Getting a Head Start on the College Essay

While February still feels like the start of the year for most, for educators and students throughout Westchester County, it marks the beginning of the second half of the school year. For students in their junior year, February 1st is six months before the Common Application platform opens for rising seniors to apply to colleges.

If your teens are anything like my son, a current junior, six months feels like a lifetime away, and college applications are a vague notion to be dealt with at some point “over the summer.”

Yet time flies when you’re 16 years old and juggling high school classes, extracurriculars, sports, and a part-time job—so might I suggest that now is the time to start thinking about the college essay?

Many colleges begin screening applications as soon as they are received, and, at a minimum, submitting early signals that a student is motivated and organized. Having a college essay—often the most onerous part of an application—completed by August 1st can also dramatically reduce stress during the summer before senior year.

In addition, English teachers (who are frequently asked to review essays) are often inundated with requests in September (believe me, I know!), and are typically able to offer more thoughtful, meaningful feedback before the summer break.

So, if I’ve convinced you that February is the ideal time for your junior to begin working on their college essay, the next question is: how do you convince them? In my experience, many teens delay writing their essays because they feel overwhelmed by the task and have no idea where to begin. This is entirely understandable—staring at a blank page, knowing it must be filled with words that could shape your future, is an intimidating prospect.

Writing a college essay doesn’t have to be stressful. Starting early allows plenty of time to think, experiment with ideas, and revise well before deadlines loom. Here are my top tips for getting an early start on the college essay, so that the summer before senior year can be as stress-free as possible.

1. Understand the requirements.

Many students are surprised to learn that the maximum word count for the main Common Application essay is just 650 words—less than two double-spaced pages. While supplemental essays can add to the total, many colleges ask similar questions in slightly different ways, allowing responses to be adapted and repurposed. In fact, the combined word count of the main essay and supplemental is often less than that of a typical high school English paper, making the task far more manageable than it initially appears.

2. Choose a topic.

Although the Common App offers several prompts, the final option allows applicants to write about any topic they feel is meaningful. While this freedom can be empowering, it can also feel daunting—which is precisely why starting early is such an advantage. Whether students feel overwhelmed by choices or stuck for inspiration, having time to brainstorm multiple ideas, draft three or four possibilities, and then refine the strongest one helps ensure they choose a topic that genuinely showcases their interests and strengths.

Many students believe they must write about something “big” (I’ve even had students joke that they need a traumatic experience to demonstrate growth and resilience), but this simply isn’t true. I’ve worked with students who have written compelling essays about a family road trip or the stickers on their laptop—what matters most is authenticity, not drama.

3. Showcase an authentic voice.

The rise of AI has led some to question whether the college essay will remain a requirement. After all, if anyone can generate a polished essay with a few well-crafted prompts, what purpose does it serve? Colleges, however, continue to value the essay and are increasingly using sophisticated AI-detection tools to ensure the work they read is authentic. Students should not be afraid to sound like teenagers. Grammar and spelling should, of course, be flawless (and it’s perfectly acceptable to use grammar and spellcheck tools), but the voice and story must be their own. Admissions officers want to get to know the applicant, not a machine.

4. Accept the possibility of rejection.

For many students, the college search is fraught with pressure. They may feel there is only one “right” school, or just a handful where they could truly be happy. This mindset can turn the college essay into a perceived make-or-break assignment, one on which their entire future depends.

In reality, numerous excellent colleges offer rich academic and personal opportunities. When students view the essay as one step in a broader journey toward finding the right fit—rather than a gatekeeper to the only fit—the pressure eases, words flow more easily, and the writing process becomes far more productive.

If, after all of this, your teen is still not convinced that an early start to the college essay is the way forward, at least if you introduce the idea now, they might be more amenable to it by the time the snow thaws and the sun comes out!