Best way to wrap up a college essay?

I’m almost done with my college essay, but I’m stuck on the conclusion. How can I write a conclusion for my college essay that’s impactful but doesn’t just repeat everything I've already said? Any tips or tricks would be super appreciated!

Great question! For many students, the conclusion is one of the hardest parts of the college essay, as you obviously want your final impression to be a good one. What you want to do is find a way to circle back to the main theme of your essay in a way that shows growth or change. In other words, you want your conclusion to both end the story you've told and show its broader significance to your life as a whole. If you wrote your essay about, say, playing the guitar, you want admissions officers to understand how the lessons you learned from playing the guitar will influence your college journey even if you never touch the instrument again.

You also want to be sure that your broader takeaways are conveyed in a way that is personal, and grounded in your actual story, as otherwise your essay may end up feeling like a Hallmark card. For example, "Through this experience, I learned the value of practice," is generic, and could have been said by anybody. On the other hand, "Through this experience, I learned that my fingers are capable of producing any song from 'Let It Be' to 'Let It Go,' so long as I spend the time training them to know exactly where to go" communicates the same sentiment, but in a way that's unique to this student's personal experience with playing the guitar.

Unfortunately, there's no one rule for how to write a great conclusion, as each one will look slightly different. But hopefully, this gives you some ideas about how to at least structure your thinking as you try to wrap up your essay. Good luck!