A Q&A with College Solutions’ Stephanie Coberly Pluta (Col ’07)
College Solutions leverages their admission expertise to help families get a leg up in the college admission process to find their perfect college fit, submit stellar applications, write essays that stand out, secure scholarships, and achieve their dreams. Read on for a Q&A with College Solutions’ Stephanie Coberly Pluta (Col ’07) as she shares unique insight and practical feedback for how to make your essay dynamic and effective.
College Compass (CC): We all hear about how important college essays are! What’s your take on the role they play in the review process?
Stephanie Coberly Pluta (SCP): The role of essays in the admissions process will vary from institution to institution. A good generalization would be that the larger and/or less selective the school, the less emphasis upon the essay. That doesn’t mean that your finely crafted essay would be forgotten! Yes, your transcript carries the most weight in the process, but after analyzing grades, course rigor, taking into account testing if applicable, what your teachers have said about you, grabbing context from your activities list, your essay can be that cherry and whipped cream on top of an ice cream sundae. Admissions readers will be looking for a clear voice, an introspective analysis of how you fit into your community, whether or not you are going to be a good roommate and contributor in your courses. When an essay can show these characteristics, and the rest of the application is at the standard required for admissions, that student has a chance at being bumped from waitlist to accept.
CC: That’s all so fascinating! OK, so what’s the inside scoop? Are there certain topics students should avoid? Is anything off limits?
SCP: I have a ghost-pepper-hot take on this one. I believe very few, if any, topics are verboten. If you take a step back and think, “what does this essay say about me?” you are going to focus on what characteristics the essay conveys, e.g. “I am creative problem solver whose strength is patience,” or “my superpower is my ability to connect with all of my classmates.” These are what we call themes, or the “so what” of your essay. You should pick a topic that helps you create the narrative that supports this theme. The topic itself is merely the scenery. Keep in mind the intended audience of your essay; frequently a student wants to talk about a serious event in their life, like a death in the family or a medical issue. As counselors, we ask them, “what does this event or experience say about you?” Sometimes a topic might be cathartic to put into words, but then the intended audience has now shifted to you the student. Often in these cases, the theme has yet to play out and the student is still learning how this event has affected them. In sum, most topics are possible, but you need to pause and ask yourself, “what am I saying about myself if this is what I write about?”
CC: Do you think there are certain prompts you think admission officers prefer over others? Which ones are better?
SCP: For your Common Application Personal Statement, you have seven to choose from, and Lucky #7 is, “Share an essay on a topic of your choice.” Would you believe that as an admissions counselor rarely did I refer to the prompt before I read an essay? The questions are great starting points; they are there to help you brainstorm! You might have a great topic, theme, and outline ready to go, but none of the prompts fit your essay. #7 is a great option.
CC: What message should a writer leave their reader?
SCP: Within our role as counselors and writing coaches, we love to stop and ask, “ok so what is the point?” Why do we spend so much time focusing on an essay when, Steph, you even said that a reader may only skim it? Admissions officials want to know who you are. That can feel like a very personal endeavor, borderline therapy session. To answer what the purpose of an essay is, ask yourself, “what is the purpose of going to college?” To learn, to contribute, to debate, to connect, to grow, to discuss, to think, to support… if these are the priorities of going to college, you can imagine that the admissions reader is looking for students who embody these pursuits. Therefore, an essay is the chance to demonstrate that you want to be a student who will both challenge and support colleagues, who will be driven by curiosity in and outside the classroom, who will be cheerfully respectful of peers and professors, and who possesses the emotional and academic maturity to complete 4 years of college. You probably will not directly address these goals in your essay; readers can glean a lot from 650 words! Rely upon your storytelling and introspection to take you there.
CC: I’m sure parents will be curious as to what their students are writing. Do you have any thoughts on how parents can best support their students throughout their essay writing process?
SCP: I think this question should be asked more often! One is by creating a calm space for the student to make their own decisions about their essay. As writing coaches, we try to protect the essay process from interference so that the student can experiment with their own writing. Another way is by offering to help with brainstorming. As adults, sometimes we perceive wise moments from our kids that they just gloss over. But also as adults, we have to be ready for our suggestions to be rejected. Finally we can offer to listen when our child is open for feedback, but avoid inserting unsolicited advice. “We” are not going to college; your child is.