:

I’ve learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.
–Maya Angelou

3. Your College Essay Anecdote Must Be Laser-focused

There are two main ways you can structure your essay: bird’s eye view vs. laser-focused view.

I highly suggest that you choose the laser-focused essay anecdote route.

Let’s use an example to talk about these two camps in greater detail. Let’s say that the main message of your essay is this: I want the admissions folks at XYZ University to know that I’m passionate about camping and this sparked my interest in environmental science.â””

In the bird’s eye view route, you could use a few small anecdotes about camping that led you to be interested in environmental science and the outdoors. The problem is, in a limited, 650 word essay, you don’t have much of an opportunity to tell a juicy story using a few small anecdotes. The bird’s eye view writing style is actually almost like an AP English paper; you have a thesis (your message) and you’re trying to find 3 facts to support your thesis. This is boring and doesn’t give you an opportunity to showcase you and your personality.

On the other hand, a laser-focused and specific essay anecdote allows you to paint a picture of the story and showcase your voice and personality. In this route, you’d use one event — that pivotal moment — that led you to realize your love of camping and convinced you that environmental science was a true passion. This one moment is the climax of your essay anecdote… this is key.

So, now that you know what makes a good anecdote for a college essay, let’s talk about brainstorming methods for the perfect college essay anecdote to get your creative juices flowing.

High School Resume Example and Step-by-Step Guide

High School Resume Example and Step-by-Step Guide

by | Feb 7, 2023 | High School Resume

So, it’s time to write your first high school resume for college applications. Maybe you’re inclined to Googling high school resume examples and step-by-step guides to create your own. But templates are generic–you’re not!

Remember that ultimately, a resume tells a story–the story of you. Like all well-told stories, it must be formatted thoughtfully and clearly or the narrative is lost. 

So, let’s dive straight in. 

Table of Contents

Do Colleges Require A Resume?

Short answer: Nope!

Longer answer: Might be a good idea, depending on your situation. 

Keep in mind that some schools don’t even allow you to upload a resume, while others do. For instance, my alma mater, University of Pennsylvania allows you to upload a resume. Many Ivy League and top tier schools also have this option, from Cornell or Johns Hopkins.

Our general rule of thumb is this: 

  • If you have a ton of activities and extracurriculars that can’t be succinctly summarized in the activity list 

AND/OR

  • If you have competitive schools in your college list — at least one of them will give you the option to upload a resume.

…then it’s not a bad idea to have a college application resume to upload, just in case. Plus, it’ll be useful to secure summer internships and receive scholarships this way. 

Ivy League College Resume Example + Resume Template

Now, take a look at this resume example for an Ivy League-bound student. We’ll be using his example throughout this post.

Also, here’s a Google Doc that links to this student’s exact resume template that you can use for your own resume! 

By the way, these templates are modified versions of UC Berkeley’s resume templates, so, obviously, they’re quite good 😉

How To Create A Compelling High School Resume For College Applications

Resume guide

1. Clean Contact Information Section On Your College Resume

Refer to our high school resume example: Sam’s name is in bold, centered at the top of the page; his e-mail address is directly underneath. That’s it!

Your name and e-mail address are the only contact information needed. If you have a website, particularly one that showcases your personality, include that too. 

Again, the ideal high school resume is clean and simple. There is no need for a brick and mortar address or phone number. 

2. Don’t Include Coursework In The Education Section

High School student Resume sample

As you can see in our high school resume example, there are only six items in the education section and none are coursework. In this instance, coursework is clutter. 

The only items needed in the education section are the following: 

  • school name and location
  • GPA 
  • class rank 
  • class year 
  • SAT scores 

Bear in mind: you’re the narrator of your own story, so be smart about the information you include. Remember the goal of a resume is to market yourself, so paint yourself favorably. 

…in other words, if your SAT scores are lower than you’d like, leave them off! The ideal high school resume is carefully curated.

3. Relevant Experience Means Relevant To Major

Perhaps you’re a dedicated and gifted cellist. Let’s be frank, unless you’re looking to major in music theory, that does not belong in the “relevant experience” category. 

So, what do we mean by “relevant”? We mean this: relevance to major. Are you pursuing computer science and did you intern at a start-up? That’s relevant experience!

Take a look at our sample high school resume. Sam lists three internships (two political, one research.) We can surmise that his major is related to political and environmental sciences. 

Notice that dates are listed as well. In addition to being relevant, experience should be timely. That means you should only include experience attained during high school. 

Don’t go all the way back to middle school. Start with the summer before high school and proceed from there.

4. Use Active Verbs In Your High School Resume

Once you’ve compiled your list of relevant experience, create bullet points detailing your responsibilities using active verbs. Let’s check out Sam’s sample high school resume again. 

Sam’s relevant experience section includes the following active verbs that are quite strong: 

  • coordinate 
  • write 
  • assist
  • volunteer 
  • conduct 
  • learned 
  • attended 
  • leveraged 
  • enhanced

Active verbs show what you DID and showcase your contributions. They tell a vivid story of your ability to take action and illustrate what you bring to the table as a student at your dream college.

If you need inspiration for action verbs, check out this awesome action verb list from UC Berkeley Haas!

5. Activities Unrelated To Your Major Are Extracurriculars 

Once again, reference our sample resume. Sam was a swim coach, a varsity swimmer and co-Captain of the School Science Olympiad Team.

Swimming might not qualify as relevant experience, but it’s still important because well-rounded candidates are strong candidates. 

Basically, any activities unrelated to your major or field of study go in the “Extracurricular Activities/ Volunteering” section.

6. Skills Are Optional And Technical

High School Resume Example

The skills section is optional, and only to be included if appropriate.

So what are skills? Perhaps you can juggle, for example. While it’s a good party trick, don’t list that here. 

This section is for technical skills, especially if you’re interested in computer science or engineering. For example, proficiency with C++, Java, and R belong here. 

Once again, though, the skills section isn’t applicable to everyone. Remember, there is no need to pad your resume. The ideal high school resume is straightforward and honest!

So, now it’s your turn to write your high school resume. Hint: This is a great exercise to do for your activities list for your UC application and Common Application. Let us know how your resume turned out in the comments section below!

UC Essay Example: Personal Insight Question #7

UC Essay Example: Personal Insight Question #7

by | Feb 3, 2023 | UC Personal Insight Essay Examples

This UC Prompt is one that students seem to gravitate towards. So, we have tons of UC Personal Insight Essay examples for this one. 

So, what have you done to make your school or community a better place?

A lot, I’m sure. But how do you put all this passion and hard-work into 350 words? That’s what makes answering the UC Personal Insight Questions so tricky. But don’t fret! In this post, we’ve got a successful, creative UC essay prompt 7 example for you. 

And if you’re looking for more UC Personal Insight Questions examples, checkout this blogpost: 2020 Ultimate Guide: 20 UC essay examples.

UC Personal Insight Example: What have you done to make your school or your community a better place?

Within six months, four students from my school district committed suicide, shocking the community.  These were our classmates and neighbors—why did they do it?  As a good friend to one of the students, I knew he suffered from insomnia—and I wondered about the correlation between unhealthy sleep habits and depression.   

My sorrow and yearning for clarity directed me towards sleep research—I walked into Dr. _____ leading sleep research lab at the VA Hospital, seeking to join their mission to better understand sleep.  I was blessed when she took me on as an intern during my sophomore year.  Dr. _____’s lab focuses on cognitive behavioral therapy for insomnia (CBT-i).  CBT-i tackles insomnia on two fronts: cognitive therapy helps patients overcome mental sleeping blocks, and behavioral therapy ensures that the patients’ behaviors enhance sleep.  We investigate individual effects of the cognitive and behavioral parts.

This was my chance to learn about the science behind insomnia—especially about its effects on our overall wellness—to better understand my friend’s tragic situation.  My first duty was patient recruitment through marketing our clinical study to the community, but soon transitioned to data analysis and treatment.  Statistical programs such as R and SAS became my best friends, and tests for cognitive ability and neuropsychological status like MOCA and RBANS were my favorite patient evaluations.  I’ve always enjoyed science, but my time with Dr. _____ helped me gain a deeper appreciation for research.

Research and medicine are integral parts of my future—there is still ways to go in finding an effective long-term solution to teenage sleep issues and well-being.   I have ideas such as marketing CBT-i sleep therapy to increase its accessibility and prevent more tragedies like the ones at my school, and the guidance of UC professors as well as the tight-knit student body gives me the best chances of pursuing my goals and contribute back to the community.  An education in the University of California system would provide me with plentiful resources to continue making strides towards solving this problem.

Source: One of my students that was admitted to Berkeley & UCLA.

UC Personal Insight Prompt #7 Pro Tips

Hold on! Before you go off and write your UC Essays, take a moment and analyze the strengths of this UC Personal Insight example. We’re giving you highly successful UC essay examples here — in fact, this student got into all the UCs he applied to, including UCLA and Berkeley. So, here are some best practices and tips. 

UC Essay Example: Personal Insight Questions

UC Prompt 7 Tip #1: Consider a unique angle

Most essays I read that attempt to answer this UC Personal Insight Question prompt 7 usually delve deeply into volunteering and community service. That’s not necessarily a bad thing, but it’s always nice to read a fresh take on a prompt that gets almost monotonous. This UC essay example does a fantastic job of creating a unique take on this prompt!

UC Essay Example Tip #2: Discuss goals for the future

Many UC essays I read do a good job of telling the story of the past/present. For instance, this UC essay example does just that — it talks in great detail about the student’s research and the motivation behind his research project. This UC Personal Insight example however, goes one step further than most others: The student ends the essay by giving a concrete idea of how he wants to take his current research and delve deeper into it at a UC. 

This idea is important because UC admissions officers love to see that students aren’t doing activities for the sake of doing it — admissions officers love it when students are passionate about the extracurricular activity, and have ideas to continue pursuing it throughout college to contribute to the academic environment!

UC Essay Example Tip #3. Show your curiosity

A common pitfall that students have when writing UC essays (and college essays in general) is throwing around words like “passion” with nothing to back it up. 

Remember: you’ve got to show, not tell. 

This particular UC essay example does a great job doing that. This student makes it abundantly clear: He has a genuine, deep love for learning. He has a personal WHY he is invested in tackling the issue of sleep, which compels him to follow his curiosities into a research setting. 

This motivation to seek opportunities to deepen your interests in an academic setting is absolutely critical to be a successful UC applicant (at least, for UCLA and UC Berkeley). 

Alright, now that we’ve gone through this successful UC essay prompt 7 example, you’re probably wondering: how are you going to write a stellar UC essay yourself? Well, we’ve got you covered! Take a look at this UC Personal Insight essay guide. 

UC Essay Example: Personal Insight Question #8

UC Essay Example: Personal Insight Question #8

by | Jan 30, 2023 | UC Personal Insight Essay Examples

Prompt 8 of the new UC Personal Insight Questions is pretty open-ended and therefore it can be a bit difficult to come up with a topic. However, it’s actually a really solid UC essay prompt. Below is a UC essay example for prompt 8 as a source of inspiration. Enjoy!

If you’re looking for more UC Personal Insight Questions examples, checkout this blogpost: 2020 Ultimate Guide: 20 UC essay examples.

UC Essay Example – The Creative Yoga Essay

What is the one thing that you think sets you apart from other candidates applying to the University of California?  

At the sound of the singing bowl’s ring, marking the beginning of a yoga session, I hesitantly lift both legs overhead, forming the plow pose. Immediately, I feel discomfort seeping into my back.

I begin to ponder: what’s the purpose of this pain? There has to be a reason for the uneasiness of this pose that is deeper than its face value.

“Surrender to the discomfort,” soothes my instructor.  

Strange. I’ve been taught my whole life to fight pain. Why yield now?

Gradually, I give in. I fall in sync with the Ujjayi breathing. With a gentle whoosh, my breath escapes, allowing me to concentrate on the richness of the moment. As my attention turns away from my physical state, my body connects to the world and discomfort fades out of my mind.

Then, I realize the purpose: to find comfort amidst discomfort. As my thoughts are quenched by the moment, I discover that mindfulness is centered around acceptance of the present; I focus on every inhale and exhale, every mental sensation. As I yield to the present moment, with my mind concentrating on breathing, I surrendered to the pain.

I take these epiphanies from the yoga mat and carry them into the real world. I’ve discovered how to handle obstacles in life with tranquility and grace. Emotionally and physically, I am stronger.

Furthermore, I realize that this strength is uncovered in the moment. Sometimes in life, we set our sights only on our end goals, preventing us from enjoying the means of reaching it. Whether it’s learning a new calculus concept or playing an instrument, I now know that the most important skills are discovered amidst the process. Regardless of what lies ahead in college or beyond, I know that it’s the journey, not the destination, that matters.

I am unique in my ways of searching for an underlying significance in my journeys. With an unconditional love for exploration and analysis, I can better navigate the world around me.  From brewing tea to creating oil paintings, I have a natural tendency to seek deeper meanings in everything I do.

Source: One of my students that was admitted to Berkeley & UCLA.

Analysis of UC Essay Example Strengths:

1.Showcases an aspect of the student that’s not apparent in any other part of her application

This UC essay example is smart because of this: Many students out there will be writing about various clubs, sports, and volunteering opportunities…so, this student wrote about an aspect of herself an admissions officer would NEVER know based on her application! If you have a hobby or interest that isn’t apparent on any other part of your application that you think is an integral part of who you are, then definitely make sure you showcase that side of you in the UC essays!

2. Interestingly crafted sentences  

I’ve read maaaaaany UC essays this past year, and here’s a huuuuge tip for you: Change up the cadence of your writing in at least one of your essays. What I mean is, try to experiment with things like using dialogue and rhetorical questions in these short UC essays. Just think about it: You’re submitting 4 different UC essays during the application process…you don’t want all 4 to sound pretty similar to each other, even if the content is relatively different. Does that make sense? So, switch up your writing and take a slight risk. It’ll pay off in loads by keeping the attention of your UC admissions officer!