How to write about Coronavirus/COVID-19 in your college essay & application

SHOULD I WRITE ABOUT CORONAVIRUS/COVID-19 IN MY COLLEGE ESSAY?

This year, the Common App is including a special 250-word section allowing students to describe the impacts of COVID-19 on their lives. Here’s the official word from the Common App website:

We want to provide colleges with the information they need, with the goal of having students answer COVID-19 questions only once while using the rest of the application as they would have before to share their interests and perspectives beyond COVID-19.

Below is the question applicants will see:

Community disruptions such as COVID-19 and natural disasters can have deep and long-lasting impacts. If you need it, this space is yours to describe those impacts. Colleges care about the effects on your health and well-being, safety, family circumstances, future plans, and education, including access to reliable technology and quiet study spaces.

Do you wish to share anything on this topic? Y/N

Please use this space to describe how these events have impacted you.

The question will be optional and will appear in the Additional Information section of the application. The response length will be limited to 250 words.

It’s worth reading from the Common App website directly, which also notes that counselors will have 500 words to detail impacts that their schools have experienced based on the pandemic.

Note: If you’re applying via the Coalition Application, you’ll also have an opportunity to add information. Learn the details here. And the advice below will apply!

So should you write about coronavirus?

On this webinar at the 14:00 mark, I asked Rick Clark, Director of Admission at Georgia Tech, this very question. His response: “How could they not!” In other words: You totally have permission to write about this.

But it also kinda’ depends on your pandemic experience.

Which of the following best describes what the pandemic has been like for you?

It’s been okay. Online school wasn’t as good as real school, but I adapted, played video games maybe a little more than usual (so my sleeping schedule was weird), and hung out with my family a little more. TBH, though, things haven’t changed (or didn’t change) too much for me.
Very negative. Coronavirus rocked my world—and not in a good way. The pandemic has led to serious hardships for my family and me. It’s been incredibly stressful, and we’re still living with some uncertainty.
Very positive. And I feel weird saying that because I know so many people have been negatively impacted. But I’ve learned some new things/felt inspired/maybe even started a new project and (maybe even) I’ve even shifted the way I’m thinking about my future!
It’s been a roller coaster (so B and C). In some ways, it’s been really difficult, but in other ways, it’s been productive, and I’m learning a lot.

Do a quick self-scan: Which feels most like your experience?

And if your experience has been way too complex to fit into one of these (admittedly) overly-simplistic and reductive categories, read on.

But based on these broad categories, I’d say ...

If your life hasn’t changed too much (so A), no need to write about it.
If the pandemic has been either very negative (B), very positive (C), or like a roller coaster (D), maybe do write about it.

The questions are: Where should you write about it in your application, and how?

You’ve got options.

WHERE TO WRITE ABOUT COVID-19/CORONAVIRUS ON YOUR COLLEGE APPLICATION?

If the school you’re applying to is on the Common App, your options include:

The special COVID-19 question (250 words)
The Additional Information section (650 words)
Your main personal statement (650 words)

Below, I’ll offer tips on how to write each one. And if the school you’re applying to is not on the Common App, check out that school’s particular application.

There’s an old saying in the musical theater world that goes something like this: If what you want to say is so important that mere words can’t capture it, you sing it. And if not even singing can capture those feelings, you dance it. (More commonly: “If you can’t say it, sing it. If you can’t sing it, dance it.”)

That’s pretty much my advice when it comes to writing about coronavirus/COVID-19 on your college application.

HOW TO WRITE ABOUT COVID-19/CORONAVIRUS ON YOUR COLLEGE APPLICATION

More specifically, if you feel as though you need to address your pandemic experience in your college application, I’d say:

If you can fit your pandemic experiences into the 250-word COVID-19 section, do it.
If you need more space, use the 650-word Additional Information section.
If a) your pandemic experience was one of the most important things that’s ever happened to you and there’s no way it could fit in both of the sections named above, b) you believe that describing your pandemic experience is the best way to demonstrate the values/skills/qualities that you’ll bring with you to a college campus, and c) you’ve spent at least an hour exploring other topics using high-quality brainstorming exercises with a partner and still haven’t come up with any other ideas, then you might consider using the 650-word personal statement.

But keep in mind that if you do write about the pandemic in your personal statement, then you can’t use the 250-word COVID-specific section for anything else. On the other hand, if you write about the pandemic in the COVID-specific space, you can use your personal statement for…. whatever you want.

Also note that the Common App is kind of hinting that you should use the 250-word COVID-19 section so that you can use the rest of your application for other things: “We want to provide colleges with the information they need, with the goal of having students answer COVID-19 questions only once while using the rest of the application as they would have before to share their interests and perspectives beyond COVID-19.”

Again, I’m going to show you how to write something in each section, but can you sense which way I’m nudging you?

And btw, if you’re unsure what else to write your personal statement on, keep reading—I’ll share brainstorming exercises below.

HOW TO WRITE ABOUT CORONAVIRUS USING THE SPECIAL COVID-19 (250-WORD) SECTION ON THE COMMON APP

Here again is the question you’ll see on the Common App:

Do you wish to share anything on this topic? Y/N

Please use this space to describe how these events have impacted you.

The question will be optional and will appear in the Additional Information section of the application. The response length will be limited to 250 words.

OPTION 1: THE STRAIGHTFORWARD WAY

If you did face significant challenges during the pandemic, one way to write about your pandemic experience is by using this structure:

a) Challenges Faced + Impacts on Me

b) What I Did about It

c) What I Learned

Below is an example of what this might look like. (It’s not an actual example, but was written by a former student to illustrate how you can write yours)

Example 1 (faced significant challenges):

Livingin rural North Carolina, I have limited access to a consistent, high-speed internet connection. During the pandemic, my family did not have the means to upgrade to a higher internet speed and were working hard around the house trying to make ends meet. This meant I was often unable to access the internet in time to turn in assignments when they were due. It was also difficult to concentrate because our house is very small and everyone was working in close proximity. Although I found it hard to focus on schoolwork, I communicated these problems to my family so that we could work together. I organized a rotating schedule for my parents and my older sister. We marked off the blocks of time during which we would need to be online and created a system in which only two family members would be on the internet at the same time. The people who were not busy would stay quiet indoors or go outside to talk. This made it so that the internet was faster and there was less noise inside the house.I am proud to say that I used what I had at my disposal to make the best out of a difficult situation. The unusual conditions instilled in me the value of organization and clear communication. I found ways of adapting my work to fit new time constraints and will bring this knowledge with me to college. (240 words)

Quick Notes + Tips:

access to a consistent, high-speed internet connection. During the pandemic, my family did not have the means to upgrade to a higher internet speed and were working hard around the house trying to make ends meet. This meant I was often unable to access the internet in time to turn in assignments when they were due. It was also difficult to concentrate because our house is very small and everyone was working in close proximity.

Living in rural North Carolina, I have limited access to a consistent, high-speed internet connection. During the pandemic, my family did not have the means to upgrade to a higher internet speed and were working hard around the house trying to make ends meet. This meant I was often unable to access the internet in time to turn in assignments when they were due. It was also difficult to concentrate because our house is very small and everyone was working in close proximity.

Although I found it hard to focus on schoolwork, I communicated these problems to my family so that we could work together. I organized a rotating schedule for my parents and my older sister. We marked off the blocks of time during which we would need to be online and created a system in which only two family members would be on the internet at the same time. The people who were not busy would stay quiet indoors or go outside to talk. This made it so that the internet was faster and there was less noise inside the house.

Although I found it hard to focus on schoolwork, I communicated these problems to my family so that we could work together. I organized a rotating schedule for my parents and my older sister. We marked off the blocks of time during which we would need to be online and created a system in which only two family members would be on the internet at the same time. The people who were not busy would stay quiet indoors or go outside to talk. This made it so that the internet was faster and there was less noise inside the house.

I am proud to say that I used what I had at my disposal to make the best out of a difficult situation. The unusual conditions instilled in me the value of organization and clear communication. I found ways of adapting my work to fit new time constraints and will bring this knowledge with me to college. (240 words)

I am proud to say that I used what I had at my disposal to make the best out of a difficult situation. The unusual conditions instilled in me the value of organization and clear communication. I found ways of adapting my work to fit new time constraints and will bring this knowledge with me to college. (240 words)

Quick Notes + Tips:

This kind of straightforward and factual tone is fine. In fact, some readers will prefer it.
Notice how the example above devotes one bullet point to each of the elements I mentioned: a) Challenges Faced + Impacts on Me, b) What I Did about It, c) What I Learned. And yes, bullet points are OK in this section.
Notice how, in the third bullet point, the author demonstrates a few values that will serve them in college and beyond: adaptability, organization, communication. For a list of values, click here.

Example 2 (did not face significant challenges):

I live in Marfa, Texas, where an important part of the local economy is the restaurant industry. Many businesses in the area were forced to shut down or operate in a more limited capacity. To support these people and their contributions to our community, I started an online blog to write reviews about the takeout my family and I ate during quarantine. I made sure to include details about how food could be ordered and what options they had for different dietary restrictions. As someone who has a very restrictive diet, I understand the importance of finding food that is healthy, delicious, and conscious of different dietary needs. I also wanted to encourage people to support their local businesses.
In addition, to keep myself physically active despite limited mobility, I created a makeshift gym in my house. I fashioned “dumbbells” out of old milk cartons filled with dirt and took an online class about weight training to build a balanced workout schedule. I even got my parents to join me once a week!
I stayed connected with friends during weekly sessions on Zoom and Discord. We often spent hours playing online board games like Bananagrams and Codenames. Because I enjoyed bonding over these games and being intellectually stimulated by the puzzles they posed, I ended up taking an online course in Python and am working on coding my first video game. (231 words)

Quick Notes + Tips:

Notice how in this example, which is not a real example either but was written for illustrative purposes, the author chooses three specific aspects of the pandemic and devotes one bullet point to each.
The author begins by describing a particular need (supporting local businesses) and what they did about it (started a blog). This demonstrates the values of leadership and entrepreneurialism—even without naming the values explicitly, which is fine.
The second bullet point addresses a separate value (health), and the author gives evidence that the impact went beyond themselves—to their parents!
Finally, the author demonstrates the value of what I like to call “curiosity with legs” (i.e., being interested in something—then doing something about it). Again, the tone is straightforward, which works well.

OPTION 2: THE SLIGHTLY MORE CREATIVE WAY

If this kind of straightforward, factual tone isn’t your thing, you could start with something that grabs our attention. Like this:

Example 3 (faced significant challenges):

“Jose, turn down the TV. MOM, THE STOVE WON’T TURN ON! Be quiet, I’m on a call. Zuli, have you seen the scissors anywhere?!”Life in quarantine was actually four lives squished together. The pandemic forced my parents, my older sister, and I into a space that wasn’t built for all of our preferences and professions. Living in a small, one-bedroom apartment in Los Angeles meant that internet speed was often slow and privacy was minimal. We were constantly yelling, stepping on each other’s toes.Although I was discouraged, I knew that the tension in our house came mostly from fear of uncertainty, not a lack of love. I kept a level head and called a family meeting. Together, we organized a rotating schedule, marking off when we needed to be online. With this information, we created a system in which only two family members would be on the internet at any time. The people who were not busy would keep quiet or go outside to talk. In a matter of days, the internet was faster and the noise had gone down.I did what I could to make the best out of a difficult situation. The unusual conditions instilled in me the value of organization and clear communication. And I learned how to hit pause when things got intense. We’re still squished, but our love is louder than our yelling. (231 words)

Quick Notes + Tips:

Using a slightly more creative approach is also fine. In fact, some readers may find it refreshing. But note that the “slightly more creative” opening is really just 24 words long. The rest is pretty straightforward. So don’t spend too much time obsessing over this. The information you share is what’s most important here.
Notice how, in this example, the author takes the framework of the first example essay and bends it into a more cohesive narrative. It still follows the same path (i.e., identifying the challenges/effects, how you dealt with them, what you learned), but smoothes the edges between those sections. It also gets a bit more creative with the intro, hooking readers with some intriguing sentence fragments. If you want to do something a little unconventional, this is a good framework you can use.
Also notice that the author still keeps all the relevant information here. It’s still crucial for her to communicate that the internet speed was slow and the house was crowded because that’s essentially the answer to the prompt. Those are challenges that will help admissions officers contextualize the author’s transcript. Remember, important information like that should be included no matter which of these formats you use.

How to Brainstorm Content for Your Own COVID-19 Response:

Use this Values List to identify 3-5 values you gained (or strengthened) during the pandemic.
Brainstorm examples to demonstrate each value (e.g., to show the value of “health” the example might be “I built a makeshift gym and designed a workout schedule”).
Write one bullet point per value. Keep it succinct, as in the examples above.

Here’s a simple Google doc template where you can brainstorm the ideas above.

HOW TO WRITE ABOUT CORONAVIRUS USING THE (650-WORD) ADDITIONAL INFORMATION SECTION

First, here’s a comprehensive guide that describes what students typically use this section for. Know that writing about coronavirus in this section is also totally fine.

Next, ask yourself, “Am I sure I can’t fit everything into the 250-word Coronavirus/COVID-19 section described above?” The reason I ask that is that it’s tough for me to imagine a scenario in which your pandemic experience(s) would not fit into the space above. I suppose if you created a project that was so large in scope that you have lots of details that wouldn’t fit into 250 words, but I imagine this will apply to fewer than 5% of students. But if that’s you, then by all means, use this section.

If you do use this section, here are some general tips:

When you’re ready to brainstorm content for that section, use the simple three-step process described above where it says, “How to Brainstorm Content for Your Own COVID-19 Response.”
Probably keep the tone straightforward and factual. Value content over poetry. This is, after all, the Additional Information section.
Probably don’t write a whole 650-word essay on your coronavirus experience. Why? a) What can be communicated in a 650-word essay can probably be communicated in 250 words in the coronavirus-specific section (see above).b) It’s likely to be a very common essay topic (more on that below), so writing a full-length essay may lead to blending in more than standing out. c) Again, this is the additional information (and not the additional essay) section.

Note that I say probably in the bullet points above. Could there be an exception to these tips? Something I’m not thinking about? Absolutely. If you are that exception, rock on. (In fact, email me and let me know if you feel you’re the exception, and please share with me what you wrote: [email protected])

Again, here’s some guidance on how to use the Additional Information section in general.

HOW TO WRITE ABOUT CORONAVIRUS IN YOUR COLLEGE ESSAY (I.E., YOUR 650-WORD PERSONAL STATEMENT)

Quick recap in case you skipped straight to this section:

Probably use the coronavirus-specific 250-word section on the Common App. That may be enough space to say what you want to say. Read the section above to see if that might be true for you.
Whatever doesn’t fit there, you can probably fit into the Additional Info section.

If you’ve read both of the sections above and you’re still feeling like you want to write about your pandemic experience in your personal statement, ask yourself if you want to devote:

Part of your personal statement to your pandemic experience (maybe because it connects to a topic you were considering anyway) or
All of your personal statement to your pandemic experience (maybe because you’ve faced extraordinary challenges)

If the answer is part (because you don’t want to potentially be defined by your pandemic experience in your reader’s eyes), I’d recommend using the Montage Structure and devoting a paragraph of your essay to your pandemic experience.

In other words, think of it as a chapter in your life as opposed to the whole book.

If the answer is all (maybe because you’ve faced significant challenges), I’d recommend the Narrative Structure.

Here’s how to write both of these, beginning with ...

**HOW TO USE MONTAGE STRUCTURE TO DESCRIBE YOUR PANDEMIC EXPERIENCE IN PART OF YOUR ESSAY**

Before you start writing about the pandemic, I’d recommend first brainstorming a variety of topics that might show different values/skills/qualities that you’ll bring with you to a college campus. You can do that using the exercises on this page in the section called “My favorite resources for brainstorming everything you'll need for your college application.” Each exercise will take you 5-20 minutes but will set you up for your entire application. In fact, you may want to bookmark that link because a) I’ll refer to it a couple of times below, plus b) the resources on that page will probably answer a lot of other college application questions you’ll have.

Once you’ve found a great non-pandemic-related topic that captures some of the magic of who you are, ask yourself ...

What was my main take-away from the pandemic?

A simple way to figure that out is to look at this List of Needs and identify 1-2 main needs that became more apparent to you during the pandemic.

Example: Maybe you realized how much you needed community. Or structure. Or contribution.

Whatever need(s) you identify, next answer: How did I work to meet that need during the pandemic?

In other words: How did you meet your need for community? Or structure? Or contribution? (Or whatever value you’ve picked.) What did you actually do?

Once you’ve identified that, answer: What did I learn? Or how did I grow?

A great way to figure out what you learned or how you grew is to pick from this List of Values.

Try to identify 1-3 values you connected with more deeply as a result of your work to meet your needs.

Example Brainstorm:

Needs: Community + contribution
How I tried to meet these needs: Hosted a virtual open mic with my class where my peers took turns reading and sharing their pandemic experiences
What I learned: Some of my friends are really creative (or) that vulnerability can create closeness even when we can’t be together in person (or) you get the idea ...

Again, here’s a simple Google doc template where you can brainstorm the ideas above.

A QUICK WORD OF ADVICE ON HOW TO STAND OUT IF YOU’RE WRITING ABOUT CORONAVIRUS

One thing I’ve noticed is that boring essays are often boring because they describe a common topic, make common connections, and use common language. In other words: They describe something many other students will describe in a way that many other students will describe it.

A stand-out essay, on the other hand, often describes an uncommon topic, makes uncommon connections, or uses uncommon language.

COVID-19/coronavirus will probably be a common topic. This means that it’ll likely be harder to stand out if you write about it. But if you really want to write about it, you’ll probably need to make some uncommon connections and use uncommon language.

How can you do this? Try brainstorming the cliche version of the “pandemic” essay. What other values will students be likely to write about? What are they likely to say? (Example: “I spent more time with my family.”)

Then find either values that may be a bit more surprising (i.e., make uncommon connections) or try to speak about them in a way that’s a bit more surprising (i.e., use uncommon language), and you’ll be more likely to stand out.

What are some uncommon connections? If I told you, they probably wouldn’t be uncommon! Use your brilliant, beautiful brain (and this Values List) to find yours.

Once you’ve identified a few potential (ideally, uncommon!) values, ask yourself: How could I work this idea or these ideas into the topic I’ve already thought of?

Again, make this just one part of the larger story of your life.

**HOW TO USE NARRATIVE STRUCTURE TO DESCRIBE YOUR PANDEMIC EXPERIENCE IF YOU WANT IT TO BE ALL OF YOUR ESSAY**

First, as I mentioned above, COVID-19 is likely to be a common topic this year. And while that doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t write about it, I do think it’s going to be a lot harder to stand out with this topic. So, if possible, brainstorm other possible ideas using the resources above before you commit to this as your topic.

Second, check in with yourself: Are you choosing this because some part of you believes, or someone told you, that it’s “better” to write about a challenge for your college essay? BECAUSE IT’S NOT TRUE. :) You’ll find many examples of amazing essays written by students who do not discuss significant challenges. (To see some, click this link and scroll down to the “Personal Statement Examples” link.)

Having said all this, if you still feel that describing your pandemic experience is The Best Way to Show Who You Are, then I recommend this structure:

Challenge(s) I faced based on the pandemic + their impact on me
What I did about it/them
What I learned/How I grew from the experience

Important: Make sure that only the start of your essay describes the challenges and their impact on you, then most of your essay is devoted to describing what you did about it and what you learned from the experience. Why? Because your goal with the personal statement is to demonstrate skills, qualities, values, and interests. If you’re committing to COVID-19 as a topic, you’re basically saying that you feel this is the best way to show the many sides of who you are. Is that true? Is this your deepest story?

If you’re not sure, complete this Feelings and Needs exercise. You’ll find out in about 15 minutes.

If you’re certain if this is your deepest story, still do the Feelings and Needs exercise. It’ll help you create an outline that you can use to write your personal statement.

That’s what I’ve got.