College Application/Essay Lesson

Lisa Napell Dicksteen

This lesson is designed to assist students with the intricacies of the college application and the types of questions asked by the accompanying essay. It is applicable to those students not planning to attend college in that they will be completing employment applications and going to interviews at which they might be asked questions similar to those on the application or posed by the essay.

Day One

• Do Now: (in journal) Why do you want to go to college?
• Hand out copies of SBU application
• Walk class through filling out of application.

Day Two

• Do Now: (in journal) Where do you want to go to college? Why do you want to go there?
• Explain essay topic (“an intellectual experience that mattered to me”), class discussion, including definition of “intellectual experience,” and how to connect to college and future
• Draft essays

Day Three

• Do Now: Make notes of what you would tell this student about how to improve the first paragraph of this persuasive essay. (Sample essay on overhead, different topic to avoid simple copying). Review and consider suggestions – why did you suggest that, what would you suggest the writer do to fix it.
• Discussion of difference between editing and proofing – sticking to higher order things such as logic, keeping similar ideas in same paragraphs, “entire orchestra” and “painting picture” metaphors, NOT about mechanics at this point.
• Complete peer editing of sample piece on screen as class.
• Explain connection between example essay and their essays, in which they are persuading admissions officers to let them into their school.
• Collect all essays and hand out randomly for peer editing. Return to owner at end of period.
• Reminder to be nice to each other – someone is reading your work too.
• Consider changes and make revisions for HW

Day Four

• Do Now: What did you think of the peer editing process? Was it easier or harder than you expected? What was easier for you, suggesting changes or taking suggestions?
• Computer lab to complete on-line applications, continue working on own essays if application completed before end of period.
• Keep working on essays in class and for HW, drafts handed in tomorrow (no grade, edited by teacher).

Day Five

• Do Now: Interview the student seated beside you, take notes on where they want to go to college, what they want to study, etc. Be prepared to tell the class about their goals and interests and what they think college will help them to accomplish.
• Collect essays
• Something else today – we need a break from the application process. Maybe a day of poetry, perhaps the Ogden Nash animal poem exercise.

Day Six

• Do Now: (in journal) Reflect on the process of applying to college we have been working on; what did you like/dislike about it, what was helpful, what was not covered that you though should have been, whatever else you think about what we’ve been doing.
• Return essays while they work on do now.
• Explain that we will be working on the new set of edits and comments (from me) today, and that I will be coming around to each student to talk with them privately about the comments and suggestions I made, and what their next steps might be.
• They can read quietly at their desks if they find themselves with nothing to do before I get to them for their individual conference. Post-conference time should be spent working on whatever we’ve discussed.
• Final drafts due in 3-4 days.