How long does it generally take to write the UC essay?

frazzledmaybe
Sun, 11 Nov 2007 23:11:29 +0000

It depends on the person, duck. Some people work better under pressure, and some like to schedule in their app time over long periods of time so it doesn’t feel overwhelming. I work better under pressure, but ironically am an obsessive-compulsive planner. So, I finished all the stuff I knew would kill me much farther in advance (specifically, the activities and awards sheets, which I wanted to be perfect) and put off the stuff I could delay until around the week prior. I planned it that way. It sounds weird, but I knew that I might have worse essays if I wrote them on more sleep. The 230 word essay I told you about was written after an all-nighter, and the night before also had little sleep. And the essay came quickly and was pretty strong, IMO. A lot of writers need to “let go” and I, an admittedly tense person, relax better while sleep-deprived. Go figure!

If you don’t KNOW that this works for you, don’t do it. Also, I tried to give myself enough time to be able to chill and re-read without tiredness obscuring mistakes I’d made. I still made a major mistake, though I doubt that I would have avoided it because it stemmed from something that I didn’t notice for months.

Try to finish this week, if you can. Then email it to a teacher, or ask for readers here. It will also give you some time to step away and then have the chance to view your writing again with “new eyes.” I don’t know how many essays you need to finish, but I think that, if you manage your time and focus your writing skills, this week is ample enough time, as long as you are applying to under 10 schools (not counting sheer and simple common app schools).