How to Write a College Essay Hook That Pulls Them In

Short answer: Make them need to keep reading.

Longer answer: After you’ve written the rest of your essay, find the boldest accurate line you can put first. Suspense works. Curiosity works. Cognitive dissonance works.

My favorite example: The first time I was expelled from kindergarten, it really wasn’t my fault.

That sentence creates three immediate questions: How many times were you expelled? What did you do? And what does “really” mean? The reader has no choice but to keep going.

That’s the job. One sentence that makes stopping feel impossible — something that creates a sense of tell me more.