Before we begin, let’s answer a question that we often get from our clients: “Do we need to write a good college essay title in order to get accepted?” The answer is this; no, you don’t. However, sometimes a good title can actually work in your favor and help you stand out amongst other applicants. 

Sometimes, we also get this question: “How important is it to put a title in your college essay?” Well, there are a lot of very important aspects here that, if you’re not careful, are sure to guarantee your application gets chucked into the rejection pile. 

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Just kidding! 

No, seriously! Please don’t overthink how to write the college essay title!

Many people overthink just how much effort they need to put in their personal statement title. In fact, overthinking for the ‘perfect’ title is a surefire way of ensuring you have no more time left to work on what matters.

What we recommend a lot of our clients to do is actually write the main content of their admissions essays first. Think of your college essays as a dish. Main course comes first, garnish second. 

Here’s also a bit of perspective. There are times when your college essay actually won’t need a title and when it may in fact be completely unnecessary. Most of your energy should be spent making the actual college personal statement look better than what other people have. This can be quite difficult, especially because there are a million ways to write your personal statement well. 

That is why we recommend getting in touch with our team of college admissions experts when you are thinking of how to write your personal statement. Our experts have helped applicants get into some of their most competitive reach schools!

Once you’ve made the essay look great, you can write a title that fits the content perfectly. It’s up to you to decide whether adding a title to your application essay will make you look like a better candidate compared to the rest of the applicant pool. 

Note: keep in mind the word count when writing the title of your college essay. You don’t want to exceed the word count because your essay title was too long. 

Alright. So how do you write a good college essay title? Well, we’ve provided a few key points below. 

How to Write a Good College Essay Title

1. Keep it Simple.
2. Don’t Make it Too Long. 
3. Don’t be Pretentious. 
4. Focus on the Essay; the Title is not the Main Attraction. 
5. No Spoilers

Keep it Simple

When writing your college essay title, don’t try to make anything complex or sophisticated. Try to keep things simple such that the admissions officers have a general idea what the main focus of your admissions essay is about. 

Don’t Make it Too Long

You don’t want a college essay that is too long for two obvious reasons. One, it’s going to take away from what small word count you already have. Two, you are going to lose your admissions officers and their attention once you add too many details in what could be a simple college essay title. 

Don’t Be Pretentious

Sometimes people can come off as condescending, privileged, or pretentious in their admissions essays. It is not obvious at first glance what sort of rules there are that dictate what makes a college admissions essay more pretentious and unbearable than others. However, you should be able to get a good feel for it once you read it to yourself in your head or read it to others. 

If you’re not exactly sure how to approach this without missing the subtle traits that make you look like a big jerk to the admissions office, I would highly recommend contacting us so we may take a look at what you’ve written. We can give our advice on what works and what should be changed in your college essay. 

Focus on the Essay; the Title is not the Main Attraction. 

The title of the essay is simply the funnel into the main content that answers the college admissions prompt. You need to have something that catches the eye but is not the centerpiece of your application as a whole. 

Remember: the admissions office is screening every aspect of your application essay to ensure that you are a good fit for the school. What matters is how you fit in the school as well as how you can contribute to the community as a whole. If your college essay title is the centerpiece of your application’s worth, there is not much to be worthy of in terms of real content. 

 No Spoilers

This is an obvious one. Don’t spoil any of the content for your admissions officers. Sometimes our clients will come in with college essay titles that already reveal the main point of their essay. You don’t want to do this because it is something that often leaves the admissions officers feeling like your application has less weight to it. 

You want to make the main point of your college essay shine and stun your readers with your best qualities, not fall flat. 

Got any burning questions about how to write your college essay as a whole? Concerned you won’t get accepted into your dream school because your personal statement is not strong enough compared to the rest of the applicant pool? No worries! Our team consists of veteran college admissions experts who have helped people get into schools such as USC, UCLA, and UC Berkeley. Contact us for a free consultation, and we will help you with brushing up your college personal statement to maximize your admissions chances!