If you’re like most students, you’re not exactly looking forward to the high stakes college application process. How do you write the perfect essay? How do you share with reviewers everything you want them to know about you? Will sharing your Native heritage help make your application stand out? Here are some tips for telling your Native story on a college application.
Utilize Every Part of the Application
While many would argue that the personal essay is the most important part of the college application, it’s certainly not the only one. Many applications require or allow for short essays, lists of activities, resumes, and options for including creative work. These areas can be incredibly helpful in telling your Native story. While there is only so much you will be able to include in your personal essay, the other sections of the application provide areas to expand upon, or introduce, aspects of what your Native heritage means in your life. Use them to do just that, highlighting experiences, skills, and memories that are unique to you.
Don’t Be Afraid to Write about Yourself
College applications are where you’re supposed to show who you are, and what you have accomplished. Don’t be afraid of sharing your Native story. Instead, highlight it — it’s something uniquely personal to you. Reviewers aren’t necessarily looking for flash; they’re looking for honesty and substance. Sharing with reviewers who you are, and what your Native experience looks like, will help them better understand you as an applicant and potential student at their school.
Focus on the Personal Essay
The personal essay is the best place to tell your Native story. But how do you share everything in so few words? Don’t panic. Think about your story and what you want reviewers to come away knowing. Focus on one or two moments or experiences that tell your story, and offer insight into who you are as a person.
Be Honest
Whether it’s the fact that you are a first-generation college student or have a passion for taxidermy, be honest on every part of your application. Reviewers want to know what makes you, you. Your honesty gives reviewers the best look at you, and helps them better understand your Native story. Reviewers gravitate toward authenticity and honesty, and they’ve read enough applications to know when those two aspects are absent. Honesty really is the best policy.
Be OK with Sharing Only Part of Your Story
At the end of the day, there is only so much you can include in your college application. Even taking advantage of every section, you may feel like your Native story isn’t complete. That’s OK. As long as you’ve told the parts you find meaningful, you will have done your job. You’ve given reviewers a strong sense of who you are as an individual and a student, and that’s all they really need. So don’t obsess over trying to fit every single aspect of your Native story into your application. You don’t need to.
Completing an application can seem like a monumental task. Try to think of it as an opportunity to show reviewers who you are and what you would bring to their campus. Your story is unique to you, and no one can take that away. Only you can choose how and what you share, but being open, honest, and clear can give your application the added boost it needs to stand out from the rest. Don’t be afraid to tell your Native story — embrace it!
On Topic
Abigail Reigner, Comanche Nation, is a sophomore at the Rochester Institute of Technology, where she studies mechanical engineering. She also serves as the AISES Region 6 Student Representative.
With thousands of applications landing at admissions offices, why is it important to make yours personal?
Every college’s admission process is different. It’s daunting to submit your application in a pool of thousands. Writing a personal, heartfelt story can be a breath of fresh air for the person reviewing your application.
Why should you tell your Native story on a college application?
Native American students are typically one of the least populous groups among college applicants. It is important not just to tell your story with the goal of getting into college, but also to bring a better awareness to Native struggles, lifestyles, and stories. College applications are a place where you don’t only represent yourself, but all your backgrounds and experiences. It’s your job to own your backgrounds! Providing insight to an otherwise overlooked experience can help admissions counselors get a better idea of who you are —your background, the way you were raised, and where you come from.
What’s the best way to tell your Native story on an application?
A lot of college essays have prompts, that are either assigned or “pick and choose.” If you’re not sure yet what you want to write about, try brainstorming a few different ideas for each essay topic. If you already have an essay topic in mind, try to find the question that best fits your story, and how you can reflect on it. There’s no wrong way to express yourself, so don’t worry so much about the story itself versus what you felt and learned.
How can a Native story be relayed without revealing too much information?
There are a lot of ways to do this, like changing or not using names or simply leaving out details that you deem too personal to share. However, you need to make sure that your story makes sense without these details, so that it is still a comprehensible, thoughtful essay through which you reveal parts of yourself that would be beneficial to the admissions process. It’s important to outline your essay before writing. You can do this by “story mapping” details that are important to include. By mapping the essay early in the process, you can identify information you don’t want to share, and can find an alternate approach to telling your story in a way that makes sense.
How can your Native experience translate to a campus involvement?
A lot of college campuses have Native student clubs, where Indigenous students can connect and work on a variety of things. Many schools also have umbrella-style diversity programs. Either type of club is a way to get involved. Because Indigenous cultures are so diverse, it’s a good idea to have your voice heard through a club. If there are no opportunities for Indigenous involvement on your campus, try reaching out to people within your college to find out how you can start a club or organization to support Native students.
Pro Tip from Sally M. Douglas, senior associate director of the Undergraduate Admissions Office at the Rochester Institute of Technology
The college essay gives an admission committee an opportunity to learn about a student’s passions and character, and how those have shaped personal development. Colleges read thousands of applications, but essays that express resilience to challenges that have contributed to personal growth are ones that stand out the most. The essay is an opportunity to share your journey and let colleges know who you are. The Native traditions and experiences you represent are a wonderful way to demonstrate how a campus can be culturally enriched by unique ideas and perspectives.
