Download the article Detailed examples backed by experts to polish your college essay
This article was co-authored by Alexander Ruiz, M.Ed.. Alexander Ruiz is an educational consultant and director of education at Link Educational Institute, a tutoring company based in Claremont, California that offers customized educational plans, course and exam tutoring, and application consulting to college. With over a decade and a half of experience in the education industry, Alexander coaches students to increase their self-awareness and emotional intelligence while achieving skills and the goal of achieving skills and higher education. He holds a bachelor’s degree in psychology from Florida International University and a master’s degree in education from Georgia Southern University. This article has been fact-checked, ensuring the accuracy of all facts cited and confirming the authority of its sources.
Deadlines are flying by, primary colors are flying, and keyboards are clicking and rattling…it’s college admissions season! Aside from test scores and GPAs, your personal statement is your only chance to show colleges who you are—and for some reason, finishing that essay can be the hardest part. We spoke with expert academic tutor and educational consultant Alexander Ruiz to give you strategies for concluding your college essay, along with examples included in this comprehensive guide to college essay conclusions.
- Conclude your college essay by returning to the idea or image you included in your introduction or as your hook. This callback satisfies your reader in a full-circle effect.
- Look to the future to end your college essay on a positive and hopeful note. Describe your goals and the impact you will have on the world.
- End your college essay with a lesson learned. After sharing your life experiences, describe what you learned and how they prepared you for the next step.
Contact the college or university directly. Research the school and find out exactly why you want to attend it. Describe why the university is a good fit for you, but be specific. Name specific programs that you are enthusiastic about so that the reader can feel your passion and excitement through your writing.
- As education consultant Alexander Ruiz explains, universities are “trying to understand ‘How do you think you fit into our school?’ Although the prompt asks ‘Why did you choose your school?’, it actually asks ‘How do you fit into the student body?’ How do you fit into our campus?’”
- Example of a conclusion about the “faculty address”: I want to be part of a long legacy of civil rights activists and leaders, from Martin Luther King Jr. to Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, who studied within the walls of Boston University. I sowed the seeds of this work through two years of volunteering and campaigning in local elections. If accepted into your globally renowned political science program, I will be thrilled to advance my skills in public policy analysis and ultimately serve the dynamic and deserving communities of greater Boston.
Circle the reader. Use the sandwich method, which means you start and end your essay with the same idea. Keep it simple, with a sentence or two that brings you back to the beginning of your essay. This technique brings a satisfying conclusion for readers by tying everything together in a neat and impressive ending.[1]
- An example of a “full circle” conclusion: This year has been a challenge in more ways than one. But I know that when I drive across those state lines again next fall, I’ll be looking back at the swirling blue and gray skies of Boise, already eagerly anticipating the next time I return home.
- Example opening hook for the conclusion above: As my parents drove us across the Idaho state line, I looked up at the cloud-covered sky and thought, Well, this sure doesn’t look like home.
Finish with the lesson you learned. Think about personal development and how your experiences have shaped who you are today. Be sure to refer to the things you discussed in the essay so that it is clear to readers what lessons you learned and why.[2]
- Example of a “lesson learned” conclusion: Having the opportunity to travel throughout Latin America — hopping between coastal cities like Sayulita and sprawling cities like Buenos Aires — taught me the importance of understanding other cultures and their perspectives. By expanding the boundaries of my physical world, I also had the opportunity to expand my worldview.
Point to the future. End on a hopeful or positive note by connecting to your college or career goals. Highlight why you want to attend this university and what you hope to achieve. Be careful not to use generalities or clichés when using this method.[3]
- An example of a “looking ahead” conclusion: When my great-great-great-grandchildren lace up their shoes with a futuristic version of Velcro and head down the road to school, they will do so with excitement and purpose. They will look forward to the daily tasks of digging in the garden for biology, keeping a diary of their socio-emotional well-being in health class, and discussing the problems of their time in social subjects. An education system built around students, their needs, and their future—as a full member of your teachers’ college, that’s a future I’m enthusiastic about being a part of.
Discover the essence at the very end. Remove your thesis or connecting idea from the beginning of your essay. By narrating seemingly unrelated experiences through your text, your reader will wonder what connects all these stories. To keep them engaged, write with lots of action words and descriptive images.
- Example of a “last minute discovery” conclusion: After several paragraphs of stories from swimming competitions during the writer’s life, they conclude with the words: I didn’t swim just to beat the stopwatch that hung around my coach’s neck. I swam because it gave me freedom, a place to think and the ability to resist even the strongest currents.
- This strategy is difficult to execute, since our instinct is to put our thesis at the top. However, when it comes to college admissions, academic mentor Alexander Ruiz cautions against a “five-paragraph format, introduction, body, body, body, conclusion.”
- As Ruiz goes on to explain, “When it comes to telling your story and sharing how valuable your experience will be to the school, [the five-paragraph format] they will not be able to present it in a way that will be very attractive. So I think one of the main mistakes people make is that they say these quantitative measures will speak for themselves, and they don’t put enough effort into telling their story in their essays.”
End your essay with a plot. Surprise the reader by ending your essay in a different place than you started it. Like an action movie or a thrilling novel, a twisty ending will make an impression on your admissions officer. This strategy requires planning and organization to write a good overall college essay.[4]
- An example of a “plot” conclusion: Every law firm I’ve interned at over the past four years, despite their intensity, has been instrumental in shaping my path and who I am. They prepared me for college and my career and gave me a clear vision of what I wanted to do: not study law. Don’t get me wrong, I enjoyed every minute of learning about the inner workings of our legal system, but now I want to use that knowledge for my true passion: helping foster children through a career in social service.
Ask a reader a question. Leave your essay in the hands of the reader with a thought-provoking question or call to action. If you leave a lingering thought in the admissions officer’s mind, they’re more likely to remember you and greenlight your acceptance.[5]
- An example of the conclusion of a thinking question: After all, without another world to compare ours to, who are we to say that a better world is not possible?
- Example of a “call to action” conclusion: Now that I’ve spent a thousand words advocating for voting rights, voter registration, and recounting anecdotes about my door-to-door campaign, I have only one question left: Are you registered to vote?
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Source: HIS Education