The Importance of College Essays

When you're applying to college, admissions officers consider many different factors. They want to know about your GPA, your SAT or ACT scores, and your extracurricular activities. However, a lot of students miss out on one of the most important parts of the application process: the essay. College essays are an important part of the college application process because they give you the opportunity to tell your story, show who you really are and stand out from other applicants. Here's how to ensure this crucial step works for you rather than against you.

When should you start working on your college essays?

The sooner you start, the more time you have to revise. The more time you have to revise, the better your essay will be. Furthermore, submitting an application for early decision or early action is a great way to get the ball rolling on your college applications early in high school so that when it comes down to it, there’s less pressure on each individual essay and more room for improvement across all aspects of your application.

What are the components of a strong essay?

The essay is a chance to tell the admissions committee more about who you really are. The goal is to have your essay stand out from those of all of the other applicants, so it’s important that you use your voice, your own words and experiences. If students can do this well enough in their essays, they are more likely to be remembered by someone in admissions.

You want to make sure that when you write an essay using your own words and perspective; it should feel like something that could only come from YOU!

How many essays do I really have to write?

Most colleges ask for 2-4 essays, but some will request more. Some schools have a specific essay for each major, and some require a diversity essay or personal statement. To get the most out of your application process, you need to know what's expected at each school. The more schools you apply to, the more essays you will likely have to write.

In general, students who are applying to the University of California system of schools should be prepared to answer four of the 8 UC Personal Insight Questions, and the Common Application and/or Coalition Application essay. These latter essays are also referred to as your “personal statement” and serve as the main essay for all private school applications in addition to the supplemental essay questions asked per each institution.

Common App essay prompts for 2022-2023 

Choose one of the following, for a max word count of 650 words.

• Some students have a background, identity, interest, or talent that is so meaningful they believe their application would be incomplete without it. If this sounds like you, then please share your story.

• The lessons we take from obstacles we encounter can be fundamental to later success. Recount a time when you faced a challenge, setback, or failure. How did it affect you, and what did you learn from the experience?

• Reflect on a time when you questioned or challenged a belief or idea. What prompted your thinking? What was the outcome?

• Reflect on something that someone has done for you that has made you happy or thankful in a surprising way. How has this gratitude affected or motivated you?

• Discuss an accomplishment, event, or realization that sparked a period of personal growth and a new understanding of yourself or others.

• Describe a topic, idea, or concept you find so engaging that it makes you lose all track of time. Why does it captivate you? What or who do you turn to when you want to learn more?

• Share an essay on any topic of your choice. It can be one you've already written, one that responds to a different prompt, or one of your own design.

UC PIQs for 2022-2023

Answer 4 of the following questions, with a max word count of 350 words.

1. Describe an example of your leadership experience in which you have positively influenced others, helped resolve disputes or contributed to group efforts over time.  

2. Every person has a creative side, and it can be expressed in many ways: problem solving, original and innovative thinking, and artistically, to name a few. Describe how you express your creative side.  

3. What would you say is your greatest talent or skill? How have you developed and demonstrated that talent over time?  

4. Describe how you have taken advantage of a significant educational opportunity or worked to overcome an educational barrier you have faced.

5. Describe the most significant challenge you have faced and the steps you have taken to overcome this challenge. How has this challenge affected your academic achievement?

6.  Think about an academic subject that inspires you. Describe how you have furthered this interest inside and/or outside of the classroom. 

7. What have you done to make your school or your community a better place?  

8. Beyond what has already been shared in your application, what do you believe makes you stand out as a strong candidate for admissions to the University of California?

Coalition Essay prompts (2022-23)

Choose one of the following. There is no official wordcount, but 500-550 is recommended.

• Tell a story from your life, describing an experience that either demonstrates your character or helped to shape it.

• What interests or excites you? How does it shape who you are now or who you might become in the future?

• Describe a time when you had a positive impact on others. What were the challenges? What were the rewards?

• Has there been a time when an idea or belief of yours was questioned? How did you respond? What did you learn?

• What success have you achieved or obstacles have you faced? What advice would you give a sibling or friend going through a similar experience?

• Submit an essay on a topic of your choice.

What are some common pitfalls in college essays?

Some common pitfalls in college essays include:

• Over-generalizing. Avoid describing experiences in general terms. For example, it is common for immigrant students to describe their first experiences in the US in the same general way: they came to a new school, did not speak the language, and felt alone. It is unique, however, for an immigrant student who came to a new school, did not speak English, and felt alone to plant a garden that was seeded with plants from her grandparents’ garden, so that even as she absorbed a new language and culture, she still felt connected to her original home. Getting into specifics will make your essay and your story stand out.

• Bragging. College admissions officers are seeking out a more complete narrative and will not be impressed by cliches such as “I am determined/passionate/intelligent/hardworking.” Often, they like to read about how you overcame great obstacles or learned from mistakes made in the past (or present). Some have even said specifically that they are tired of reading essays about how students have solved problems alone and prefer to see students collaborating and working in groups.

• Unresolved challenges. While exploring a challenge or failure is important, it is equally important that that challenge be resolved. Colleges want to see students who are prepared to deal with the intellectual and emotional rigors of college, so if you are experiencing something like a mental health disorder, stress, a fraught relationship with family/friends, please only discuss it if you have learned and grown from the challenge and it informs an important part of who you are or explains a questionable part of your application, such as low grades.

You can show admissions officers who you really are through your writing.

It’s no secret that college admissions officers read a lot of essays. The essays are the first truly personal impression you make on them, so it is important to write an essay that reflects who you really are and what makes you unique. Your writing style is one way to show off your individuality, so if you have an interesting way of talking or an unusual perspective on life, let it shine through in your application essay! In addition, you can use the essay as a chance to express any interests or passions that may not be apparent from other parts of your application.

The essay also gives you an opportunity to contextualize or provide explanations for any difficult points in your life and academic journey—something that might make admissions officers take pause. Use the essay as an opportunity to tell them how wrong they are! By sharing who you really are and what matters most to you—in a persuasive manner—you can show admissions officers why they should give more weight to certain aspects of your application over others.

Now that you know the basics, you’re ready to start crafting your own college essays. And if you need help along the way, don’t be afraid to ask! Our Meridian Prep counselors are an excellent resource to turn to when it comes time for writing. 

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Want to start writing, but now sure how?

Join us for the first workshop of our Summer Essays Workshop Series: The Personal Statement. Explore the prompts, potential topics, and strategies for drafting a unique, compelling personal statement.

Do AP Scores Really Matter?

After months of studying, exhaustive and exhausting practice, and near–or over!–$100 per test, you probably want to know how much AP scores really matter. 

The answer is more complicated than you’d probably like. We’ll discuss the importance of testing, how colleges evaluate AP classes and scores, and which tests you need to focus on. 

What’s a “Good” Score?

The APs are scored on a scale of 1 to 5. Your score is supposed to indicate how qualified you are to receive college credit in each area of study. A passing score is a 3 or above, and each of these numbers corresponds to a potential college course grade:

Grade Equivalency /Recommendation

A or A+ (Extremely Well Qualified)

B, B+, or A- (Well Qualified)

C, C+, or B- (Qualified)

AP Exam Score

5

4

3

Note: A score of 2 or below is not considered passing. 

How Do Colleges Use AP Scores?

Obviously, it's nice to score a 4 or a 5 on a particular AP exam. But AP exams are not a required part of your college application. Colleges primarily use AP exam scores to determine whether you should receive college credit and/or skip introductory courses. 

Let’s say, for example, that you take AP Biology and receive a passing score of 3. UCLA will accept that score for college credit. Harvard, on the other hand, requires a minimum score of 5 to grant you college credit for that exam. (You can check out AP credit policies per test or per institution here). 

Whatever scores you receive, you do not have to submit those official scores to college until July after your senior year. In other words, colleges won’t even see your official score reports before they make their final decision about your application! They will only evaluate those score reports once you’ve been accepted and you’ve submitted your statement of intent to register. Then they will ask for your official scores so they can determine whether you will receive advanced standing (you get to skip that required introductory course), college credit (you receive credit towards graduation), or both.

So Do You Have to Self-Report All AP Scores–Even Bad Ones?

Still, most colleges will request that you submit your unofficial scores (that is, that you self-report them on your application). The question is: do you have to?

The short answer is nope, absolutely not. If you take an AP exam and you do not perform well on that examination, you do not need to report that score on your college application. 

But what does it mean to perform well? Obviously a 5 is a great score, and you should report any and all 5s. Obviously a 1 or 2 is not passing, so you probably shouldn’t report those. What about a 3? Or a 4? 

This is where your choices may feel tricky. In general, we recommend that you report all passing scores. A 3, 4, or 5 all show that you are at least qualified to pass an equivalent college-level course. 

Some students have doubts, though. Let’s say you’re a bright kid who hopes to study mathematics in college. You’re a junior, and you’ve taken AP English Language, AP Psychology, AP US History, and AP Physics 1, and you received 5s on all those tests. But…you took AP Calculus AB, and even though you got an A+ in the class, you received a 3 on the test.

Now, for some schools, especially the more selective ones, your 3 might bring up some questions. You got an A+ in the class, but maybe your teacher is an easy grader. Maybe you aren’t as strong in math as you need to be for a math major. 

In these types of cases, some students prefer not to report their scores. However, not reporting your score is also somewhat suspicious. Admissions officers may wonder whether you passed the examination at all. So you still may be facing questions about how easy your class was or how qualified you are for your major. 

In other words, how much your scores matter depends. Some AP scores will be more important than others; the AP STEM scores will be more important for students who are STEM majors, and AP Psychology will be more important for psychology majors. 

For some schools, especially the more competitive ones, you'll want to do well on as many APs as you can. For the most competitive schools–those with acceptance rates at 20% or less–doing well on all or most of your AP exams may give you a much-needed edge over other applicants. 

To Test or Not to Test

The national deadline to register for AP exams is now much earlier than it used to be: November 15, even before winter break. Some students worry that they are already overwhelmed by a particular AP class, or that one of their classes is less important to their major or areas of interest, and they tell us they prefer not to register for the AP exam. They can spend their time focusing on another subject instead. 

However, because tests are not a required part of your application, and because you can always choose not to self-report a low score on your college applications, you should always register for an AP exam (as long as you and your family can comfortably afford to do so!). 

After all, you can’t do surprisingly well on a test you never take. And if you do manage to get a passing score, you can save yourself thousands of dollars. 

Think about it this way. The average AP test costs $96. You already know that a passing score will help you gain credit at a college. Let’s say you get into USC, where each unit costs you about $2000. An average class at USC is three or four credits, or a total of $6,000 to $8,000. 

That $96 just saved you a small fortune. Definitely worth it.

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Still have questions?

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