Frappuccinos and First Impressions: The Art of Crafting a Standout College Essay

Yesterday, I read an article about a precocious 8-year-old girl in Bedford OH who drove 25 minutes in her mom’s Nissan Rogue to Target and bought a Frappuccino.

I love this story.

As a college admissions consultant, I often see things from a narrative perspective. What have you done that shaped your perspectives? How have you grown from your experiences? What makes you uniquely you?
When this child grows up, I can only imagine her college essay starting like:

“At 7:00am when the sun was still waking from its slumber, I swerved left and right in my mom’s 2020 Nissan Rogue SUV, hitting a mailbox along the 25-minute route to my favorite Target in my hometown of Bainbridge Ohio. Behind me was a police cruiser with lights flashing asking me to stop. I didn’t. I was determined. Starbucks was calling my name, and nothing was going to deter me on my quest to get myself a Frappuccino. When the Officer Don from BFPD finally caught up to me, I was happily sitting in the food court with a warm cup of coffee and mouth covered in delicious whipped cream.
I was eight years old at the time, and I made national headlines.
I’ve grown much since then. I learned that I should never (ever!) steal someone else’s vehicle. Or ignore the police when they have their sirens on. But I also learned that even as a child, I am unafraid to take initiatives, and that barriers can be overcome with a little extra gas and motivation. This has stayed with me as one of my defining traits throughout high school …”

Many of our Pittsburgh Prep students come to me with common concerns when they begin their college essays. They wonder if their lives and experiences are worthwhile, if they compare to others or stand out in ways that make them competitive. My answer to them has been consistent: writing your college essay is a journey to finding insights about yourself.

The story can be simple, maybe they remember the joy when learning to identify flowers from their grandma as a child, or maybe how they learned to manage disappointment losing a Rubik’s Cube tournament in middle school by a millisecond, or perhaps they learned patience cleaning out their fish tank on Sundays. What IS important is digging deeper and discerning how this moment shaped their lives, how it has changed their perspectives, and why it’s meaningful for them as they head to college and contribute to a diverse campus full of aspirational students looking to move upwards in their lives.

We all may not have stolen our parent’s car for a joyride in elementary school, but we all have experienced meaningful learning experiences that we can share honestly (and sometimes humorously) to great effect as we apply to college.

Let us know how our team of expert essay composition specialists can help to ideate your story this college admissions season. Oh, also, we should mention that we do not use nor condone the use of AI or ChatGPT.

For the full article: https://www.today.com/parents/child-drives-target-rcna171401