Class of 2027
College Planning
Part 2: Essay and Recommendation / Reference Letters
USe the link to answer a few questions
bit.ly/27prespring
Objective
By the end of the presentation, students will be able to:
- Identify how to use the personal essay to share their unique story.
- Identify the purpose of the teacher recommendation or reference letters.
- Identify the key steps in the college application process from Spring through Fall.
What's your "E"?
Enlisting in the Military
Employment - Apprenticeship Maryland
Enrolling in College
Things to Keep in mind
MoCo CAPS At Churchill HS, MoCo CAP helps
students explore careers, plan
pathways, and prepare for life
after high school—whether that’s
college, apprenticeships, or the
workforce.
Build a Balanced List Include Schools and/or Careers Catagorized as: REACH MATCH LIKELY
SAT / ACT Colleges continue to update their test optional policies.
Please check the college website for the most up to date information.
Timeline
Spring into Summer
Virtual and in person campus visits. Sign up for campus tours or open house programs directly with the university.
Attend the NACAC College Fair. April 22nd FREE field trip. (Evening hours to attend with parents)
Fall
College Reps visit WCHS. Great way to meet the person who is likely to review your application, learn about a college without leaving town, confrim your interest in a particular college.
Continue with virtual and in person campus visits & start completing your college applications / Common App.
The College Application
SENIOR YEAR - Preview
Common Application Matching
Transcript Request Directions
Teacher Recommendation Submission
Senior Parent Night
Common App opens August 1, 2026!
College essay
Commitment
The college essay is your opportunity to showcase your personality and help admissions officers understand who you are beyond grades and test scores. Ask yourself — what do you want your essay to convey? ~ Who you are as a person ~ What kind of roommate you will be ~ What you will contribute to the campus community
Schools want to hear about your interests & responsibilities. Talk about things like -
Intellectual Curiosity
Personal Responsibility
Leadership
Self-motivation
mastering the art of college essay writing
Choose a specific prompt: Opt for focused topics over open-ended ones to ensure admissions officers immediately understand your core message. When choosing your essay topic, ask yourself: What significant experiences, challenges, or passions have defined you? How have your values and goals shaped who you are? What moments of growth, change, or insight have impacted you most?
Chooing Your Topic
Showing vs. Telling
Show, don't just tell! Instead of simply stating who you are, bring your story to life with specific details, vivid moments, and real examples that let admissions officers experience it for themselves.
Editing and Revising
- Take your time
- Read your essay aloud to catch awkward phrasing
- Ask for feedback from teachers, parents & other trusted adults
- How can you make each sentence more impactful?
- Tailor your essay to specific colleges by researching their programs & values
- Utilize the English Department writing lab NOW
Ask an adult "what did you learn about me from reading the essay." If their answer doesn't match what you intended, you need to revise your essay.
AI is a tool - not a replacement for your own voice!
Things to avoid / Tips for essays
- Focus on resilience rather than just the hardship itself.
- Tackle mental health topics only once you have the distance to reflect on them objectively.
- Use mentors or inspirations as a backdrop to showcase your own development and actions.
- Avoid writing about Covid.
Admissions officers (or readers in general) aren't necessarily "anti-struggle," they just want to see that you’ve processed the event. If the essay feels like a raw vent session, it's hard for them to see your maturity. Showing the growth is where the magic happens!
Thinking of using Ai?
Important to consider: Using AI to generate an entire essay and claim it as yours is unethical & comes with potential consequences in the admissions process (as well as real life). Human review is critical.
sample AI Essay ProMPTS
Prompt: Help me create an outline for a 400 word college application essay using this prompt.
Help me brainstorm ideas for a…
Prompt: write a college admission essay using this essay prompt. Make it sound like a high school junior wrote the essay and limit it to 400 words.
GETTING TO KNOW WHO YOU ARE!
- Spark your creativity
- Helps you identify themes or stories
- Overcoming writer’s block
- Helps you to organize your thoughts
BORING!
- Risk of losing your authentic voice.
- Will generate a formulaic essay with easy to spot patterns
- It can be a missed opportunity for self reflection & personal growth.
Consider This!
Using AI to generate an entire essay and claim it as yours is unethical & comes with potential consequences in the admissions process (as well as real life). Human review is critical.
Turn to your partner and discuss.....
- Pretend your transcript does not exist, what is one specific moment, hobby, or personality quirk about you that would never show up on a formal application, but tells us exactly who you are?
- What does this moment actually say about your character (e.g., are you resilient, curious, a problem-solver)?
- What was the most interesting detail you shared?
- Keep these things in mind as you begin to work on your essays!
Recommendation and Reference Letters
Teacher recommendations provide colleges with insights into your academic abilities, work ethic, and personal qualities that aren't visible from just your grades and test scores. A teacher who saw you struggle in Calculus but witnessed you spend every lunch hour in their office for extra help can vouch for your work ethic and humility—qualities a 4.0 GPA alone can’t prove.
- Consider asking classroom teachers who you have had & have seen your growth over time.
- We recommend asking 2 teachers for letters, however, each college will specify how many letters they require & who they should be from.
- Provide a completed Academic Information Sheet for each teacher you request to write you a letter of recommendation.
- Begin asking teachers NOW You will do a formal invitation through Naviance in the fall.
- There may be an opportunity for you to add a letter from an additional recommender. This could be a coach, employer, youth group advisor, etc.
Counselor Recommendation Letters
Counselor recommendations and referance letters provide a holistic view of your academic record, personal qualities & highlight your contributions to the school and local community.
Completion of the College Packet is required, this includes a parent portion.
The College Packet is linked in this presentation and can be found in Naviance in the top right of the welcome page.
It is a google document. You will need to make a copy in order to fill it out
The College Packet is for counselors only, please do not share it with your teachers.
The College Packet is due to your counselor no later than April 30th.
USe the link to answer a few questions....again
bit.ly/27postspring
Start Your College Packet Now!
Tip: Interactivity is the key to capturing the interest and attention of your class. A genially is interactive because your students explore and engage with it.
In Genially you’ll find more than 1,000 templates that are all ready for you to enter your content and customize, and that are super handy for your classes?
Did you know?...In Genially you’ll find more than 1,000 templates that are all ready for you to enter your content and customize, and that are super handy for your classes?
Tip: Interactivity is the key to capturing the interest and attention of your class. A genially is interactive because your students explore and engage with it.
Emotional connection or engagement with your class increases when they identify with the message you want to communicate.
If your genially includes info that is difficult to explain or understand, including graphs will help students understand and make sense of it. Still not convinced you need to use graphs to promote learning? Well, you should know that our brains love them, and if the content is animated, even better! Our brains retain 42% more information from dynamic stimuli.
In Genially, we use AI (Awesome interactivity) in all our designs so that you can level up with interactivity and turn your teaching materials into something that engages.
WCHS Junior College Planning - Essay and Rec Letters
Kellie Spivak
Created on March 23, 2026
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Transcript
Class of 2027
College Planning
Part 2: Essay and Recommendation / Reference Letters
USe the link to answer a few questions
bit.ly/27prespring
Objective
By the end of the presentation, students will be able to:
What's your "E"?
Enlisting in the Military
Employment - Apprenticeship Maryland
Enrolling in College
Things to Keep in mind
MoCo CAPS At Churchill HS, MoCo CAP helps students explore careers, plan pathways, and prepare for life after high school—whether that’s college, apprenticeships, or the workforce.
Build a Balanced List Include Schools and/or Careers Catagorized as: REACH MATCH LIKELY
SAT / ACT Colleges continue to update their test optional policies. Please check the college website for the most up to date information.
Timeline
Spring into Summer
Virtual and in person campus visits. Sign up for campus tours or open house programs directly with the university.
Attend the NACAC College Fair. April 22nd FREE field trip. (Evening hours to attend with parents)
Fall
College Reps visit WCHS. Great way to meet the person who is likely to review your application, learn about a college without leaving town, confrim your interest in a particular college.
Continue with virtual and in person campus visits & start completing your college applications / Common App.
The College Application
SENIOR YEAR - Preview
Common Application Matching
Transcript Request Directions
Teacher Recommendation Submission
Senior Parent Night
Common App opens August 1, 2026!
College essay
Commitment
The college essay is your opportunity to showcase your personality and help admissions officers understand who you are beyond grades and test scores. Ask yourself — what do you want your essay to convey? ~ Who you are as a person ~ What kind of roommate you will be ~ What you will contribute to the campus community
Schools want to hear about your interests & responsibilities. Talk about things like -
Intellectual Curiosity
Personal Responsibility
Leadership
Self-motivation
mastering the art of college essay writing
Choose a specific prompt: Opt for focused topics over open-ended ones to ensure admissions officers immediately understand your core message. When choosing your essay topic, ask yourself: What significant experiences, challenges, or passions have defined you? How have your values and goals shaped who you are? What moments of growth, change, or insight have impacted you most?
Chooing Your Topic
Showing vs. Telling
Show, don't just tell! Instead of simply stating who you are, bring your story to life with specific details, vivid moments, and real examples that let admissions officers experience it for themselves.
Editing and Revising
Ask an adult "what did you learn about me from reading the essay." If their answer doesn't match what you intended, you need to revise your essay.
AI is a tool - not a replacement for your own voice!
Things to avoid / Tips for essays
Admissions officers (or readers in general) aren't necessarily "anti-struggle," they just want to see that you’ve processed the event. If the essay feels like a raw vent session, it's hard for them to see your maturity. Showing the growth is where the magic happens!
Thinking of using Ai?
Important to consider: Using AI to generate an entire essay and claim it as yours is unethical & comes with potential consequences in the admissions process (as well as real life). Human review is critical.
sample AI Essay ProMPTS
Prompt: Help me create an outline for a 400 word college application essay using this prompt. Help me brainstorm ideas for a…
Prompt: write a college admission essay using this essay prompt. Make it sound like a high school junior wrote the essay and limit it to 400 words.
GETTING TO KNOW WHO YOU ARE!
BORING!
Consider This!
Using AI to generate an entire essay and claim it as yours is unethical & comes with potential consequences in the admissions process (as well as real life). Human review is critical.
Turn to your partner and discuss.....
Recommendation and Reference Letters
Teacher recommendations provide colleges with insights into your academic abilities, work ethic, and personal qualities that aren't visible from just your grades and test scores. A teacher who saw you struggle in Calculus but witnessed you spend every lunch hour in their office for extra help can vouch for your work ethic and humility—qualities a 4.0 GPA alone can’t prove.
Counselor Recommendation Letters
Counselor recommendations and referance letters provide a holistic view of your academic record, personal qualities & highlight your contributions to the school and local community.
Completion of the College Packet is required, this includes a parent portion. The College Packet is linked in this presentation and can be found in Naviance in the top right of the welcome page. It is a google document. You will need to make a copy in order to fill it out The College Packet is for counselors only, please do not share it with your teachers.
The College Packet is due to your counselor no later than April 30th.
USe the link to answer a few questions....again
bit.ly/27postspring
Start Your College Packet Now!
Tip: Interactivity is the key to capturing the interest and attention of your class. A genially is interactive because your students explore and engage with it.
In Genially you’ll find more than 1,000 templates that are all ready for you to enter your content and customize, and that are super handy for your classes?
Did you know?...In Genially you’ll find more than 1,000 templates that are all ready for you to enter your content and customize, and that are super handy for your classes?
Tip: Interactivity is the key to capturing the interest and attention of your class. A genially is interactive because your students explore and engage with it.
Emotional connection or engagement with your class increases when they identify with the message you want to communicate.
If your genially includes info that is difficult to explain or understand, including graphs will help students understand and make sense of it. Still not convinced you need to use graphs to promote learning? Well, you should know that our brains love them, and if the content is animated, even better! Our brains retain 42% more information from dynamic stimuli.
In Genially, we use AI (Awesome interactivity) in all our designs so that you can level up with interactivity and turn your teaching materials into something that engages.