How to Write a Successful College Application Essay
- Kristina Gatto
- Jun 1, 2025
- 6 min read
With Prompts and an Example!
Oh no, college application season is coming up FAST. Writing the college essay is half the battle in submitting applications. Here’s a quick guide on how to write a solid college essay, coming from someone who recently went through the application process.
Honestly, college applications should not be as stressful as high schools’ make it out to be. Yes, they're important, however, they shouldn't cause a great deal of stress and anxiety to an already-stressed high school senior. This essay should take no more than a few days to think about, a day to write, and a day to revise it. I remember coming up with my idea during religion class in high school and instead of paying attention to lecture, I spent 45 minutes writing my essay instead. Later that day I had it proofread to ensure I had proper spelling and grammar and I began submitting it to colleges the same night. Talk about crazy, but knowing me, you shouldn’t be surprised. As I started my freshman year of college, I even had a professor tell me they read and remembered my essay. It’s not that deep but you definitely want to make sure you write something that stands out.
First, sit down and brainstorm. Ask yourself some questions.
What sets you apart from everyone else? How have you impacted the lives of others? What unique traits can you bring to the school community? What sparks your interest? What makes you memorable?
You can write this essay about pretty much anything. I’ve heard of some wild college essays, but honestly, as long as its well-written and descriptive, you can capture a readers eye with any story.
Do some google searches on the most common college essay topics and write about anything but those select few. The admissions committees get so many essays with the same few ideas or prompts, so make it your mission to write about something unique.
Originally I was going to write my essay about my trip to england and how it changed me, but I decided against it because so many people do essays just like that. I really had to sit down and think, what’s something people could remember about me? What’s something that no one else has/can do? What’s something that sets me apart from everyone else? What’s something that’s not normally brought up in conversation?
I feel like that last one is super important. What’s something interesting about you that you want people to know, that normally wouldn’t be brought up in conversation.
I decided to write my essay on having synesthesia. I rarely ever hear people talking about it in everyday conversations so I figured writing about how I have a unique perception of the world would be perfect. I also described my experiences in great detail so the reader can get a glimpse of how my brain works.
Second, brain dump on a piece of paper.
Now that you have your idea, write everything you can think about the topic on a paper just to get your thoughts out. This is a helpful writing technique in general, but it definitely will help you get all your ideas out on paper so you have a general idea of what point you want to get across. Make an outline of your ideas and make sure they flow well.
Third, you need a catchy intro sentence.
This may be the hardest part of the essay. Don’t forget, college application readers are reading HUNDREDS of these essays everyday. You want them to read your intro sentence and be interested enough to finish the whole essay. You really want to reel the reader in with this first sentence so make it unique, quirky, and interesting enough to make someone think “I need to know more after reading that.”
Writing this sentence might even be something you do after finishing the essay itself. Deciding what will really catch the reader’s attention might be much easier after having a whole essay written out.
Next, just grind it out.
It’ll take 30 minutes or a couple hours, depending on how focused you are. This essay, as far as I’m still aware, has a word limit so you can only write so much. Make sure to only include the most important aspects and really paint a picture for your reader to understand what you’re trying to tell them.
You also always want to portray yourself in a positive manner. Being negative or pitiful towards yourself in your essay will make it more difficult for an admissions committee to want to accept you. Always put your best foot forward to show the admissions committee that you’re a positive student who will succeed if accepted.
Take the time to really sit down and write a cohesive story to share. This essay will be a major determining factor in your applications so you want it to be your best effort.
Lastly, have someone proofread it.
The best decision I ever made was having my essay proofread by someone other than myself. I used to be the kind of writer that had so many ideas and wrote so fast that they made a million grammatical errors without even realizing. Although my ideas were good, having someone proofread my essay really ensured it was great.
Ask a teacher, your parent, or even your best friend who’s great at writing, but make sure to have it proofread before you submit it anywhere.
I’m still extremely proud of my essay so I decided to include it below as an example:
“I walk into my living room and sit at the black baby grand piano. I begin to play moonlight sonata, one of my favorite classical pieces and I’m seeing vivid deep purple colors. I then switch over to Canon in D and I see white and pastel yellow, it’s both indescribably exhilarating and incredible. I can see music.
Sometime during my tween years, I began teaching myself piano while my mom was in the room. I described to her the corresponding colors to the song I was learning and she was perplexed since she had never heard of such a thing before. Not thinking much of it, I grew up believing this is just how everyone’s senses operated. Years later, during english class, it occurred to me I was different. We were reading a story and my teacher asked the class what the mood of the story was, and without hesitation, I raised my hand and described the story with both colors and textures as my classmates and teacher stared at me in confusion. After that class, my friends sat with me at lunch and asked me all different names, places, songs, etc. and asked me to describe the color and feel to it. They were fascinated by my descriptions and I felt a bit extraordinary that day.
After some research, I discovered that I have synesthesia. It’s defined as a phenomenon where one sense overlaps with another involuntarily and creates a whole new experience. Not only does my brain connect music with colors, but it also connects names, places, objects, feelings, letters, shapes and numbers with colors and textures, as well. Synesthesia is not a disease, nor is it negative — it’s simply a different way the brain processes certain senses by interconnecting them. My love for the arts and sciences is boldly enhanced because of this ability.
Of all the things my mind connects colors to, music is the most prominent. While each note produces a singular color, an entire song shows me a vivid portrait. A sketchbook sits on my dresser full of paintings and drawings I’ve created of the colors and images I see. Learning piano has always been my favorite — each note, chord or song I played displayed an intense array of colors in my minds eye. I also taught myself guitar and ukulele because of this connection it’s only enhanced my love of learning.
My world is richer and although my interests are fairly different, this ability brings them together and allows me to explore and experience so much more than just meets the eye. My love for astrophysics may seem unrelated to having synesthesia but I believe it actually is one of the main reasons for it.
When I’m sitting in a math or science class, as the teacher is explaining the concepts I begin to see more colors and I find myself so immersed in the topic that I find it exciting. Astrophysics combines this amazing feature with space, something I’ve been in love with since I was little.
I have a greater appreciation for my life experiences thus far, and I believe having synesthesia has allowed me to be a more open-minded and rounded individual, while shaping me into the person I am today. Having synesthesia isn’t something I’m ashamed of or wish I could be without; I believe it’s an extraordinary gift which allows me to perceive the world in an extraordinary way.” - Kristina Gatto
I hope you enjoyed reading my tips and essay. If you’re starting to apply to college, best of luck! This time may seem stressful but it’ll all be worth it once those acceptances start rolling in. :)
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