How To Get Feedback On The Common App Essay?

Getting feedback on your Common App essay is essential to ensure that it is clear, engaging, and authentic. But what do you need to keep in mind to ensure that you get quality feedback on your essay? This post is here to answer that question - keep reading to see our top tips on how to get feedback on your Common App essay to ensure you submit a well-polished essay that makes a lasting impression on admissions officers. 

How To Get Feedback On The Common App Essay?

• Choose the right people: Ensure that the feedback you receive is from people who are familiar with the college application process. This could include asking a teacher or guidance counsellor to review your essay before you submit it. Asking a parent or friend to read over your essay might not be the best option as they may not know what admissions officers are looking for in an essay. Asking a teacher or counsellor is the best option as they will be familiar with college application requirements and what admissions officers look for in college essays. 

   

• Don't ask too many people: Although feedback can be useful, it's important that your essay still reflects your thoughts, feelings, emotions, etc. Asking too many people for feedback may make your essay lose its essence, and instead will reflect other people's ideas more than yours. Aim to ask a maximum of 1-2 people for feedback to prevent your essay from becoming overshadowed by other people's ideas. 

   

• Ask for specific feedback: If you are confused about certain aspects of your essay (e.g. clarity, tone, transitions between paragraphs, focus on the prompt, etc.) you should inform your reviewer that you would like them to pay more attention to these aspects so they can give you more detailed feedback. This can help your reviewer tailor their feedback to your concerns rather than just providing you with generic comments. 

   

• Write multiple drafts: After you receive feedback, make sure you write a new draft incorporating the feedback given to you by the person who reviewed your essay. If time permits (and if the person is willing), you can ask them for feedback on your edited draft to see if your essay reads better after making the suggested improvements.

   

• Avoid over-editing: That being said, make sure you do not over-edit your essay. Aim to ask for feedback a maximum of 2-3 times to prevent your essay from losing its personal relevance to you, such as your writing style, catchphrases, etc. 

   

• Be selective regarding changes: Although the person who reviewed your essay may have given you a lot of feedback, it is ultimately up to you what you choose to include in the final draft of your essay. Be selective about which parts of the feedback you want to implement into your final essay, as not all feedback given might align with your vision for the essay.

   

• Start early: Start your essay writing and drafting process as early as you can. Keep in mind that many other students in your cohort may have asked your teachers and guidance counsellors to review their college essays before submission. You should ensure you have at least a rough draft ready by the first two months of your senior year to allow your teachers/counsellors sufficient time to read over your essay and provide detailed feedback. 

We hope that this guide has provided you with useful information on how to get feedback on your Common App essay. Good luck with your college applications!