The Why College Admissions Essay

The Why College Admissions Essay October 31 Coach K is not a reason you should cite for wanting to attend Duke (photo credit: Adam Glantzman). The Why College admissions essay matters a great deal as a student seeks to gain admission to a highly selective college. In the highly selective college admissions process, every single admissions essay matters but  weve got some secrets to reveal to our loyal readers about the Why College essay in particular. The Why College essay is your opportunity to demonstrate to a college what you know about that institution, what you like about it, and how youd benefit the university. Its also your opportunity to demonstrate that youve done your homework, that if admitted youd attend (this is obviously the case for Early Decision applicants but not the case for Early Action and Regular Decision applicants). The vast majority of Why College essays of students read something like this: I want to attend Duke because of its beautiful campus in Durham, North Carolina. I cant wait to attend basketball games against UNC and sleep in tents within Krzyzewskiville. At Duke, I can pursue my interests in literature, history, and philosophy through their diverse liberal arts education. The low student to faculty ratio at Duke makes for an ideal learning environment. Duke is the school I most want to attend! Oy vey, oy vey, oy vey. While you might giggle at how bad this excerpt from a Why College essay weve made up is, chances are high that your son or daughters Why College essay isnt much better. It is extremely, extremely rare when weve read a good Why College essay (before weve had a chance to work on it). Actually, lets take that one step further. Weve never read a good Why College essay that we havent worked on. Ever. So whats wrong with the excerpt from the Why Duke essay? Well,  the student fails to demonstrate that he or she knows anything about the university. The student knows the school is located in Durham, North Carolina. Great. He or she took the time to look at a map. The student knows UNC is the arch rival. Great. He or she has watched Dick Vitale on ESPN during March Madness. And the student knows about  Krzyzewskiville. What incredible research the student has done! Not. Also, Duke is sensitive. They dont want to think that you only want to go to Duke because theyve got a great basketball program. You should want to go to Duke for other reasons namely academic reasons. In Why College essays, the game is all about specifics. Specifics, specifics, specifics. That beautiful campus and interest in literature isnt exactly specific since it can be applied to any school in America! Even schools with hideous campuses like to think their campuses are stunning. Anyhow, if youre concerned that your Why College essay isnt so far off this terrible Duke essay excerpt and you havent yet submitted your application, email us today at director@theivycoach.com  for last minute advice on how to turn around that essay. Time is running out to get your college admissions essays  in shape. The November 1st deadline is tomorrow! Why on earth did you wait until the last minute? But it is what it is. If youve got a terrible Why College admissions essay, you still might have a little bit of time  to fix it (depending upon where in the world you live, Carmen Sandiego).