5 Application Essay Tips from Your Personality Type

How Can We Find Application Essay Tips from Your Personality Type?

Desirable colleges demand reassurance. They want you to want them. That's why some of them make you write the "Why do you like me?" essay. Today's application essay tips focus on how to handle the "Why do you want to go to College X?" essay.

Let's start with what not to do. Do you suspect hordes of other students will write about the school's "great reputation," "sense of community," "world-class research facilities," and "amazing school spirit"? You're right. The same goes for talking about how from the moment you first set foot on campus, you knew it was the only school for you. These responses are generic. We need something personal. Today's application essay tips explore how we can use a personality assessment to fashion a more compelling response to the "Why me?" essay.

5 Application Essay Tips for the "Why me?" Essay

Here's one approach for finding application essay tips from your personality type:

Application Essay Tips | Tip #1: Figure out your personality type.

To write a great application essay, you have to understand yourself. One tool to help you is a personality inventory, which is a series of questions that reveals your preferences about things like where you focus your attention and how you evaluate information. You can find a downloadable Excel spreadsheet of a personality inventory at Digital Citizen. Take the test, and figure out your 4-letter personality type.

Application Essay Tips | Tip #2: Read about your personality type.

I understand that you are a unique, snowflake-like individual, so you might not like being pigeonholed as one of only sixteen personality types. But this is an exercise to help you brainstorm for the "Why me?" essay prompt, not a permanent label, so just humor me. Once you know your personality type, you can read a short description at Western Nevada College or download a longer one from Digital Citizen. I'm an INTP, apparently. This knowledge is liberating. Don't miss out.

Application Essay Tips | Tip #3: Read about your learning style.

Here's where we start figuring out what to write. Read through what Western Nevada College has to say about personality types and learning environments. Not surprisingly, different personality types prefer different learning environments. So? If you identify the learning environment you prefer, and if you identify a way in which the college offers that learning environment, you'll have an easier time developing a thoughtful, personal response to the "Why me?" question. You don't need to agree with everything that Western Nevada College says about your personality type; you're only looking for one or two insights that resonate with you so that you can figure out your niche at the school.

Here's an example. The description of introverts (I) states that they prefer written work to discussion. After reading that, I might think to myself, "Yes, what a coincidence. The test pegs me as an introvert, and I'm writing a blog entry even now. Incredible!" Then I might reflect on moments in the past when I have succeeded with written work. A feeling of happiness washes over me as I realize that such moments have, in fact, occurred, if only occasionally. By taking the personality inventory, reading about learning styles, and reflecting on my own experience, I have identified one feature of my preferred learning environment: written work. You can take this approach, too.

Application Essay Tips | Tip #4: Determine how the school matches your learning style.

Now that you know your preferred learning environment, you need to figure out what classes, internships, research, or other activities at the school reflect this environment. If I'm likely to succeed in written work, then I might visit the school's website to see what writing-intensive classes the school offers. I might learn that the school requires a first-year seminar with papers due every week. Maybe after finding a first-year seminar that looks interesting, I find articles the professor has written. Maybe I email the professor a question or, if I visit campus, attend a class or office hours. Or maybe I realize how this professor's research might be an extension of a concept I've already studied. By reflecting on my own learning preferences and researching the school's offerings, I'm beginning to develop a personal answer to the school's "Why me?" essay prompt.

Since the "Why me?" essay might require you to understand your learning style, I want to make sure we're clear about what learning is. Learning is not the college pouring beakers of molten knowledge into your empty, receptive vessel of a brain. It's not passive. Learning is billiard balls rolling around on the dorm lounge pool table, colliding, changing direction, each contributing its own energy. Learning is active and collaborative. It requires your participation, somehow. So when you're considering whether a school is a good match for you, don't think only of what you will receive. Also think about what you'll contribute. When you show what you'll contribute, you assure the admission counselor she's not wasting a spot on you.

Application Essay Tips | Tip #5: Write about you, too.

"Why do you like me?" can be a trick question because it makes you think you should only talk about the school. This mistaken assumption leads many students to respond with a variation of, "Because you're awesome." They list the school's wonderful qualities. But trust me, judging from the marketing materials, the colleges already know they're great, which is what renders them, at times, insufferable. What each college really wants to know is, "Why am I awesome for you?" Sure, answering that question requires you to understand the school's great features. But it also requires you to show something of your own personality - perhaps your preferred learning environment, an example of your past success, a hypothesis about your future success - so that you can prove that you're a good match. A good "Why me?" essay demonstrates your understanding of the school's opportunities for you, and it provides evidence that you'll take advantage of those opportunities.

Today's application essay tips have led us to explore personality type and learning environment to help identify specific ways in which a college might be a good match. These specific details will help distinguish "Why me?" essay from other students' generic responses. I hope you enjoyed today's excursion.

If you liked today's application essay tips, please share them with your friends. Thank you!

Jon

Jon Perkins holds a B.A. in English from Stanford University and a J.D. from Harvard Law School. He helps students with their college, law school, and medical school applications.

6 Application Essay Tips from Cousin Len's Wonderful Adjective Cellar

Application Essay Tips from Jack Finney

I’m staging an intervention. Cut back on the adjectives before they ruin you. If you remember just one of today’s application essay tips, remember that one. In a Ladies Home Journal article from 1948, science fiction writer Jack Finney mocks adjectives. Let’s see what other application essay tips we can glean from his piece entitled Cousin Len’s Wonderful Adjective Cellar.

6 Application Essay Tips from an “Adjective Cellar” (whatever that is)

According to Wikipedia, before we had salt shakers, we had salt cellars: glass or silver vessels for holding salt. An adjective cellar is, well…I’ll let Mr. Finney explain. What application essay tips can we learn from Finney’s adjective cellar? Here are six to consider:

Application Essay Tips | Tip #1: Use fewer adjectives.

You have a word limit, so you have to be concise. Especially if your essay’s running long, consider stripping out your adjectives. Focus on using the verbs to convey your meaning (just as John Kennedy Toole does in the opening lines of A Confederacy of Dunces). If you want to learn more about how to use verbs, note each verb Finney uses, and ponder the effect each verb creates.

Application Essay Tips | Tip #2: Pair “odd couple” words to make a comparison.

I don’t usually associate “chihuahua” with “ferocity.” That’s why I consider these two words an odd couple. But to describe someone as mild-mannered, I might pair these odd couple words as follows: “He has the ferocity of a chihuahua.” By pairing odd couple words to introduce an image, I make my comparison more vivid than saying, "He is mild-mannered." Finney is pairing odd couple words in a comparison when he writes that the adjective cellar had “the grace of line of a fire hydrant.” This approach is better than just saying the adjective cellar was ugly.

Application Essay Tips | Tip #3: “Like” it!

I got tired of telling you to use a simile. Use the word like, and follow it with an image. Finney employs this technique at least five times in a very short article: 1. “…like a magnet…” 2. “…like particle of lint into a vacuum cleaner.” 3. “…like a cloud of almost invisible confetti.” 4. “…like miniature alphabet-soup letters, strung together and made of the thinnest cellophane.” 5. “…like snowflakes.” Using “like” is not quantum physics, though it is formulaic: Like + image = something an admission officer might actually enjoy reading.

Application Essay Tips | Tip #4: Consider irony.

Finney’s use of irony – in this case, sarcasm – adds humor. I’m not saying you should be sarcastic in a way that shows you’re cynical or angst-ridden (to understand the importance of optimism, see my thoughts on Oscar Hammerstein’s article). But if you can be ironic in a self-deprecating way, or in a way that shows your unique perspective, that’s great.

How does Finney use irony? In describing the effects of releasing a cloud of adjectives over the Senate, he remarks, “Something must have gone wrong this time, though, for things didn't sound one bit different.” His comment is ironic because nothing has gone wrong; senators sound so pompous already that even a release of adjectives cannot make them sound more so. Also, Finney concludes by implying that the piece is a telegram and that he used the adjective cellar to compose it, “Which is why it’s so short, of course.” This closing sentence is ironic because, of course, Finney’s piece is ridiculously long for a telegram.

Perhaps you'll find a way to use irony in your essay either to poke fun at yourself or provide insight into one of your beliefs or activities. This approach is not for everyone, so if it doesn't suit you, move on.

Application Essay Tips | Tip #5: Ask “What if?”

Finney’s whole piece is a whimsical response to the question, “What would happen if I had a magical device that collected adjectives?” He even goes so far as to imagine the adjectives’ colors: “You can't see them at all unless the light is just right, and most of them are colorless. Some of them are delicate pastels, though. “Very”, for example, is a pale pink; “lush” is green, of course; and “indubitable” is a dirty gray.” This absurd description is absurdly funny.

Of course, your college application essay is not a creative writing exercise, so I’m not suggesting you submit a creative writing sample. But as I explain in my application essay ebook, the first step to writing the application essay is to figure out who you are. Finney is someone who hates the over-use of adjectives. He could have written, "I'm someone who hates the over-use of adjectives." That statement would be true, but it would bore us instantly. So he conveys his point of view by answering a whimsical "What if?" question.

We all have our "What if?" questions. Sometimes, they're good clues into how we're different from the people around us. When you find a "What if?" question you know few other people ask, you're close to discovering what makes you different. If you're still trying to pin down who you are so you can figure out a good topic, consider reflecting on what your "What if?" questions say about you.

Application Essay Tips | Tip #6: Watch your tone.

Finney's piece is pure nonsense. There's no such thing as an adjective cellar. Yet he describes it in an objective, clinical tone, as if it's a real phenomenon, even commenting on the colors of various adjectives and relaying the effects of adjectives that jump into Mrs. Gorman's conversation. Using a serious tone to describe a nonsensical topic makes the piece funny.

Figuring out tone is challenging because tone results from the cumulative effect of all the sentences you write. But I'm not mentioning tone to stress you out. The opposite, actually. The whole purpose of your application essay is to reveal your personality. You should use whatever tone accomplishes that goal. Maybe it will be a serious tone. Maybe funny. Or maybe mostly serious. Whatever it ends up being, never assume that a serious tone is the "right" tone for an application essay. The right tone is the one that reveals - not conceals - your unique personality. If writing in a 100% serious makes you sound like someone else, you have to reconsider your approach.

Anyway, that's all I got from the adjective cellar. I hope you enjoy the article as much as I did. If you liked today's application essay tips, please share them with your friends. Thank you!

Jon

Jon Perkins holds a B.A. in English from Stanford University and a J.D. from Harvard Law School. He helps students with their college, law school, and medical school applications.

5 Application Essay Tips from A Confederacy of Dunces

Application Essay Tips from John Kennedy Toole

I touch the books. When I’m in the bookstore, I pull the books off the shelves, open to the first chapter, and see if the author can make me turn the page. Last night, in my search for more application essay tips, I undertook this exercise with my books at home. The eighth and final book I pulled down was John Kennedy Toole’s novel A Confederacy of Dunces. Today's application essay tips come from these three sentences:

“A green hunting cap squeezed the top of the fleshy balloon of a head. The green earflaps, full of large ears and uncut hair and the fine bristles that grew in the ears themselves, stuck out on either side like turn signals indicating two directions at once. Full, pursed lips protruded beneath the bushy black moustache and, at their corners, sank into little folds filled with disapproval and potato chip crumbs.”

5 Application Essay Tips from A Confederacy of Dunces

What application essay tips can we learn from three sentences? Here are five to consider:

Application Essay Tips | Tip #1: Use vivid verbs.

Look at the verbs Toole uses. Squeezed. Stuck out. Protruded. If you only showed me these verbs, and nothing more, I’d still want to read on. Each of these verbs communicates a sense of things being out of place, which makes me want to know more about this weirdo in the green cap.

To upgrade your verbs, start by circling them. Then examine each to see if you can find a better alternative. When you’ve eliminated all (or nearly) all uses of “has” and “is,” and when you’ve avoided repeating verbs, you’ve improved your essay’s verbs.

Application Essay Tips | Tip #2: Find a different perspective.

In the opening, Toole is just telling us that a guy with a big head and lots of hair is wearing a funny green hat. Big deal. The big deal, actually, is that Toole makes the mundane interesting. That’s the same challenge you have when you write your application essay. Your essays will cover topics admission officers have already seen, so your goal is to make the ordinary fresh.

Toole makes the ordinary fresh by taking a different perspective. Normally, we think of people wearing hats, but Toole describes a hat squeezing someone’s head. Normally, we think of a person’s face as a single unit, but Toole describes the protagonist’s face as a collection of some of its component parts: large ears, uncut hair, fine bristles, pursed lips, and bushy moustache.

How do you find your new angle on a familiar topic? First, figure out the conflict your essay will describe, whether between you and yourself, you and another person, or you and an external obstacle. (Remember, conflict is the key to a good story!). Second, try to frame your conflict in a less obvious way. That is, if the obvious description of the conflict is between you and yourself, see whether you can instead frame the conflict as between you and an external obstacle.

In my admission essay, I wrote about a cross country race (I know – boring!) as a conflict between me and an external obstacle: the course. But I could have written a better essay if I had framed the race as a conflict between me and another person: my coach, or perhaps a teammate. If you avoid describing your conflict in an obvious way, you can develop a fresh take on a familiar subject.

Application Essay Tips | Tip #3: Use a simile.

The fantastic feature of similes (comparisons that use “like” or “as”) is that they require you to use an image, which immediately makes your writing more interesting. Toole writes that the ear flaps of the protagonist’s cap “stuck out on either side like turn signals indicating two directions at once.” Anyone who’s driven a car can picture these ear flaps sticking straight out from the main character’s head. And anyone who’s paying attention can appreciate that the reference to two turn signals suggests the main character is experiencing an internal conflict. When you choose the image for your simile, make sure you select one that both shows how clever you are and reveals something deeper about your outlook on life.

Application Essay Tips | Tip #4: Surprise the reader.

If you want to delight your reader, surprise her. Toole surprises the reader by describing the corners of the main character’s lips as being filled with “disapproval and potato chip crumbs.” What’s the surprise? The surprise is that Toole’s description combines an assessment of the protagonist’s mental condition, disapproval, with his physical condition, potato-chip-crumb-covered lips. Seeing disapproval and potato chip crumbs together is funny because it's unexpected. Any time you can set the reader up (for example, by leading her to believe you're writing just another "death of a loved one" essay, just another "how I won the big game" essay, or just another "trip to impoverished country" essay) and then undermine her expectations (by putting a twist on an ordinary topic), you're on your way to surprising the reader.

Application Essay Tips | Tip #5: Use alliteration.

A little alliteration won't rescue a doomed essay, but it will give your writing some pizzazz. And it's easy. Need I say more? In Toole's three intro sentences, I see "pursed lips protruded," "bushy black" moustache, and "folds filled" with disapproval. When you challenge yourself to use alliteration, you'll think more about what words you're using and why, a process that will benefit your style.

Well, who knew we'd find five application essay tips in three sentences of American fiction? But we did. If you liked today's application essay tips, please share them with your friends. Thank you!

Jon

Jon Perkins holds a B.A. in English from Stanford University and a J.D. from Harvard Law School. He helps students with their college, law school, and medical school applications.

3 Application Essay Tips from William Wissemann

Application Essay Tips from a Rubik’s Cube Essay

When I was little I solved a Rubik’s cube. If you just rearrange the stickers, it’s pretty easy. The author of today’s essay, however, solved Rubik’s cubes the “real” way. Our application essay tips come from William Wissemann's essay "Accomplishing Big Things in Small Pieces," which explores the Rubik’s cube’s significance to him.

3 Application Essay Tips from William Wissemann

What application essay tips can we learn from Mr. Wisseman’s Rubik’s cube essay? Here are three to consider:

Application Essay Tips | Tip #1: Use an authentic and original image.

The essay’s image is the Rubik’s cube. We know it’s an authentic image because the writer provides details showing the Rubik’s cube’s involvement in his daily life. These details include specific locations where he’s asked others to solve the cube, as well as the fact he carries the cube in his backpack. If you’re going to use an image, you’ll have to “prove” its authenticity by showing how the image affects your daily life. You can't just choose a random image and hope it works. It won't.

Aside from being authentic, your image must be original. The more original the image, the greater its effect. I have read several essays discussing a passion for jigsaw puzzles. Lessons learned from jigsaw puzzles will mirror those learned from a Rubik’s cube, but the Rubik’s cube is more specific, more original, and, therefore, more forceful. Don’t be afraid to be creative. If you’re a runner, your running shoes are not going to make for an original image. You can do much better. What about your shoelaces or the soles of your running shoes? The more specific you are, the better your chance of capturing an original image.

Application Essay Tips | Tip #2: Include personal details.

Obvious, right? You would think so, but you can never assume a reader will understand your point. Just as you wouldn't write an English essay without citing the text for proof, you shouldn't make a claim about yourself (whether your values, priorities, or perspective) without citing a personal detail for proof.

Consider Mr. Wissemann's reference to dyslexia. Sure, he could have just said he was dyslexic and assumed the reader understood what that meant. After all, most people have heard of dyslexia. But instead of assuming we know what dyslexia is, the writer provides details to make sure we understand. These details include an admission that he can’t always spell his name correctly and a reference to the process of learning the phonemes (whatever those are) that make up words. These personal details transform dyslexia from an abstract challenge into a concrete one.

Application Essay Tips | Tip #3: Create symmetry.

By “Create symmetry,” I mean use your conclusion to refer to and expand on ideas you first mentioned in your introduction. Symmetry is a way of showing you finish your thoughts, which colleges tend to like.

Mr. Wisseman creates symmetry in two ways. First, in both the intro and the conclusion, he mentions carrying a Rubik’s cube in his backpack. The conclusion “goes beyond” by explaining why he carries the Rubik’s cube around: to remind himself he can attain his goals. Second, in both the intro and the conclusion, Mr. Wisseman mentions that solving a Rubik’s cube impresses girls. The conclusion “goes beyond” with some humor. Though the essay’s focus is on the writer’s ability to overcome serious obstacles like dyslexia, ending with a surprise emphasis on impressing girls makes the writer seem like a real person.

And that’s your goal – you want to be the Rubik’s cube guy with a sense of humor (or whoever you are), not application #24601. So as you plan your intro and conclusion, think about how you will connect the two, perhaps through repetition of a phrase or image.

As you read Mr. Wisseman’s essay for application essay tips, be encouraged; remember that he wrote his Rubik’s cube essay as a high school student. If you liked today's application essay tips, please recommend them to your friends. Thank you!

Jon

Jon Perkins holds a B.A. in English from Stanford University and a J.D. from Harvard Law School. He helps students with their college, law school, and medical school applications.

6 Application Essay Tips from Broadway's Oscar Hammerstein

Application Essay Tips from a Broadway Lyricist

With three little sisters who love musical theater, and long car rides on summer vacations to drill song lyrics into my head, I suppose turning to Hammerstein for application essay tips was inevitable. I know more musical theater lyrics than I care to admit, so I won’t. Today's application essay tips come from Hammerstein's essay entitled "Happy Talk."

6 Application Essay Tips Courtesy of Oscar Hammerstein II

What application essay tips can we learn from Hammerstein’s essay? Here are six to consider:

Application Essay Tips | Tip #1: Mix short and long sentences.

In the first paragraph, Hammerstein opens with four short sentences and finishes with two longer ones. The second paragraph opens with a long sentence and finishes with several short ones. As you read the essay, note how Hammerstein varies sentence length to keep the essay moving. When you write your essay, you’ll want to mix short and long sentences, too. Otherwise, an essay of short sentences gets choppy, and an essay of long sentences gets unreadable.

Application Essay Tips | Tip #2: Ask the reader a question.

In the first paragraph, Hammerstein states, “I am a man who believes he is happy.” In the second paragraph, to follow up on his initial statement, Hammerstein asks, “Why do I believe I am happy?” A thoughtful question – by which I mean a question that the reader is already asking herself – engages the reader. In a previous post on application essay tips, I compared the application essay to a monologue. But unlike an actor performing a monologue, you, the essay writer cannot see the audience and confirm the reader is paying attention. Asking the reader a question can help you connect with your unseen reader.

Application Essay Tips | Tip #3: Use contrasting language.

Hammerstein makes comparisons by using contrasting language. For example, he writes, “It is a modern tragedy that despair has so many spokesmen, and hope so few.” The contrast is between the “so many” spokesmen of despair and the “so few” spokesmen of hope. He could have omitted “and hope so few” from the sentence, but doing so would weaken his comparison.

Later, Hammerstein writes, “You cannot isolate virtue and beauty and success and laughter, and keep them from all contact with wickedness and ugliness and failure and weeping.” The contrast is between the four good things in the sentence’s first half and the four opposing bad things in the sentence’s second half. Virtue is the opposite of wickedness, beauty the opposite of ugliness, success the opposite of failure, and laughter the opposite of weeping. The listing of opposite concepts strengthens Hammerstein’s comparison. When you make a comparison in your essay, consider how to employ contrasting language.

Application Essay Tips | Tip #4: Use a simile.

A simile is a comparison that uses “like” or “as.” Hammerstein writes that arguing he is unhappy would be creating a “false picture, as false as if I were to describe a tree only as it looks in winter.” This simile succeeds for two reasons. First, it refers to an image we all understand: a tree as it looks in winter. Second, it is original. “Dumb as a doorknob” is a simile with a clear image, but because it is a cliché, you do not want to use it. Be creative, and choose an original yet familiar image.

Application Essay Tips | Tip #5: Use repetition.

The more I read these essays, the more I decide that repetition is one of my favorite things. Consider how Hammerstein uses “have disappointed” at the end of the second paragraph or “I would be leaving…” in the third. Why not make your life easy? Once you find a sentence structure you like, repeat it.

Application Essay Tips | Tip #6: Be optimistic.

Hammerstein writes about being happy, but he does not pretend every moment is happy. Instead, he acknowledges his imperfection before resolving not to allow it to destroy his hope. Optimism indicates maturity because it shows you can identify the instructive aspect of your experience. (Naturally, I say this as someone who was previously the most pessimistic person I knew.)

Think about what type of students colleges want. Do they want complainers or blamers or whiners? No. So try not to write like one. You do not have to pretend every moment of your life is happy, but whatever topic you choose, at least put a positive spin on it. You had a challenge, but you overcame it (or maybe you didn’t, which is fine), and you learned something in the process.

Enjoy Hammerstein’s essay, and see if you agree that it suggests some application essay tips you can use. If you liked today's application essay tips, please recommend them to your friends. Thank you!

Jon

Jon Perkins holds a B.A. in English from Stanford University and a J.D. from Harvard Law School. He helps students with their college, law school, and medical school applications.