How To Write A College Application Essay

How To Write A College Application Essay Be descriptive and give details that appeal to the senses â€" taste, touch, smell, etc. When writing about a meaningful experience or event, you don’t have to give a long timeline of events. Instead, give the reader the piece of the puzzle that conveys your message. It’s particularly important when writing a piece about yourself that you write naturally. Many times the best way to get a clear picture of a student’s goals, accomplishments, and character is to hear it directly from the student him or herself. In fact, it’s important to write in your authentic voice and avoid using “fancy” vocabulary just to impress admissions officers. Remember that the purpose of a college admissions essay is to help admissions officers get to know you. If your essay is filled with lies and exaggerations, then you’ve missed the point entirely. It’s possible that college admissions officers may suspect you’re lying, which is a poor reflection on your ethics and morals. Even if they don’t suspect you’re lying, you’ve missed your chance to showcase the real reasons that you’re a good fit for this school. Often, students feel pressure to write about a completely unique, never-before-seen essay topic that will help them stand out. When these students can’t think of anything “cool” or “special” enough, they make something up. You may have been advised to take risks with your college application essays, but you don’t want to be too risky. If you do write about someone who influenced your life, make sure that you only briefly describe them. As long as your message is succinct and to the point, brief, and realistic your essay should have an impact. Each university has its own set of prompts you should write about. By planning the layout of your essay ahead of time, you’ll avoid changing your writing style mid-story. Connect with our featured colleges to find schools that both match your interests and are looking for students like you. What you write in your application essay or personal statement should not contradict any other part of your applicationâ€"nor should it repeat it. This isn't the place to list your awards or discuss your grades or test scores. A student who can make an admissions officer laugh never gets lost in the shuffle. Spelling and grammar errors can take away from an otherwise stellar essay â€" so be mindful. When developing a topic that reveals something new, find a way to frame the story or idea that shows a slice of your life or the event. The example essay is one of the most basic essays in academic writing, but can be extremely difficult if you've never written one or do not know what to write about. Example essays focus on one main idea which you prove with several specific, convincing examples. Here is an example of a prompt from the University of California. They also are looking to see how well you interact with other students, your willingness to see others succeed. Your essay should show evidence of how you interact with others. Evidence that you’re not just out there to help yourself but that you are willing to extend assistance to other students who may need it. It should reflect your social skills showing that you are an interesting individual that others will want to share their college years with. Every year, more than 3 million essays will land on the Admissions desk in universities across the country. With so many eager young minds seeking acceptance in a school of higher learning, one can easily see just how difficult it is to get noticed when applying to a quality university. Spellcheck won’t catch every spelling or grammatical error! Take the time to read over all your essays carefully and keep an eye out for things like “out” when you meant to say “our” and other common typos. Have a parent or counselor read over the essay, too, to catch any errors you might have missed. If you're stuck on how to write an example essay, you can follow a few simple steps to dig yourself out of the rut and write an example essay that you can be proud of. Admissions officers want to get to know applicants. There’s only so much that application readers can deduce from your extracurricular activities, transcripts, test scores, recommendation letters, and other application materials. What you think is funny and what an adult working in a college thinks is funny are probably different. We caution against one-liners, limericks and anything offâ€"color. Most selective colleges require you to submit an essay or personal statement as part of your application.