Before we move on, I'd also like to address something important. Many students write about the deaths of loved ones and how it affected them. While it's a good idea in theory, the sheer amount of people that do it disables you from standing out in the crowd. Write about something more personal and unique to you. We don't want the people reviewing your application to groan and say "Ugh, another one?", now do we?
While figuring out the topic may seem like the hardest part of the essay, oftentimes students are struck by the length of it; it's hard for them to have a word limit when they've been told throughout most of their education that they can write as much or as little as they please as long as it answers the prompt thoroughly and effectively. As someone who's very detail oriented, I ended up needing to cleave my word count in half. Cutting down a twelve hundred word essay to six hundred words became so difficult for me that I nearly threw my computer, so my second piece of advice is to monitor your word count closely. To give you an idea of how fast words add up, you've just read four hundred and seventy three words. That's nearly at the limit, so just remember to pay close attention to the word count. You'll save yourself a headache and a smashed computer later on.
Now that the general advice is out of the way, we can move on to the process of how to write a good college essay.

The process that I used to write my college essay is as follows:

Brainstorm - think about an important moment in your life that changed you. Make it personal and unique, applicant reviewers have seen enough essays about losing pets and family members. Remember to write down all possible topics. This is a short essay, pick something you could feasibly explain in six hundred words or less!

Figure out the main focus of the essay - once you've decided on a topic, figure out what part of the experience is the most important. What part of it in particular changed you as a person/changed your life? Write it somewhere and highlight it. This is important because it's very easy to lose track of the main point of your essay.

Create an outline - after you've figured out the topic and main point of your essay, type up a quick outline. It's important to have both a quick introduction and a good conclusion to cinch it all together. Basically, just summarize what you want each paragraph to focus on.

Write the essay - now you're ready for your first draft. Don't worry too much about perfection - this is only the first try.

1. The introduction should hook the reader in. Use a piece of dialogue, a quote related to your topic, or maybe propose a question that will be answered by the end of your essay.

2. The body should contain both the main focus of your essay and the event that happened. Don't get hung up on making it detailed and perfect - it's more important to stay within the word limit and get the point across (you should still include descriptive writing - just not too much). If you haven't reached the limit once the first draft is done, then you can go back in and add more detail.

3. The conclusion should tie up your essay effectively and creatively. End with a descriptive sentence that sums up the main point i.e. "The ocean was no longer my foe, but a comforting world that I now consider a second home." If you find a better way to summarize the events that happened, go with that instead!

Proofread it yourself - make sure there's no spelling or grammar errors

Have someone else proofread it - other people will give you great feedback, especially teachers who specialize in writing and English. This can help you make your essay better in many ways, such as others catching errors you didn't or receiving feedback on the content as a whole.

Write the final draft - cut down the essay if it's too many words, or add a little bit more if you still have room. Remember to let your voice be heard; this is how the admissions team gets to know who you are as a person.

Proofread it again - whether this be in the form of someone else reading it, or just you reading it in your room late at night after writing for several hours, it's good to make any last minute corrections.

Submit that sucker - you did it, friend.

Congrats! You just wrote your college essay, and it's really good. Writing it was a long process, and sometimes stressful, but in the end it wasn't as scary as you thought (hopefully). Spread the good word to your peers. Good luck with admissions, and I hope you get into the school you wanted!