@CC_Sorin Sure thing! I can start by answering your first question about “essay tips for students targeting top colleges.”
Last week I was in Los Angeles for NACAC, the biggest national conference in the admissions world. “Everyone” is there, so it’s a great opportunity to hear admissions deans, directors, and committee members talk about their schools and what they’re looking for.
When it came to the essays, the words I kept hearing over and over were authenticity and fit.
Now these are not new concepts, but I think that when you’re applying to selective schools, they are more important now than ever.
What I hear from admissions officers is that they’re no longer using the essays as a test of writing ability, because they know that so many kids have outside help. And in the age of ChatGPT, everyone now has access to tools to help them write a solid essay.
Some of VERY top schools are also looking to the essays, not for some startling new revelation about you, but more for confirmation (or a deeper understanding) of themes they’re seeing elsewhere in the application: your activities and interests, how you show up in the classroom (teacher recs) and the school (counselor letter).
So trying to “shock and awe” them in an essay is unlikely to help you get in; what they’re really looking for is authenticity, and a bit more insight into the person who’s doing all these great things.
So how do you ace your essays? For the AUTHENTICITY bit, the best way is to write about something that’s genuinely meaningful to you, AND that highlights a few of the personal qualities that admissions officers at top schools look for (like leadership, creativity, empathy, resilience, etc.).
Once you’re done, it can be helpful to share the essay with 1 or 2 people who know you well and ask them, “Does this sound like me?” That can be a good test of whether the essay feels (and is) authentic.
On the FIT side, I can’t stress enough the importance of researching the schools and showing in the supplemental essays that you understand what the school is offering and that you want it.
The admissions director at Barnard, for example, talked about how they look for women who want to be having conversations about gender, because that’s a big part of their campus culture and their mission (“As a college for women, Barnard embraces its responsibility to address issues of gender in all of their complexity and urgency” – that’s from Barnard’s mission statement).
In short: if your essays feel like they’re authentically you, and if you’ve done research and they show a fit with the college you’re applying to, there’s a good chance they’re going to work in your favor at top schools.