Christina Ellis

The idea of writing 100 essays, that sounds overwhelming.

I just broke out into a cold sweat.

But you don't have to write 100 essays.

So I typically recommend that students write between 5 and 10 essays.

A lot of these applications are asking the same question or a similar question.

You recycle them, basically.

So you have your core essays.

About seven core essays.

And then each time you have a new application, you kind of go through your Rolodex of essays and say, OK, which essay is closely related to this question?

And then you can reuse it on future applications.

So it's like once you filled out a few scholarship applications, the process gets easier.

You can reuse those materials.

How do you stand out?

Well, one of the things that first came to mind, too, just with like writing these different essays, especially if you're talking about your faith, get feedback.

Ask several people for feedback on these essays.

So whenever I was applying for one of the most competitive scholarships that I won, I literally asked like seven people to look at my essays.

I asked English teachers.

I asked mentors.

I wanted people to tell me, does this resonate with you?

Does this move you?