WEB EXCLUSIVE All seniors met with college admissions representatives to work on their Common Application Essay and get a head start on any other supplements required in the college application process.

“It was very helpful to have these representatives because we got to learn about the admission process from the people who might be reading our essays,” senior Miley Sherman said.  “One piece of advice my representative gave me was to talk about personal experiences, not what it was like, but how it changed you and how you grew from it.”

Eight representatives from various colleges reviewed the students’ Common Application Essays and gave students advice on how to improve their writing skills.

“This is the first time that we are doing something like this and none of us really know what we are doing,” senior Isabelle Paul said. “It is very helpful that our school is giving us the opportunity to work on our essays with professionals. I learned I need to talk more about myself, what my experiences mean to me and how they have changed me.”

Mike Drish, Deputy Director of Undergraduate Admission at UCLA, was one of the representatives reading students essays and provided an overview of the UC Application during one of the two workshop days.

“My first [piece of advice] is to make the process is as enjoyable as possible as there is a lot to learn,” Drish said. “[Students] should be excited about applying to college. There is obviously work, there is going to be some stress, but as long as you take those steps and understand what is going into it, you can prepare for those moments both with you and your family.”

Students were split up into groups with one representative reading their essay two or three times in order to give constructive feedback.

“A lot of us have never written so personally about ourselves and I think it can be really hard to talk about personal life stories and challenges we have overcome,” Sherman said. “It is really important and helps us learn more about ourselves.”

At the end of the workshop, each representative revealed what college they were from.

“I think that if you walk away with a greater understanding about what we are looking for in the application, what matters in the application process, and how your essay or the written part of the application can be as strong as possible through our lense and vantage point, then you feel better about the process,” Drish said.