I can’t stress enough, the importance of the personal statement and/or essay  that is submitted  with the application.  The process of writing needs to begin early and continue through the application process.  Spring of the Junior year of high school is not to soon to begin brain-storming ideas and putting notes down on paper.  If writing is not strong skill, it is even more important to practice writing, share your efforts with family and teachers and rewrite and rewrite until you feel you have a polished piece that truly sets you apart.

As I pointed out in Chapter 8, the essay is the one thing that hangs over every would-be college student’s head.  It’s the one thing that could make the difference between getting in to your dream school or ending up attending a college or university that’s farther down on your list.  The dreaded essay won’t go away.  It will always be a part of the application process because it is the tool admissions officers can use to make those hard choices between two equally qualified students.  And it may be used to determine who gets the scholarship and who doesn’t.

Because so much of the colleges’ and universities’ non-need based scholarship and grant money is administered by the admissions offices, your first impressions, made with your application and accompanying essays, becomes critical, not only in getting “in” but also in “buying in” to merit-based assistance. 

Write an essay about yourself?  Sounds like a fairly easy task, even when they impose some restrictions.  You can’t merely summarize your life.  You must focus on a person or experience that profoundly effected you or speak to personality traits that portray who you are.  Getting tougher?

Marketing yourself is so much a part of the process that it can’t be emphasized enough and the essay is your golden opportunity to shine.