College essay examples fictional character

Eileen has accomplished an impressive task by covering her topic so well in under 500 words. There is no slow warm-up or broad introduction at the start of the essay. Her first sentence, in fact, relies on the essay's title to make sense. Eileen jumps into her topic immediately, and immediately the reader is drawn in with her.

"They" is everyone who is not her. "They" are the people who don't value a wallflower. "They" are the force against which Eileen has struggled. While "I'm a wallflower" may be a conversation stopper at a social event, Eileen's essay is remarkably successful.

So many college applicants think their essay needs to focus on some monumental accomplishment. After all, to get admitted to a highly selective college one needs to have single-handedly rebuilt a hurricane-ravaged island or weaned a major city from fossil fuels, right? Obviously not.

In a series of anonymous letters to an unknown friend, Charlie tells his story of life, love, and high school: of skirting the fringes of life and of learning to make the leap. And from the first sentences, I was drawn to Charlie. I understood him. I was him.