College Essays That Made a Difference - Sixth Edition

Aug 25, 2026

A comprehensive guide to writing highly effective college application essays for selective admissions. The book explains what colleges seek, core essay fundamentals, and strategies for choosing topics and developing a compelling narrative voice. It pairs sample successful essays with detailed applicant profiles, including academic and extracurricular context and standardized test scores when applicable. It also includes Q&A with admissions officers, grammar and writing tips, and insights into how results and application patterns vary across institutions.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryExam

FormatPDF

Pages476

Reading Time20 h 0 min

AccessFree to download

Introduction

Why produce this book?

How the book helps readers

The Parts of This Book

Part 1: Essay Fundamentals

Part 2: Q&A with Admissions Officers

Part 3: The Applicants

Part 4: Where They Got In

Appendix

They’re, Their, and There: Grammar and Writing Tips

Editorial Robert Franek , Publisher Kristen O’Toole, Editorial Director Pia Aliperti, Editor Random House Publishing Team Tom Russell, Publisher Alison Stoltzfus, Publishing Manager Ellen L. Reed, Production Manager Melinda Ackell, Managing Editor Kristin Lindner, Production Supervisor Andrea Lau, Designer The Princeton Review 24 Prime Parkway, Suite 201 Natick , MA 01760 [editorialsupport@review.com](editorialsupport@review.com) © 2014 by TPR Education IP Holdings, LLC. All rights reserved. Cover art © Ferenc Szelepcsenyi / Alamy Published in the United States by Random House, LLC , New York , and simultaneously in Canada by Random House of Canada Limited, Toronto. A Penguin Random House Company. eBook ISBN: 978-0-8041-2579-6 Trade Paperback ISBN: 978-0-8041-2578-9 The Princeton Review is not afﬁliated with Princeton University. v3 .1_r2 ACKNOWLEDGMENTS This book would not have been possible without the following individuals here at The Princeton Review, who granted us the opportunity to make the sixth edition of College Essays a reality: Robert Franek, who was instrumental in the development of this title; Scott Harris, who transformed the various pieces of the manuscript into the book now in your hands; and Pia Aliperti and Stephen Koch, who provided much valuable input along the way. Quite a few admissions ofﬁcers kindly set aside time to speak with us about the particulars of their institution’s undergraduate admissions process. The folks most vital to this book, of course, are the contributors—amazing students who took time out of their busy lives to stay in touch and answer questions. To each student who participated in this project: many thanks for your patience, hard work, and generosity. We commend you for having the guts to lay it all out there for the beneﬁt of future generations of college applicants. CONTENTS Cover Title Page Copyright Acknowledgments Introduction The Parts of This Book Editor’s Note Part 1: Essay Fundamentals What Colleges Are Looking For Topics and Strategies to Make Your Essay Sing Grammar and Form Keep in Mind So How Much Does the Essay Count, Anyway? Part 2: Q&A with Admissions Ofﬁcers Subject Matter and Writing Inside the Admissions Ofﬁce The Essay’s Inﬂuence General Application Questions Part 3: The Applicants Part 4: Where They Got In Appendix: They’re, Their, and There: Grammar and Writing Tips INTRODUCTION Why did we produce this book? For a couple of reasons. First, we wanted to provide a little inspiration to students sweating over their application essays to highly selective colleges. Too many freaked-out high schoolers with outstanding academic and community-service records, enviable SAT and ACT scores, and impressive sports achievements have complained that they don’t know what to write about or where to start. Hopefully, this book will show that there are a million different ways to approach the essay and that if a student reﬂects on what’s most important, he or she will indeed have something to write about. Our evidence is enclosed herewith: actual essays that got living, breathing high school students—kids with crushes and acne and big feet—into the colleges of their dreams. These students wrote about scores of things, from memorable science experiments to facing off with a cheating opponent to their love of ﬂying planes. There are sad tales of tragedy, homesickness, and civil war, as well as funny stories involving puberty, public embarrassment and Nickelodeon. There are stories of success and of struggle, of love and loss, of faith, and of spirituality. Like most collections of prose featuring many difﬁrent authors, the pieces in this book display a range of creativity and sophistication with the written word. Some essays are so good they may intimidate you; others might make you say to yourself, “Hey, I could write something like that.” Others are so strange and unexpected you may wonder how on

FAQs

What does the book say colleges are looking for in application essays?

It outlines key qualities admissions readers prioritize and provides methods to align the essay with those expectations through topic selection and strategy.

How are the sample essays used in the book?

Each essay is paired with the student’s profile—such as GPA, extracurriculars, hometown, and test scores where applicable—plus the college enrollment and graduation information.

Does the book include advice from admissions officers?

Yes. It provides Q&A with admissions officers covering subject matter and writing, what happens inside the admissions office, and the essay’s influence on decisions.

Aug 25, 2026

Uploaded by Emma Wilson