Columbia Writing Academy: Writing the College Admissions Essay

The Columbia Writing Academy is designed for those who want to use the power of writing to develop their own personal voice and style. Through a combination of workshops and tutorials, students will learn new writing techniques and develop the skills and confidence to write a powerful college admissions essay. As many colleges place less emphasis on standardized test scores, the admissions essay has taken a larger role in the application process. In this course, students will explore each stage in the essay writing process—brainstorming, drafting, revising—and will receive in-depth feedback from the teaching team throughout the process.

The College Admissions Essay, often called a personal statement, is an opportunity for students to stand out and set themselves apart from other applicants by saying “here’s something about me that you might not know from my grades; here’s my story; here’s what matters to me.” By the end of the two-week course, students will have written an essay that personalizes their college application, captivates readers, and shows colleges why they should accept them. The Workshop will be a lively, stimulating two-week online course that requires six to eight hours of work each week, including reading, writing, participating in three weekly synchronous sessions via Zoom.

Please note that this course follows an atypical schedule: Monday, Tuesday & Thursday evenings from 7:00 to 8:15 p.m. ET.