The competition to get into a top-tier school becomes more and more fierce every year. Parents and students are searching for the best advice, and the final question they ask after joining clubs in high school and keeping the grades up is: How do I write a winning essay? shows college applicants how to do exactly that, showcasing the Common App essays that got students into Yale, in addition to Yale-specific application essays and other supplemental aspects of the Yale application, like short statements and short answers. But this book does more than just show students what kind of essays got college students through the door; it profiles each student who contributed to the collection and puts those essays into context. We meet Edgar Avina, a political science major from Houston who worked odd jobs to support his family, who immigrated from Mexico. Madeleine Bender, a New York City native, is a "jack of all trades" who writes for the , plays clarinet for a concert band, and majors in both Classics and Ecology & Evolutionary Biology. These profiles set this book apart from other college essay books, reminding students that in order to write a strong essay, you must be yourself and understand how the university you're applying to will help you make your greatest dreams into a reality.