How To Write The College Admissions Essay

How To Write The College Admissions Essay When writing, consider the admissions officer who will read your essay. Take this opportunity to expand on your application -- but remember to re-read your essay with the prompt in mind. After that, some strategic editing can be done to trim the fat off and get the essay down to the required size. Although this task may seem daunting when you think about it, it inevitably results in a more concise, streamlined presentation of your concept. As students write their essays, it might help to keep in mind why colleges ask them for these writing samples in the first place. Everyone â€" my parents, peers, counselors, teachers â€" always emphasized the importance of the Common Application college essay. Again, the essay is a great space to reveal something new about you, so stand out by being yourself and showing another side of you as a person or student. Tips for writing an effective college admissions essay are essentially the same for all students. Remember that admissions officers will be reading large numbers of essays, and you will want to create an essay that will stand out in the interesting way it is formulated, as well as in its unique subject matter. You definitely don’t want to put the readers to sleep! You have surely had certain life experiences which will provide interesting material for your essay â€" even things which you yourself take for granted. I was terrified of clichés and blending in with thousands of other applicants, and I struggled to look away from “successful” essays, wondering if I could do what they did. College essay writing fills most students with apprehension and dread. So many students think that they “know” what colleges want from an applicant, and this can have a big influence over their essays. Students will abuse the thesaurus and write about strange topics in an effort to impress and stand out. Instead of writing what you think the admissions office wants to read, write about what you want them to know. There is not one way that all colleges work, so I always tell students to assume everyone in the admissions office could their essays so that they cannot write anything that anyone and everyone cannot read. Also I believe that students should believe that the more people who read an essay the better as these essays should really captivate and engage readers and help them see why you belong on their campus. One common essay mistake is telling a particular story without answering the prompt. Since many colleges allow students to choose from a few different prompts, addressing the topic of your choice is an easy way to tell your story within the constraints of an essay. Finally, make sure that the essay does not have glaring errors in spelling, sentence structure, and paragraph formulation. Besides appearing very careless, these kinds of errors can actually interfere with the ability of the reader to understand your point. College admissions officers are very busy and only want to read essays that help them make admissions decisions. Some colleges have a team of people read each file. Others divide them up, and then only share files that require further discussion. Rather than just state what happened, an analytical approach will explain and interpret events. How do/did you feel about the topic about which you are writing? In most cases, you will be required to limit the essay to a certain number of characters or words. I always suggest that students not worry too much about this limitation to begin with â€" just get your ideas written down . Deciding which colleges to apply to is difficult enough, but you add to that the stress of writing a personal essay for each of your applications. Your personal essay is supposed to give college admissions teams a snapshot of who you are as a person and who you hope to become but you don’t have to spill your guts or transcribe your whole life story. To increase your chances of getting accepted, first learn just how important your essay is and then take the time to learn the Dos and Don’ts of college application essays. Because colleges are looking for students who know themselves well, have academic goals and a career direction, and can articulate them clearly. However, admissions reps also need to know how you think. It felt so daunting, to summarize the last 18 years of my life into 650 words, all while showcasing my “unique” personality against thousands of other students. Before the whole process even began, I already felt pressured to craft this beautifully written ssay that screamed, “This is who I am! While I was aware that I would be writing countless essays over the next couple months , the Common App college essay felt the most daunting. I felt intimidated, to say the least, especially since I knew that I had to knock it out of the park with my essays if I even dreamed of being admitted to the selective schools on my list. Consider how the story you have to tell would be perceived by someone else who has never before heard that story. Write analytically, rather than merely descriptively. Descriptive writing is a factual account of a topic or event, simply telling what happened. Analytical writing will pose or answer questions, make comparisons, or present and defend viewpoints.