Perfect College Essay for International Students (Even with Average Grades)

If you're an international student with average grades, you probably think you need to write the perfect college essay to stand out. But that could be nothing further from the truth. Here's the truth, and nobody actually tells you this. If you want to beat someone with better scores than you, you have to do something that they didn't. Something that's bold, something that's real, right? So, you don't need the perfect grades. You don't need perfect English. You don't need a polished resume, but you need to show that you've lived and that you've taken initiative and you need to put that into your college essay because that's what US colleges are actually looking for. [Music] Now, a little bit about me. I am William and I came from South Africa to study in America as an international student in 2013. I actually started out at a community college. Then I later on went to two Ivy League schools, Brown University and the University of Pennsylvania. And in this video, I'll be very honest and even though I attended these great schools, my grades were not perfect. And basically what helped me stand out is that I created something. I made them see me as the next big thing. And you need to do the same. And what I'm going to do in this video is actually show you how you can turn your essay into something that's going to get you accepted. So before we even go into what makes a great college essay, let's be honest about what makes bad college essays, right? So most essays sound like they were written by the same person. You know, you'll hear I studied hard. I I overcame challenges. I am passionate about learning. Honestly, we've seen those essays a million times and there are a million applicants who are writing those essays. So, you don't want to be one of those people because you won't be memorable. So, if your grades are average and your essay sounds average, then you're not going to be getting into these schools that you want to get into. So instead of that, what you want to do is you want to answer this question. Why you over someone with a 4.0 GPA and perfect test scores. Why should they admit you? Now, if you can't answer that question honestly, then neither can the admissions officer. So your big goal is to answer that question on your essay. So now that we know what a bad college essay looks like, let's actually talk about something else. And this is not to impress anyone and not to fake it, but just to prove that you're already the kind of person a college would want. And no, it doesn't have to be big or perfect, but it needs to be bold. And I'm going to give you some examples on how you can make it look bold because at the end of the day, you want to be able to stand out. Now, an example of doing this would be, you know, starting a nonprofit organization. And even if this nonprofit organization only helps 10 people, it doesn't matter. You've taken initiative and you can show that. The next one is to launch a business. Now, lots of businesses fail. But now, if you can launch a small business and share it with the college that you've launched this business at such a young age and you're doing XYZ, that makes you stand out, you know. Another one is like create a YouTube channel. You know, teaching a skill that you know. So, if you know a skill and you're great in front of the camera, create a YouTube channel or even organize a fundraiser for someone in need and show them how you did that. You know, all of these things is not going to make you go viral, but it's going to show that you have leadership, that you have initiative, that you have courage, and that stuff is very powerful in your college essays. So once you've done something bold, even if it wasn't successful, now you have to turn it into a real story. And to do that, there's actually a structure that I've used and I'm giving it to you here completely free. So here's a structure. The first thing you need to do is you need to have a spark. Now, the way you do this is by starting with a moment that made you take action. For an example, you can say something like, "I still remember watching my neighbor, a single mom, cry because she couldn't afford her daughter's school books. And that moment actually stuck with me. Another example is something like when I saw how many kids in my town dropped out of school just because they couldn't speak English, I decided to teach them even though I didn't feel qualified. That's another example of a spark. So this is basically how you hook the reader, right? How you make them feel why you cared for the specific problem that you're solving. And then number two is the struggle. So now here's where you show what made it hard. And now you just need to be very real here. And you need to show the depth. So for example, you could say something like, I didn't have internet at home, so I planned the lessons at a public library. I had to walk 40 minutes each way, right? This would be for helping the kids with English. Another example is something like, I messaged 14 different businesses to sponsor my donation drive and only one replied and said no. Now the reason why you want this is because struggle shows effort and it also shows character and it proves that you didn't just dream you actually went out and did. Now the third thing in the structure is the shift. This is a moment of reflection. You know how did this experience change you? Basically and an example over here would be something like I started the project thinking I was helping others but I was the one who changed the most. you know something like that or you can go and say I realized I didn't need permission to lead and all I needed was a reason right and this is where carologists fall in love with you and it's not because you saved the world but because you grew and you can show them that you've grown by doing this exact thing right now the fourth thing in the structure that you should do is the impact right and this can be big or small you just need to tell them what happened because you acted so For example, you could say something like six kids now have a free Sunday class to practice English and one of them just passed their first exam in school. Right? So that's an impact that you did in your community. Another example could be like my small donation drive didn't raise much money and I learned how to get people to believe in something. Now colleges care about this and it's because they're like did you make something better? Right? Even a little even 1% did you make something better? And if so then you're a great person to have at that college. Now the fifth thing in the structure is the future. So you have to end this whole thing by tying it back to your purpose. You know what do you want to do next. So for example now you can say now I want to study English and build something bigger and better and more sustainable for these kids. Or you can say something along the lines of this taught me that business isn't just about profit. It's about people. That's the kind of entrepreneur I want to become. So this isn't even about sounding polished. It's just about sounding clear, right? You've done something, you've learned, and now you're ready for more. So, you're going to put all of those five things together, and this will really make you very different to other applicants. Right now, you don't have to fake anything, but you just have to be real, and you have to just show them what you've done and why you cared about what you've done. Because this is what separates an average applicant from somebody unforgettable. admission officers are going to sit there and say, "Did you read that story of the person who done XYZ at and XYZ community?" Right? It's big. And this is very important because I'm telling you what you should do, but what you shouldn't do is you should not write about how much you love the college because they've heard that all before. You know, don't tell Harvard that you love Harvard. Next, don't try to be someone you're not. They will feel it. Be very honest. Next, don't overedit it to sound perfect. your accent, your voice, your truth. That is your power. And then lastly, and most importantly, don't play victim. Be honest about your struggle, but focus on what you did about it. Now, the reason why this works is because grades actually measure what you've done in school. Now, the essay is what reveals what you've done in life. So, now, if you want to stand out, you need to live a story that someone else is too scared to live. And then, you're going to write that down. And basically this means that you don't even need to get straight A's to start a food drive. You don't need a perfect SAT score to teach kids in your village English. You don't need permission to solve a real world problem around you. And that's exactly what's going to make you stand out by being very very different. So this is the game plan I want to give to you. Stop thinking you have to sound impressive. That is far from the truth. What you need to do is you need to go and do something real. And with that thing, you need to try and make it better. And then you need to write about it honestly and reflect on it honestly. And then you basically need to be a student that shows that you've created impact in this world. And that will make you stand out in your essay because at the end of the day, you are applying to a school that's going to have people reading that application. And it's a people's game. So what you want to do is make sure you have a powerful story that you can share with admission officers. Now, if this video helped you, definitely like and subscribe and also comment down below to let me know what your story is going to be about. And it's also going to help other people get an idea of what stories people are writing out there. So, definitely comment down below cuz I'd love to read them. And like and subscribe so that I know these are the type of videos that you want to see. Now, I'll see you guys in the next video.