The scariest section of a college application is undoubtedly the essay. Dreaded by seniors undergoing the tedious process of directing their future, the essay is supposed to determine who you are in fewer than 500 precious words. I recently tackled the matter after being assigned to write a college essay to be judged by my classmates in my AP English class. Each subgroup of three students was to accept one paper, waitlist another, and reject the rest.

Aiming for perfection, I started and re-started at least ten different essays with topics ranging from my favorite pair of Converse to working at Wal-Mart. The night before the assignment was due, I feverishly typed out 312 words describing my childhood relationship with trees. Though I did fairly well by the judgment of my fellow students, I realized how much work my personal essay needed. Through research, I’ve obtained some valuable advice summed up in the following tips that helped me refine my official college essay. Good luck!

• Keep it short. Admissions personnel go through tons of essays a day, hence the 500 word limit.

• Make it interesting. Tons of people volunteer at food pantries, and your experience probably isn’t going to be much more exciting.

• Don’t lie. People can read right through it.

• Quadruple check your work. I’ve heard of a prestigious college rejecting students because of grammar errors in their essays. Make sure you have a couple of teachers read it over before you send in your application.

• Be yourself. Don’t utilize the thesaurus to seem smarter, because the admissions officers probably won’t fall for unusually big words. They expect you to write like a teenager.

• Focus on a specific event rather than mentioning every extracurricular activity you’ve ever been involved in.

• Make it personal. Avoid topics requiring you to write about someone who has influenced you, because you probably won’t write enough about yourself.