when should I start writing my admissions essay?!

Answered

Hey there!

It's great that you are thinking about your essay early...way too many students wait until the last week or the last few days before applying and you can only imagine how bad those essays are. So applause to you for preparing now!

I think the ideal time to start the admission essay is end of junior year into the summer if you are applying to a regular or rolling application system. The Common App opens on August 1st, and the sooner you apply, the sooner you have results! I'm a senior, and I am working on my application right now...I did not apply as soon as the App opened because I wanted school to start so I could put my senior classes as IP (in progress) on my transcript.

Anyway, if you start in the summer, you have time to write many drafts and get feedback instead of cramming it in during senior year. Sometimes you write an essay and realize you discovered a better topic, so you need wiggle space to write new essays if need be OR certain colleges require supplemental essays, which increases the need for time.

However, you can prepare now! Begin brainstorming essay topics (watch essay videos by SupertutorTV on YT) and drafting a few essays if you have time. Like anything else, writing essays takes practice; I highly recommend entering scholarships in junior year to get practice writing essays. The more you do it, the easier it becomes to be creative while staying true to your voice. In the 2nd semester of junior year, I entered a major scholarship that required approx. 10 essays! This meant I spent 15-45 minutes working on essays practically every day. Though I did not win, I now have a storehouse of essays answering different prompts from this scholarship and other scholarships.

So short answer is that I recommend the end of junior year, but begin preparing now. Also, if you write and edit an essay to perfection in the beginning of the summer and then realize in August that it just doesn't fit you, it's okay! You did not waste your time.

Hope this helps and lmk if you have any questions.