When you picture a writer, what do you see? Perhaps you envision your favorite author or one of the greats: Toni Morrison, Emily Dickinson, William Shakespeare, or Ernest Hemingway. What are they doing? Probably sitting alone at a desk, scribbling (or typing) furiously.
Writing sometimes feels like a solitary task. A writer sits down—alone—to write something, and they don’t stop until it’s finished. Maybe you’ve felt this way before: staying up late to complete that literary analysis you should’ve started a week earlier. But just because writer is a singular noun, it doesn’t mean you have to write alone.
This applies to writing your college essays. While only you can write your personal statement and supplemental essays, that doesn’t mean you can’t ask for help along the way. In this blog post, I’ll explore the importance of outside input and how to get feedback on your college essay.
Feedback vs. Plagiarism
Let’s get one thing out of the way first: Feedback is not plagiarism.
Plagiarism is when you present someone else’s work as your own. You’re the writer of your college essays, but talking through the brainstorming process, draft edits, and final revisions with a trusted friend, teacher, family member or essay coach is essential to polishing your writing.
Think of it this way: You’re the city’s mayor at the monthly town hall meeting. No one else is the mayor; but you’re just one person. You need people telling you what’s working in your city and what isn’t. That way, you know what to fix to make the city better.
Why Ask for Feedback on Your College Essay?
A good college essay is creative—it presents you as an interesting, accomplished student to the college admissions counselor. But maybe you’re thinking: I’m not interesting. What have I accomplished? How do I even begin to write about myself?
We are taught to think about other people—to help, listen to, and care for other people. Thus, it can be hard to turn the spotlight on ourselves. But luckily, our family, friends, and mentors can remind us that we have so many special qualities. Sometimes, our loved ones know us better than we know ourselves.
Good feedback can be essential to crafting a strong, personal essay, while also helping to refine the essay for clarity as you build a strong narrative arc that leaves a lasting impact.
How to Get Feedback on Your College Essay
Getting feedback on your college essay is one of the best ways to make sure your writing is clear, compelling, and effective. But who should you ask for help?
Teachers
English or writing teachers are excellent resources because they understand structure, grammar, and storytelling. They can help with clarity, flow, and word choice, ensuring your essay is well-written. However, when working on your personal statement, it’s important to choose someone you feel comfortable discussing potentially vulnerable topics with. Teachers also have busy schedules, so ask in advance and know what kind of feedback you need.
Family and Friends
Your parents, siblings, or friends can usually offer feedback from a more personal perspective. They are more likely to know you well enough to tell if the essay sounds like you. Keep in mind, though, that the people closest to you might not be the most objective readers. Use their feedback as a guide, but trust your instincts.
Essay Coaches and Consultants
While we recommend involving your family, friends, and teachers in the college essay writing process, hiring a professional essay coach or consultant can ensure that the essay you write is personal and polished. We’re trained to guide you through the brainstorming, writing, and editing process. We know how to ask the right questions to prompt you to write your best college essay.
And, best of all, we can pick up on that little extra something that’s missing from your college essay. A strong hook in your introduction, a memorable conclusion, or a unique essay structure: We know how to make your essay pop! A college essay coach or consultant can give you the feedback to take your college essay from good to great.
No matter who you ask, be open to feedback—but remember, your essay should still sound like you.
When to Ask for Feedback on Your College Essay
You can ask for feedback at any time, but here are three good opportunities to solicit feedback while writing your college essay:
- Early-stage brainstorming feedback
- Content and structure-focused feedback
- Final edit and polish for grammar, flow, and clarity
You can solicit feedback from almost anyone, but our family, friends, teachers, fellow students, and college essay coaches are good places to ask.
Brainstorming Feedback
The hardest part of writing is figuring out what to write about. There are endless topics and themes you could explore for the Common App personal essay—so where should you start?
This is how good feedback can be essential to writing a great college essay. A strong topic is necessary for setting your college essay up for success.
For example, let’s say you want to write about your grandmother. You start telling your friend all about your grandmother, how much she means to you, how silly and funny she is…but your friend yawns halfway through your story.
“Boring!” they say, “everyone has a grandmother.”
While rude, maybe they have a point. Besides, your college essay should be about you, not someone else.
You tell your mom about your essay idea, and she reminds you how you loved to cook with your grandmother when you were little. She says, “Remember that time you made a chocolate cake from scratch? You’ve always loved experimenting since you were young—that’s how I knew you’d be a scientist someday.”
You would never have made a connection between your love of science and baking without your mother’s feedback. Now, while your essay still mentions your grandmother, it’s more about you, your love of baking, and how you want to pursue a career in science.
Content and Structural Feedback
So, now that you have an essay topic, it’s time to start writing. You sit down at your desk and start typing. After an hour, you stop and reread what you wrote and…it doesn’t sound very good. It doesn’t flow like a story; it just feels like a bunch of bland information. You are starkly aware of that ‘B’ you received on last week’s grammar quiz. This is a sign that you need professional (writing) help.
Content feedback ensures your essay is engaging, personal, and meaningful, helping you refine your message and add depth. Structural feedback focuses on organization, transitions, and clarity, making sure your ideas build smoothly and your writing is easy to follow. Together, these insights can turn a rough draft into a polished, compelling essay that truly represents you.
Give your essay to your friend who rejected your initial “grandmother” idea—do they still find the essay ordinary? Give the essay to your mom to read, your dad, your siblings, even your classmates.
Your teacher, parent, or essay coach can also help you improve sentence structure and diction so that your story can really shine on the page. You may even learn a few things in the process (which will make your first college English class feel like a breeze).
Editing and Polishing Feedback
You’ve completed the first draft of your college essay. It’s got a beginning, middle, and end, it’s readable, and grammatically correct—but something is missing. Maybe some wording feels awkward in places, or the conclusion lacks impact. It’s time to ask for more feedback—editing feedback.
It can feel nerve-wracking to ask people to read your essay, but a good college essay is made great through feedback. A fresh pair of eyes can catch small errors, awkward phrasing, or areas where your writing could be more concise and impactful.
Sometimes, your English teacher will organize a college essay workshop in class where you can swap your essay with a group of your classmates and receive feedback from several people at once. Take advantage of these to make sure your essay is as polished as possible.
A Word of Caution on Too Much Feedback
While there are many pros to asking for feedback on your college essay, it’s important to be aware of some of the cons.
One of the biggest cons to asking for feedback from multiple people is that everyone has an opinion. Remember: this is your college essay. It should stay true to your story.
Over-editing can also cause the essay to lose it’s authenticity. No one writes like you, and that’s a good thing! You have your own unique, writerly voice, and college admission counselors appreciate this. Your college essay should be polished but also full of personality. It should not sound like a cover letter you’d send along with a job application. College essays can be humorous and creative.
This is also why you should not use Chat GPT to write your college essay as AI cannot capture your unique personality.
Part of asking for feedback on your college essay is learning how to discern which feedback helps you make your essay better. Not all feedback is the same.
Conclusion
In conclusion, soliciting and receiving feedback on your college essay is crucial to the success of the essay. How do you get feedback on your college essay? Be brave: Ask for help! Be honest and forthright—share your essay and thoughts with others, and you just might write the college essay that gets you into your dream school.
Are you ready for professional feedback on your college essays? The experienced team of Essay Coaches at HelloCollege are ready to meet you! Reach out today to schedule a free consultation to learn more about our college essay services.
