You’ve worked extremely hard on your college essays. Spent hours on hours making it clear, concise, and powerful. You’ve told a beautiful story that tells the reader what you’re all about. It is your magnum opus. There’s one issue though, your conclusion is non-existent.
This is more common than you’d think. Conclusions are hard! And they’re also the most important part, because it’s the last thing admissions officers are going to read, so it needs to leave them with a good impression of you and who you are. So how are you going to sum yourself up? There are a few strategies you can employ to help send the right message to schools.
Strategy One: Lessons Learned
In your Common App essay, it’s common (pun intended) to get lost in the story and not be exactly sure how to end it. If you’re telling a story about cooking, for example, you might not want to just end on the finished product. Think about what you actually really love about cooking, like maybe you enjoy that you do it with family, or you feel a great sense of accomplishment after trying a new challenge. Take the conclusion there – show us the dining table set up so you and your family can share a moment together, or how you hurriedly open your notes app to check off “flambe” on your recipe to-do list. Use the conclusion to express a value that’s important to you, whether it’s trying new things, challenging yourself, or quality time with those you love. Think of it as the last 45 seconds of a 90s sitcom, but less corny. You’ve learned something about yourself, so show them that.
Strategy Two: Circle Back
This is a fun one! Let’s say you intro with something about a problem or drama that’s happening in your life, like a hunt for a missing sweater, or a tricky next move in a board game. You tell the story, full of drama and intrigue (or humor), and now you have to sum up everything in a memorable way. An easy way to end an essay that starts with a question or conundrum is to connect it back to your opening line. Use your conclusion to call back to your intro and give your essay a full-circle feel.
Strategy Three: The Future
Now if you’re writing essays (especially supplements) TKG style, aka focusing on stories that take us through your life and end in the future, then a good conclusion isn’t terribly hard to create. A lot of colleges will ask questions about community -- how you’ve served your community and how you intend to carry that to their campus. You tell a story about how you worked on your student newspaper and helped cover human interest stories, but now you get to daydream a bit about what that might look like at your future school. Take what you’ve written and connect it to tangible next steps, like joining a literary magazine or student publication. By drawing a line from your past to the future, you’re able to show them that your hobbies are the ‘real deal,’ and that you’re serious about this college (because you’ve done your research!) and what they offer.
Keep in mind a few things to avoid when writing a college essay. Don’t ever, in any essay, end with “in conclusion.” It’s been done before, cliché, and doesn’t say anything new about you or your writing. We also advise staying away from things like “and that’s when I realized how important XYZ is to me,” because you’re telling, not showing. Don’t just restate the obvious takeaway from your essay or summarize everything you already said. Take us to a new level of understanding! Use these tips to help you craft a perfect essay, and don’t be afraid to take some risks.
If you’re still feeling a little lost on how to write a solid conclusion for your college essays, TKG has a team of counselors that are ready to help you.
Reach out to us today if you need one-on-one assistance with your essays.