The College Admission Essay Is More Important Than Ever

The College Admission Essay Is More Important Than Ever Remember, you want to sound genuine, not sanctimonious. Both students and parents tend to think that writing about overseas volunteering or charity trips is a sure-fire way to impress admissions officers. Some of the best college application essays are written about small moments that are meaningful to the applicant. You’re the only person with your exact combination of personal qualities, beliefs, values, and experiences, so you don’t need to lie or exaggerate to make your essay unique. One of the most common supplemental essays that students will come across is the infamous “Why This College? ” or a more specific question about how a student plans to contribute to the campus, colleges are looking for detailed and well-researched responses. Additionally, these types of essays frequently present the student as some type of savior, who is privileged enough to spend the money to fly and participate in an activity overseas. This “savior” trope could irk the admissions officer. Take a notebook and write down whatever comes to your mind that would fit with that particular prompt. Make sure you include personal experiences with each one. Unless you've helped write the State of the Union, your admissions essay will likely be the most influential essay you've written so far, at least as it relates to your own life. Give yourself at least a week to compose your essay. Make sure you look through all of the prompts for the university you are applying to and contemplate each of them. Take your time, don’t rush as this will become the foundation of your essay. When you have finished, go back and choose the ones that you are most excited to talk about and make a note of why they motivate you. It is a common belief that students who get good grades have a greater edge when it comes to getting accepted to the school of their choice but that is not always the case. With so many students applying even with good grades the competition is fierce. The single thing that will really set you apart from the pack and ensure you get your foot in the door is your admission essay and how you present it. Here are some college application essay dos and don’ts for students to keep in mind as they complete their applications this fall. Admission officers read plenty of application essays and know the difference between a student’s original story and a recycled academic essay, orâ€"worseâ€"a piece written by your mom or dad or even plagiarized. Bring something new to the table, not just what you think they want to hear. Your college application essay needs to breathe life into your application. The reason that teachers don’t assign a number of pages anymore is because it’s too easy to manipulate pages. When students used to write on typewriters, it was common for teachers to assign essays in number of pages. With the adoption of computers in the classroom, teachers switched from pages to work count because it was too easy for the computers to manipulate the font size and page size. By assigning a word count, teachers get a more accurate length of essay than they would if they assigned homework by pages. If supplemental essays are good gauges for demonstrated interest, this particular type of essay is the most important. Depart from the sample essay for college admission whenever you feel that it would improve your essay. You won't score extra point with the admissions department for finishing your essay in an hour. Use the sample college admission essay template as a scaffolding to build the rest of your essay around, rather than a fence to keep your thoughts contained. College admissions officers see hundreds of essays every year, and you do yourself no favors if you adhere slavishly to a template that the officers have seen before. For the same reason, we recommend avoiding profanity and graphic language in your essays. Gail Berson, the dean of admissions at Wheaton College, shares a story about an applicant with excellent grades and test scores who wrote a graphic essay about a violent video game. The admissions team found the essay off-putting, and the student was rejected. Had he chosen a “safer” topic, he would have received an acceptance letter. It should capture your genuine personality, explaining who you are beyond a series of grades, test scores, and after-school activities. But that’s not nearly as scary as it seems, because you get to choose what to share and how to share it.