Clair Blog · Admissions ·
Maximize Your Essays
Your college application essays shouldn’t tell the same story three different ways.
Think of your application as a collection of pieces. Each essay should reveal something new about you. A useful strategy is to divide your story intentionally:
Use the personal statement for what matters most to you.
Your main essay is your opportunity to share something personal -- an experience, perspective, value, or moment that helps admissions officers understand who you are beyond your resume and grades. It doesn’t need to explain everything you've accomplished. It should give the reader insight into what makes you you.
Use supplemental essays to add depth.
Supplemental essays can be a great place to explore your extracurricular interests, academic passions, community involvement, or experiences that you couldn't fully explain elsewhere.
If you already used your personal statement to discuss an important family experience, for example, your supplemental essays might highlight your leadership in an organization, your interest in a particular academic field, or why a specific college is a good fit.
The goal is to create a more complete picture.
Personal statement: Who are you?
Supplementals: What else should we know about you and why this college?
Most importantly, don't repeat the same story simply because it worked in your personal statement.
Every essay is another opportunity to reveal a different dimension of yourself.
By the time an admissions officer finishes reading your application, they should feel like they know more about you than when they started, not just more about the same story.