Thoughts from Dr. Joe: Helping students find their voice

Currently high school seniors and community college transfers are faced with the often overwhelming task of writing the university admissions essay. Nothing is as burdensome to students as the personal statement, the 650-word essay of the common application.

It's not a method taught in school; it's not a book report, an English paper, nor a diary entry.
Instead, it's a memoir, a first-person narrative that requires the writer to stand outside him or herself and write what they see.

A writer has to believe that they have a story to tell. A good writer finds that story and then looks a bit deeper for the Zen of the experience. That's what you write! You write the Zen! If you don't write the Zen then you are merely writing information.

The college admissions race is both competitive and maddening, and the essay looms like a guillotine waiting to sever the head of whoever submits an imperfect statement. Students often ask if a good essay will really get them accepted.

While no essay will make an unqualified student acceptable, a good essay can help a qualified applicant stand out from the competition. A good essay just might be what turns a “maybe” into a “yes.”

The scariest part of writing is before your begin. You stare at a blank computer screen and come to a screeching halt. Don't blame it on writer's block; it doesn't exist. Until you commit yourself to writing, there's always hesitancy. Jack London said, “You can't wait for inspiration. You have to go after it with a club.”