5 Reasons Why You Should Start Writing Your College Essay Early

You might have heard your teachers, counselors and parents pushing you to “Start writing your college essay early!”.  But you’re busy with schoolwork and extracurriculars and  used to routinely turning in assignments at midnight on the due date, so it’s understandable that you ask “It’s just another essay. Why start early? “.

Your college essay may be the most important part of your application. You want to showcase your best self and convince the college admissions officer to put your application in the “yes” pile. But a winning essay, like most worthwhile things in life, takes effort – and time!

Here are four reasons why you should start thinking about your college essay now.

Writing About Yourself Isn’t Easy

Until the first college application essay, most of us don’t have much experience writing about ourselves, leave alone writing a piece that will convince the reader that we’re exactly the kind of person they want.

So, you first have to start digging in and reflecting about yourself. And, as is common when you apply to multiple colleges, you may need to write many essays, all addressing a slightly different aspect of who you are.

You may think your life is boring and dull, but no life is ordinary. There’s a compelling story in you. To pull it out, you just need to think hard, think different, make notes, ask others’ opinions – all of which takes time. You have some serious “me research” to do!

One Draft Won’t Be Enough

There may be no magic number for the number of drafts you’d need for your college essay, but you can safely assume that “one and done” is not likely.  Think of it as a preparation for college: the process of writing a quality college-level essay may take many more revisions than students are prepared for!

So every revision is going to take time, and if you’re trying to do this along with your regular schoolwork and other commitments, you can see why you have to give yourself more time.

Outside Opinions Are Useful

Perhaps English has always been your best subject, and you’re a downright grammar whiz—that’s great! But everyone needs a second (or third) pair of eyes when it comes to writing something important. When it comes to your own writing, you spend so much time with the piece that you’re not able to judge it objectively. Someone reading it with fresh eyes will be able to spot missteps.

But getting the opinions of your family may not be enough (after all, they’re close to you), and few teachers have the time to read the college essays of all their students. So you have to put in the time to find the right people you can trust read your essay and give you valuable feedback.

You May Need More Guidance

As we mentioned earlier, writing personal statements is not easy for most people, and you may need some professional help in writing your essay. You may have difficulty figuring out what to write about or how to write it well, and may not have access to the necessary resources at school or at home.

There are many helpful guides available on the Internet, but if you need access to an expert, you should look for qualified professionals who can give you what you need. You may also have some constraints on price or whether you want your help online or in person. Do the research to find what is available. (Meemli has online college essay offerings that may be right for you – learn more here!)

You Can Reduce The Stress!

At school, you may sometimes get away with submitting your assignments late, but college admissions deadlines are firm and you don’t want to miss them. Putting off starting your essay until the last few days greatly increases the risk of your submitting a lesser essay because you just don’t have the time to do it right.

On the other hand, having your college essay finished well in advance greatly increases your confidence that you’re submitting a quality piece of writing and allows you to focus on other aspects of submitting your application. Reducing the last-minute pressure is one of the best reasons to start writing your college essay early!

Writing a compelling college essay is critical, but starting early is one of the sure-fire ways to reduce the stress and improve the quality of your essay. Do you agree? Leave us a reply!