5 Tips for writing the perfect college application essay
Are you planning to write a college application essay? Have you started reading other essays online to understand better how to draft yours? Well, reading samples makes this writing task look less stressful. But it is one of the highly demanding writing tasks you will ever experience before getting into college. Are you planning to write a college application essay? Have you started reading other essays online to understand better how to draft yours? Well, reading samples makes this writing task look less stressful. But it is one of the highly demanding writing tasks you will ever experience before getting into college.
But
then, admission essays don’t have to be complicated. If you apply
the right tips and understand what the admissions officer is looking
for, you won’t have problems writing a perfect college application.
So,
below are tips you need to consider when drafting a captivating
application essay.
1.
Understand The Reason You Are Writing
It’s
easier to write a captivating essay or answer a question right when
you know what the grader wants. So, you need to understand the
purpose of writing your application essay before putting pen to
paper. Understand that your application essay isn’t about your
extracurriculars or grades in high school. It isn’t about your CAT
or SAT either.
Now,
what it is about? What are admissions officers looking for? They want
to know who you are. And your application essay will give them that
clue they need. So, it’s more like you talking about yourself, not
your grade or someone else.
Hence, you need to express yourself in a captivating way and ensure you don't lie about who you are because providing false information will give them a compelling reason to reject the application.
2.
Learn About Your Proposed School
It’s
easier to befriend someone you know too well, right? That’s the
same strategy you need to apply when drafting your college
application essay. How well do you know the school you are applying
to? That’s the question you need to ask yourself.
You
may have visited their official website and read their campus
newspaper regularly, which isn’t a bad idea. But you need to go
beyond that. You need to check other channels to get in-depth
information and understanding of the school.
You
can visit the school’s forum and blogs. You will find a couple of
them organized for students in your proposed school. Be a part of the
online community. Get a sense of what the student community pays
utmost attention to and the culture of the school.
You
can even ask questions if you like and make friends too. You never
can tell how much help you can get from students who have already
secured admission there. Their ideas can help you hit the nail on the
head when writing your application essay, you know.
3.
Accept Your Difference And Flaws
Everyone
is different in their little way. We all also have flaws that stir us
in the face. But here is one thing you should never forget when
drafting a college application essay; be yourself. If your name is
John, be John. Don’t try to be John and Peter. Your admissions
officer won’t take it lightly once spotted.
Being
yourself implies showcasing why you are unique. You need to give the
admissions officer clues that you are qualified for the course you
wish to study and fit into the school’s settings. So, don’t try
to become who you think the admissions officer would like you to be.
Do not try to copy someone else’s work because you believe their
essay seems ideal for the school and course you wish to study.
Note down your uniqueness. Of course, you are unique, and you have values, passions, views, and interests that differentiate you from other people. Think deeper and create a bullet list of all of them if you can. With this, it will be easier to choose the most captivating things about you to include in your paper.
4.
Be More Organized
You
will never know how important being organized is
until you start writing an application essay. You will undoubtedly
receive instructions, and your proposed school expects you to follow
each of them carefully. Of course, failure to do so portrays you in a
negative light, which is never a good thing.
For
instance, you will have a specific word limit, which you must follow.
So, it isn’t a bad idea to spend at least 30 minutes organizing
your thoughts to be able to draft a more organized and captivating
application essay.
You
can write down the talking points you wish to include in your paper
and make a rough sketch of how many words each would require. You may
not have a perfect idea of the estimated words. But doing this will
help you include the most captivating points in your admissions essay
and ensure you don’t exceed the word count.
5.
Proofread, Proofread, Proofread
Never turn in your admissions essay without proofreading it properly. A minor mistake, as you might view it, might ruin everything. So make sure you proofread thoroughly. Ensure there is no spelling mistake, grammar, and other forms of errors.
However,
one easy way to proofread an article is never to start editing
immediately after writing. Give your tired eyes some couple of
minutes or hours to rest. You can also ask friends or relations to
proofread your paper. Or you can use Grammarly or other proofreading
software to get the job done.
Conclusion
You
can write a perfect admissions essay and secure your dream admission.
It’s simple, but you have to apply the right strategy to get it
done. This post contains tips you need to consider when drafting your
admissions essay. Follow them and include yours, if you have any, to
make your application essay a success.
Published September 16, 2019
Join the discussion — please keep to our Community Guidelines.