Top 10 Tips For College Admissions Essays

Top 10 Tips For College Admissions Essays Do write in your own style and using your own words. Take the time to make sure your essay is something you’re proud of. Do provide new information that is not on your application. Stay honest, and if you have a misfortunate story to tell, share it too. This will increase the level of readers’ liking for your personality. Give yourself at least a week to write the essay and don’t postpone. Try to break your work into several parts and devote some time to writing your essay daily. He holds a BA in Psychology from Florida International University and an MA in Education from Georgia Southern University. You might be tempted to try to make the admissions officer who is reading your essay laugh. Humor is a great way to make friends or break the ice with someone new, but you should try not to rely on it in your admissions essay. For example, maybe you're a creative thinker, or a great problem-solver. Emphasize this in your essay by writing about a time that those qualities helped you in your day-to-day life. Do tell a story in an interesting and engaging way. Don’t just relay the facts, but pretend you are sitting in a coffee shop talking to a friend. Don’t repeat what is found elsewhere in your application, unless you’re adding pertinent information to round it out. A particularly critical “do” is to make sure that your essay stays on point. Applicants will sometimes digress, then fall in love with their digression and not be willing to cut it. Five hundred or less words isn’t much, so be sure that the essay remains focused on fully answering all aspects of the prompt, as they are asked. One “don’t” that I think is particularly important is to resist the urge to sell yourself. During middle school and high school, my enthusiasm for music and performing accelerated in tandem with my talent. In addition to pursuing instrumental music, I began singing in theatre and in an a cappella group. Eerily similar to the college application process, there were many qualified donor applicants. Do understand the mission of the school and how you will fit in. Do not embellish your essay or have someone else write it for you. Do not go over the word count â€" make it concise and smart. There are many do’s and don’ts regarding the college application essay. Choosing one donor from the pool of applicants was an insurmountable task for my mom until she realized there was an essay buried in the back of each profile. After reading my donor’s essay, she chose him because he spoke so eloquently about his passion for music and the arts. Think of some meaningful or extraordinary events that turned your life upside down and keep writing them. Your essay also shouldn't just repeat things that you've already listed elsewhere on your application. Tell the admissions officer something they can't learn about you from the other paperwork you've filled out. It's okay to expand on points you only mentioned in passing in other parts of the application, but make sure you are adding new information and presenting it in an engaging, creative way. You have no way of knowing what the admissions officer's sense of humor is like, and you don't want to run the risk of a joke falling flat or, even worse, offending someone. Once you've brainstormed a list of ideas, choose one as the theme of your essay. Focusing on one theme helps keep your essay organized and to the point. Like any essay, the college admissions essay should have a clear thesis that summarizes your main ideas and presents your theme in an engaging way. Essays that state, “No one could possibly be better qualified for your program than me,” or some variation of that, risk a backlash from Admissions Directors. Well, I’ll be the judge of that.” Instead, illustrate why you are so well qualified and let readers come to that conclusion themselves. We always aim to provide you with an outstanding service and a great admissions essay.