College Admission; Writing Essays Colleges Will Love
Deciding where you want to go to college can be a tough process, but the work doesn’t end there. Your next step is to do your best to ensure that you are granted admission. One way to do so is to take the time to really think through the kind of things that you discuss in your application essay. The main goal of the essays is to differentiate yourself from the other students who want your slot in the freshman class. You need to be taken seriously as a success-focused young adult and here are a few ways to get started:
1. Make sure that you talk about yourself. You’ll have plenty of opportunities to go into your accomplishments, the college application essay is where you let administrators get into your head and learn about how you think. Explain why you’ve made some of the choices that you’ve made in your life, for example. If you’ve always worked instead of participating in sports, share a little about your work ethic and why you chose the job that you did while going to high school.
2. Give lots of details. Being vague, as in, ‘I’d like to be a doctor,’ doesn’t let the admissions committee know much about why you’ve chosen their college. Discuss the kind of experience you hope to achieve while learning with them and go into some of your hopes and dreams for how you’ll take the education you earn from them and apply it to your future. Avoid clichs such as ‘I’m a people person’ at all costs and be specific wherever possible.
3. Note the difference between an essay and a resume. While you may refer to your time as a class officer during your sophomore year, the essay isn’t a place to simply regurgitate a listing of your activities. Don’t forget that your application will allow for a complete resume of your activities and your high school resume will be attached as well. Instead, use some of your experiences as a launch pad to discuss how they taught you valuable life lessons such as time management, for example.
4. Once you’ve completed your first draft if you still feel that your essay isn’t representative enough of who you are intellectually, consider adding a paragraph or two that sheds some light. There are many ways to do so, such as telling about how a piece of art or a style of music has inspired you in your life. Or maybe you could discuss a book that you recently read and how it impacted your understanding of yourself or the world you live in. Again, this will likely be your only chance to let your chosen university see who you are.
Take a deep breath before you begin and try to enjoy the task at hand. In fact, look at your college application essay as a way to get to know yourself in the process of sharing who you are with others.
Julie Clark Robinson is a staff writer for the American Educational Guidance Center. She covers topics which include online degree programs, scholarships for adult students, college, financial aid, and internships for college students.
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