first lines

Your first sentence of your essay decides if you have a future... That is, if your college essay has a future in the eyes of your reader. There, got your attention.  See? First impressions matter.  Your college essay is no exception.  And your first line of your personal statement is your first impression, so here's how to make it good and have the adcom begging (well, maybe not begging, but ready) for more. Consider Context You wouldn't go for a job interview with tomato sauce rubbed across your face, go on a first date in a stained shirt, show up for the first day of school with a busted notebook from last year. Don't start your essay without thoughtful craft-- you want it to entice. In fact, make that first line work for you so you have the best chance at getting the prize-- that is, the adcom's attention. Figure out the techniques Here's Stanford University's sample first lines from admitted students. If you take a few minutes to study each first line, you'll see that A) there is a range of winners and B) there is no formula and C) each line has a reason it's successful.  We'll look at a few different ones to give you a primer on why they work. First Lines of college essays we love "I change my name each time I place an order at Starbucks." First, clever, and why not, do you have an obligation to be you?  Second, the reader is given a fact, but no explanation for it: perhaps the writer likes the freedom to swap out identities in low-stakes situation; perhaps the applicant hates his or her first name; perhaps something traumatizing happened with a Starbucks employee -- point is, we have just enough information to be intrigued, but not enough to be satisfied. Simple sentence, but big opening. "When I was in eighth grade I couldn't read."  Again, simple fact, but begs the biggest question: Why?  (Especially, perhaps, because we know this student was submitted to Stanford at least partially on the strength of the essay). "On a hot Hollywood evening,  Continue Reading …