Admitted Essay for Georgia Tech: Essay Review

Short Answer Essays Are The Bane Of Many High School Students Applying To College…

Not only are these short answers naturally difficult by virtue of being college application essays, but they throw in the added challenge of fitting an entire essay into just a few hundred words. Being succinct and to the point is vitally important to your success when writing short answer essays.

However, that doesn’t mean your essays can’t pack a punch, despite their small size!

By finding ways to tell a story and highlight the lessons you learned, you can not only engage the college admissions officers reading your essay, but also show off your self-awareness and willingness to grow. The key is making every sentence matter, and not shying away from recognizing your flaws. As difficult as that may seem at first glance, keep reading—if this student applying to Georgia Tech could do it, then you can too!

What You’ll Find In This Essay Review:

• An Admitted Essay for Georgia Tech
• Our Expert Review
• How to Apply This Advice to Your Own College Essays
• Tell a Story for Maximum Impact!

An Admitted Essay For Georgia Tech

We challenge our students to “be comfortable being uncomfortable.” Tell us about a time in high school that you felt outside of your comfort zone and the resolution.

“I prefer to work behind the scenes – I’ll create the robot and let others deal with funding. However, when my school defunded our robotics team, I was forced to find sponsors. Keep in mind, I am infamous for collecting the least amount of money for any cause. I simply can’t ask people for money… except for my parents.

I found myself at industry conferences, practically begging companies like Boeing, Roomba, and Vecna to cover the $6000 registration fee. Give my team money and you get nothing in return. In hindsight, raffles would have been so much easier.

Thankfully, when I explained the story honestly with some self-deprecating humor and didn’t think of it as a “pitch,” I made personal connections with them and in return, we received more sponsorships than I could have imagined.

I learned that talking to people is a skill that can be learned.”

Our Expert Review

Short answer questions trip up many students, because they have to pack in as much information as possible into such a small word count. While one hundred and fifty words may sound like a lot, it flies by far too quickly for most students.

This is why it’s all the more impressive just how succinct and—most importantly—complete, this student’s answer is. It packs an eventful story into just one hundred and fifty words, stripping the experience down to its core elements.

However, that doesn’t mean the student doesn’t tell a compelling story.

Not only does this short essay have an arc, with the student starting out as a behind-the-scenes team player before eventually taking a more front-and-center role, but it wraps up with a valuable lesson. This student is right that communication is a learned skill, and that even people who don’t naturally gravitate towards leadership roles can eventually learn to thrive in them.

Overall, this essay makes it clear that the student took their time crafting their answer. It tells a compelling, interesting story in just a few words, and it highlights how the student overcame an obstacle in order to discover a new talent. It perfectly answers the prompt, just as it should!

How To Apply This Advice To Your Own College Essays

TELL A STORY:

While your specific college essay prompt may not ask for a story directly, telling a story can often tie your essay together in a compelling and memorable way.

The key is to ensure your story directly relates back to the prompt and answers whatever question is being asked. An irrelevant story, no matter how well written, won’t impress admissions officers. However, an interesting and topical story could easily set your essay apart from the competition.

When writing your essay response, make sure your story has a clear beginning, middle, and end. Try to show some kind of evolution or change from the beginning to the end as well. This will make your story more engaging for the admissions officer, and will better illustrate how you grew as a person and what lessons you learned.

When writing your own college essays, ask these questions:

• Have I had any experiences that directly relate to the essay prompt?
• How can I talk about those experiences in the form of a story?

HIGHLIGHT A LESSON:

Speaking of lessons, highlighting a lesson you learned can be a great way to add impact to your college application essays.

Think carefully about something that challenged you to change your behavior or look at the world in a new light. How did this impact you going forward, and what takeaways did you have? By talking about these transformative experiences, you not only demonstrate your new skills or talents, but also an important level of self-awareness. After all, it’s impossible to improve yourself without first recognizing that you have room for improvement.

Colleges want to see this level of self-awareness, and talking about a lesson you learned is an excellent way to show that off.

When writing your own college essays, ask these questions:

• What flaws do I have, and how have I overcome them in the past?
• What life lessons have impacted me the most, and how can I highlight those lessons?

Tell A Story For Maximum Impact!

If you take anything away from this essay review, let it be that short answer essays don’t need to be your downfall.

Whether you’re applying to Georgia Tech or any other top US college, you’re very likely to run into short answer essays on your college applications. They’re bound to be intimidating at first, but just remember to:

• Listen carefully to the prompt
• Tell a relevant story
• Highlight a lesson you learned
• Keep your essay succinct

It doesn’t take a lot of detail to tell a compelling story, so long as you have a beginning, middle, and end. By showcasing a lesson you learned to wrap it all up, you can write a college application essay just as successful as this one! Of course, that doesn’t mean the process won’t be intimidating, and sometimes having a second set of eyes can make a huge difference in your success.

If you’re wondering who to turn to for advice on your college application essays, or any other part of the college application process, consider scheduling a free consultation with one of WeAdmit’s professional college counselors. We’re experts on the essay writing process, whether they’re short answer essays like this one or full-blown personal statements. We’d love to help you get accepted to the college of your dreams, so don’t hesitate to reach out!

Above All, Remember: You Too Can Tell A Compelling Story In Just One Hundred And Fifty Words!