Admission & Application Essays

Admission & Application Essays First of all, the very purpose of the college admission essay is to tell a unique story of yours â€" a story that goes beyond academic performance narrative. It’s all about hooking the audience with your traits, passions, interests, plans for the future, and life missions. Such an essay is intended to leave a positive imprint in the admissions officer’s mind and make them feel excited about you as a person. Your admission essay lets you personalize your application. The writing sample you submit will be considered in both the admission and competitive scholarship selection process. The idea behind the essay is for colleges to be able to learn something about the student that they couldn’t have learned through the rest of the application. The essay is where the college can discover what makes this particular student unique and interesting. Sadly, many students tear their ACL each sports season and then have to rehab it. Many students have volunteered in various ways, even in other countries. The college essay is one piece of the process that you can control so you want to get it right. The most obvious “do” is to respond to the prompt. Write something that helps them to know you better, but be responsive. Too, be sure that you are giving them a piece of yourself. When Warren was asked about haphazard mistakes students make, he recounted one college essay example. When you're finished writing your admissions essay, it's important to proofread your material. Running your essay through spell check is important, and having someone you trust read your essay to catch other small mistakes is even better. Admissions officers generally won't dock minor mistakes in punctuation, but grammatical errors always look sloppy. Whichever prompt you choose, college admission officers want you to tell a story that reveals your character, personality, and how you think. I encourage kids to think about writing their essay as though they’re describing a snapshot in time. They need to think about those snapshots that have defined them. Another way to think about an essay topic is to think about those small moments that might even seem mundane on the surface, but that have had a big impact on their life. Describe a moment where it may seem that nothing exciting was happening to an outside observer, but that meant a great deal to the student. The following week, write the body of the paper, or even start over if the opening paragraph just doesn’t work for them. After writing the rough draft, let the essay sit for a week or so, and then go back to polish it. Find a good envelope and leave it for them to read on their own time and terms. Then, to reiterate, wine and a walkâ€"very important. Easily avoidable mistakes, like not checking that the entire essay is copied into the application, can harm your application prospects. When an admissions officer doesn't get the whole story or notices a sloppy mistake, it changes how schools perceive you. Sometimes students neglect to copy over their entire essay into an application and only submit a portion of their work. So, I always suggest to them that they start early, but that also, they take their time. If they start in late June, they’ve got plenty of time to get it done before school starts, without dedicating their entire summer to writing. Instead, break the essay into parts â€" brainstorm topics one week, write an opening paragraph the next week. The Common Application essay prompts are often left a little vague on purpose to give you flexibility and encourage you to be creative. Unlike essays for your English class, the most important aspect of your personal statement is you. Do have a teacher, counselor, parent or friend with strong writing skills proofread your essay. Do write as many drafts of your essay as it takes to make it shine brightly. Don’t wait until the last minute to start writing. Don’t be overly influenced by others’ ideas or essays other people have written. Don’t let anyone else write any part of your essay. Be sure to include your full name on each page of your submission. You can also ask someone else to proofread your essay for you. Asking a teacher, parent, or older sibling is probably the best way to go, since they might be more familiar with what's expected from college admissions essays. College can be difficult, and one thing that admissions officers might be looking for is evidence that you've overcome obstacles and been able to work through hard situations. Do let your unique voice and personality come through in your writing.