College Essay Tips

College Essay Tips These steps will help you develop a list of specific qualities that are unique to the school. The college essay is often the most difficult part of preparing your application. To help you get off to a good start, we’ve put together the following tips and hints. These are comments from our admissions staff who actually read your essays and evaluate them in the admission process. While it’s important to put considerable effort into all college application components, essays are often the finishing touch and should be treated with great care and consideration. Essay writingis an important part of the college application process. Using the Common Application, you will have to write one major essay, and possibly write a series of smaller essays for each school on their Supplement Forms . You can find some examples of creative essays in the resource section of this module. Again, remember it is important not to plagiarize the ideas of others, but they may help you to get started in writing your essay. We can’t guarantee results, but this advice might help you get started. Standing out with your college essay is important. College admission counselors read hundreds and thousands of essays every year. Identify the parts of you that set you apart from others and utilize them to write a unique essay. If you are a strong writer, you might also be able to present your topic in a unique and interesting way. We trust you’ll find this information useful as you prepare your college applications. Feel free to contact our admissions staff with additional questions. When writing your college essay, avoid creating a list of your activities and accomplishments. Tell the reader something about yourself that isn’t evident in the rest of your application. Students can receive Writopia Lab college essay writing instruction at our labs through a College Essay Workshop or Private Sessions. Workshops at our labs have a maximum of seven participants. College Essay Workshop programs are only available to students who are high school juniors or seniors. Personal Essay/Pre-College Essay Workshops are available for freshmen and sophomores. Your college counselors are there to help, but they can’t if you don’t ask or wait until the last minute to seek guidance and feedback. Make a plan to meet with your college counselor and go over your college list and essays, and ask for feedback on your writing. Your college counselor can provide valuable insight into how to improve your college application essays, so seek feedback on your drafts as soon as possible. School-based counselors have a lot of students to advise and are very busy, so seek guidance early and often. Think about your best personal trait, your interests, values and goals. Focus on one of these qualities and make it the theme of your essay. For example, your best trait might be determination, creativity, or compassion. Tell a story that makes that trait clear to the reader. Provide evidence by citing specific instances from your life. I haven't read a lot of good essays in those books anyway. Our veteran admissions counselors are frequently asked to share expert advice about writing compelling college essays. We asked our admissions counselors to share their perspectives on why the college essay matters and what matters most. You should read a college guide book, methodically review the website, and hopefully, if at all possible, visit the school. Additionally, you might email an admissions counselor at the school with some questions or speak to a current student or alum. (If you don’t know anyone affiliated with the school, try asking your guidance counselor if there are former students from your high school who attend or attended X college.) Peruse a course catalog. A student's essay is usually expected to be between words or 1-2 pages. This length will be fairly consistent across institutes of higher education whether you are using the Common Application or an individual schools application. You can find some examples of good answers to these essays in the resource section of this module. Reading essay examples can be helpful in guiding you to writing your own good essay.