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<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\nBecause of the power of creative nonfiction. I\u2019ll explain.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
When I founded Writopia Lab<\/a> in 2007 as a creative writing youth community, I did not have college essay mentorship in mind. But in 2009, Eunju, a high school senior in one of my creative writing workshops, showed me her college essay and asked me if I\u2019d read it. I agreed because I was curious to see what was being asked of her, and what she was offering up. What I found myself reading was a brilliant, playful and creative identity narrative about her name that immediately drew me in, provoked and moved me, and left me feeling like I knew her much more deeply than I had before I read it. She edited and revised it again and again until we said: it\u2019s ready! But when she shared it with friends who were at Yale at the time they said, \u201cYou sound like you\u2019re trying to start a cult, don\u2019t recommend!\u201d\u00a0 And her advisor at her elite public high school didn\u2019t approve either, telling her, \u201cIt doesn\u2019t sound like a college essay.\u201d What was she trying to convey about herself? the advisor asked. I read it again, perplexed.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n We both agreed that she should use it nonetheless. <\/p>\n\n\n\n A few months later, Eunju received a hand-written note on her acceptance and full financial aid letter from Yale declaring: \u201cLoved your essay!\u201d And thus I realized that something was very wrong in the world of college essay writing guidance. And something very right in approaching college essay writing as, essentially, the most exciting form of creative nonfiction in our world today. <\/p>\n\n\n\n In some ways, this is not a surprising statement. When we have the opportunity to reflect on and claim editorial authority over the narratives of our own lives, it\u2019s simple: we feel happier, write more enthusiastically, and to our highest standards. But we have to be given the space to do so. Which means we need to stop being afraid to give our teens the room to think and write creatively and authentically\u2014 yes, especially when applying to colleges. And what\u2019s actually surprising is how few kids are given that space. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Indeed since Eunju, I have worked with hundreds of teens \u2014 and the Writopia team with thousands \u2014 who show up weighed down and stressed out by the conflicting and confusing messages they have received: Market yourself. Impress the admissions committee. Position yourself as a leader. Be personal. But don\u2019t be cliche. Don\u2019t sound privileged. Don\u2019t sound like a pity case. Or one of the most confusing directives: Don\u2019t mention a sibling, or really anyone else for that matter\u2014this essay has to be entirely about you! <\/p>\n\n\n\n But great news: you can ignore the noise. I have sat on panels with members and directors of various colleges\u2019 admissions committees, have spoken to others on the phone, and rarely do they share the same outlook on the \u201cideal\u201d college essay. They universally agree on one thing: that they want to get to know you a bit as a human being– moved by your maturity, humor, humility, curiosity, capacity for growth, and overall sensibility in the world.<\/p>\n\n\n\n When I tell applicants this, I see their bodies relax. And then, when I show them examples of voice-driven, fiercely individualistic essays, they actually get excited. I am allowed to write that? Yes. And you might even get a personal thank you note for it from a director of an admissions committee for making someone\u2019s day by sharing a story that moved them or made them laugh or just simply surprised and entertained them. <\/p>\n\n\n\n College essay writing should be celebrated as the most widely explored subgenre of creative nonfiction today rather than a self-marketing opportunity. After all, it is the one main section of the college application that allows the applicant\u2019s humanity to emerge above a set of grades and scores. Yes, the college essay industry has promoted cynicism and inequity as families desperately try to learn what admissions committees want and how to deliver it just so \u2014 often at a very high price. But there is another way: ignore all the noise in order to pursue your personal voice and story.<\/p>\n\n\n\n At Writopia, we work with funders like the Pinkerton Foundation, the Meringoff Family Foundation, and are supported by our board members like Kim Hartman, along with school partners to make sure that this high-level instruction is available to anyone who seeks it out. <\/p>\n\n\n\n In one school we work with in Harlem, the seniors struggle to make it to their classes as they navigate Covid-19 related health and financial family crises around them. But they show up for online college essay workshops. \u201cMs. I thought college prep was going to be boring,\u201d chats Thais, one high school senior in Harlem in a Zoom chat to her Writopia instructor this past fall. \u201cBut I love this. I\u2019m dead enjoying it.\u201d Another joins the chat: \u201cIt\u2019s dead fun and interesting\u2026 it\u2019s the one class I feel glad I woke up for.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n This process works on many levels. On the social-emotional level, mentors and mentees bond during this process because there is little room for the superficial; rather, we live in the realm of deep reflection, clarity of expression, self-discovery, and real-world connections. Our writers leave with more confidence, a passion for writing, and a much better understanding of themselves as thinkers and writers. On the admissions level, the great majority of our writers win admittance to their top choice schools. <\/p>\n\n\n\n And the power of discovering your writing voice doesn\u2019t cease upon application submissions. In October, one of my high school seniors, Sophie, who attends a top public magnet arts school, was tirelessly crafting her college essays. She was writing about the changing role of art and creativity in her life, her learning disability, and other personal aspects of her life. She didn\u2019t smile often so I feared I was exhausting her with my close reads and challenging questions, like \u201cIs this how you really felt?\u201d Or, \u201cIs that what he actually said?\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n Interrupting a random quiet moment over Zoom, she looked up at me and said, \u201cThis process has changed my life… figuring out who I am and what I really thought in any one moment\u2026 I write all the time now…\u201d and then went back to her edits. I looked at her as she typed away: the application process didn\u2019t destroy her \u2014 in fact, it made her more excited than ever about what was coming next. <\/p>\n\n\n\n You can read Eunju, Sophie, and Thais\u2019 essays, get inspired to write your own creative nonfiction, and support this work by buying The Writopia Publishing Lab\u2019s newest book, \u201c30 Fiercely Individualistic Essays of the Decade\u201d<\/a>! Proceeds help ensure that we provide college essay support to every single writer who registers using our sliding scale, applies for full financial aid, or attends our workshops through our partnership programs at Title 1 schools.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Thanks so much and happy writing!
– Rebecca Wallace-Segall – Executive Director<\/p>\nShare this article:<\/h3>