Application Essay

Help us discover who you are.

Is a parent, counselor, or teacher nagging you about writing your essay? Make them stop!

The essay is not so hard once you start putting ideas down. It lets you express things that don’t appear elsewhere on your application. We hope that you’ll plunge into it, thoughtfully develop your ideas, be honest, and let us hear your voice. Tell us who you are by writing about topics or in a style that reveals your personality, character, or sense of the world.

Who Reads Your Essay?

At Wellesley, typically three members of the Board of Admission read your application. The Board includes faculty members, administrators, admission professionals, and current students. We’re music lovers, artists, cyclists, baseball fans, professors, guitar heroes, runners, scientists, poets, beaders, computer techies, and more, thus bringing many perspectives to the admission process.

For all of us, reading your essay is one of the most enjoyable parts of the admission process. Your goal should be to make members of the Board of Admission feel as though we’re sitting down at the table together to discuss your interests and aspirations. We’re keen to know your story.

Let the Board of Admission discover...

  • More about you as a person.
  • The side of you not shown by SATs and grades.
  • Your history, attitudes, interests, and creativity.
  • Your values and goals—what sets you apart.

Some Advice on Process

  • Start working on your essay early; carve out enough time to write a good one.
  • Choose a topic. If possible, write about yourself or something you know, or at least write from your perspective. Be revealing.
  • An essay about some small, even insignificant-seeming thing can be more powerful than the “How I’ll save the world” essay.
  • Write, edit, save: Write your essay in Microsoft® Word or similar software, edit, and save the file (often).
  • Write several drafts; let it sit for a few days, then tackle it again.
  • Get another opinion. Ask: Does it sound like me? Is it interesting from the start? Honest?
  • Proofread! Check grammar and spelling, more than once. Don't forget that spell check doesn’t catch everything.
  • Cut and paste your saved file into the Common Application. This way you will have a separate record of it.
  • Check out the do's and don'ts on the right!

Related

Essay Tips

The essay is an example of your writing ability. Create a strong opening, an interesting middle, and a clear conclusion. What else?

DO...
  • Narrow your topic and try to be as specific and concrete as possible.
  • The essay doesn’t need to be a tome. In about 500 words, you should be able to express who you are or what is important to you.
  • You don’t need to have had extraordinary experiences to write an extraordinary essay. You don’t need to have done incomparable things to be interesting.
  • Details can be powerful.
  • Engage us. Take risks with style. Vary your vocabulary; check for repetition; use descriptive and vivid alternatives.

 

 

Essay Taboos

What not to do.
DON'T...
  • Pick the most difficult topic just to impress the readers, then handle it poorly.
  • Exaggerate or try to impress us with what you think we want to hear.
  • Make statements without supporting them.
  • Try to write a funny story if you’re really not a comic.
  • Use language that is unfamiliar to you.
  • Ramble.