The "Why" Essay

You spent ages crafting your personal statement, deciding your topic, the story you want to tell, and what you want college admissions officers to know about you.

 Then, you go to apply to the colleges on your list and discover… there are more essays to write! What?! You panic. How am I supposed to write an additional essay (or sometimes more) for every college I’m applying to? It took me forever just to write my personal statement. 

Don’t worry. At Revolution Tutors, we are here to help you write all of those supplementary essays, but we’ve also worked with enough college applicants to know there are some things you can do early on in the college application process that will make writing them WAY easier.  

Let’s look at one of the most common supplementary essay questions and discuss the steps you can take to make it a snap to answer.

The “Why ___” Essay: In this essay, you are asked to explain why you are interested in that particular college or university and sometimes why you are applying to a specific major.

The best way to ensure you can write a great “Why ___” essay for every college is to start doing your research early and keep track of it as you go.  

Starting junior year, when you begin brainstorming your college list, ask yourself these questions: 

• What am I hoping to get out of my college experience?

•  What do I want to study?

•  Do I want to go to school in a small town or a big city?

•  Are athletics important to me?

•  What kinds of student clubs do I want to be a part of in college? 

Then, as you Google different schools and sift through their websites, see if they meet the criteria you have laid out for yourself and your ideal college experience. 

Keep a list of which programs, clubs, and academic features most excite you about each school. When you have to write your “Why ___” essay months later, you can simply refer to your notes and you won’t have to rush to the school’s website to figure out why you’re applying there in the first place.

Here’s another trick: create a blueprint that can be adapted and specified for each college. Let’s say you want to study chemistry, for example. Most likely, you will have chosen schools that all have great chemistry departments. Take a look at the following paragraph:

“The number one reason I would love to attend [insert college name] is its excellent chemistry department. The renowned faculty, research opportunities, and hands-on laboratory experience offered to undergraduates at [insert college name] would help me gain a strong foundation and prepare me for a future in the field I love. I am particularly excited by [insert name of specific research program/course/professor] because [x, y, z].”

Having a blueprint like this will take the pressure off of you to start from scratch every time you have a new essay to write. Of course, different applications have slightly different ways of phrasing the question, word limits, etc., but this kind of framework will always come in handy!

Lastly, remember that your “Why ___” essay is another opportunity for you to talk about yourself! What did you not mention in your personal statement? Your passion for community service? Your love of cooking? The fact that you casually play the tuba? The “Why ___” essay is a place where you can tell the admissions officers more about yourself and how you would take advantage of the resources the school has to offer.

Now for a few things you shouldn’t do in your “Why ___” essay. 

First, don’t plagiarize or paraphrase what is on the school’s website. If they say, “We have the #1 intramural racquetball team in the state of Nebraska,” don’t say, “I want to attend because you have the #1 intramural racquetball team in the state of Nebraska.” Instead say, “I’ve always enjoyed playing racquetball with my friends and I’d be excited to become an even better player!” See the difference? One is a regurgitation of information and the other shows a personal connection to something at the school.

Second, don’t try to fit every good thing about the school into your essay. You still want to show that you are a thoughtful, cohesive writer and that you know what your priorities are. Choose two or three main talking points and give specific examples, rather than listing every detail about the school.

Finally, don’t worry about what you think the admissions officers want to hear. This actually goes for every essay you write as part of your application, but especially the “Why ___” essay. Chances are, if you try to anticipate what they want you to say, you’ll end up writing an essay that looks like every other one they read that year. Be honest with the readers and with yourself. 

What about the school genuinely excites you? Answer that question honestly, and you’ll have a great essay.