10 Tips for Writing The College Application Essay Text

Jonathan Friesen - Writing Coach

Hansen, ph.d.

learn how to write a successful college application essay using the three step process for writing your personal college admissions essay.

gaining entrance to just about any college or university continues to get harder as more and more applicants are applying for a limited number of spaces. How can you improve your chances to being admitted to the college or university of your choice? by writing a stellar personal essay as part of your college admissions application. It may be only 500 words or sometimes only 100 250 words but the admissions essay s portion of a college application can mean the difference between acceptance and rejection. How you write your personal essay shows the admissions committee why you are different from other applicants. It provides information about you that test scores, grades, and extracurricular pursuits just cannot.

You can use the essay to describe a favorite activity, to tell a story about yourself, or even a story about your dog, but make sure to really use it in a way that captures the readers attention and shows that you are exceptional. So how do you write a college application essay? writing the college application essay can be one of the most daunting parts of applying to college. To help you get started, weve published these college essay guides from essayedge.com , with thoughts on brainstorming ideas, choosing a topic, and how to write an effective and powerful essay.

Once youve gone through the three steps, then take a look at the eight free sample college application essays.

three step process to writing successful college application essays:

free sample college application essays:

for access to 100 free sample successful admissions essays, visit essayedge.com , the company the new york times calls the worlds premier application essay editing service. Youll also find other great essay and editing resources some free and some fee based at essayedge.

You’ve taken the tests, requested the recommendations, completed the common app, and now it’s finally time to refocus on what you’ve been putting off: the essay. While most students spend days, sometimes weeks, perfecting their personal statements, admissions officers only spend about three to five minutes actually reading them, according to jim rawlins, director of admissions at the university of oregon. High school seniors are faced with the challenge of summarizing the last 17 years into 600 words, all while showcasing their unique personality against thousands of other candidates. It’s hard to find a balance between sounding professional and smart without using all of those long words, says lily klass, a senior at milford high school in milford, mass.

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I’m having trouble reflect myself without sounding arrogant or rude or anything like that. The following tips will help applicants make the leap from ‘average’ to ‘accepted’: since the admissions officers only spend a brief amount of time reviewing stories, it’s pivotal that you engage them from the very beginning. Instead of trying to come up with gimmicky, catchy first lines, start by sharing a moment, says janine robinson, writing coach and founder of essay hell. These mini stories naturally grab the reader … it’s the best way to really involve them in the story. Put yourself in the school’s position. at the end of the day, colleges want to accept someone who is going to graduate, be successful in the world and have the university associated with that success. In your essay, it is vital that you present yourself as someone who loves to learn, can think critically and has a passion for things anything. Colleges always say to show your intellectual vitality and curiosity, robinson says.

They want kids who are going to hit the ground running zoom to class and straight out into the world. One of the biggest mistakes students make is trying too hard to impress, robinson says. Trust that it is those every day, specific subjects that are much more interesting to read about. Colleges are tired of reading about that time you had a come from behind win in the state championship game or the time you built houses in ecuador, according to robinson.

Get creative! furthermore, you’re writing doesn’t have to sound like shakespeare. These essays should read like smart, interesting 17 year olds wrote them, says lacy crawford, former independent college application counselor and author of early decision.   a sense of perspective and self awareness is what’s interesting. Swap sophistication for self awareness there is a designated portion of the application section designated to show off your repertoire of words. Using sat words in your personal statement sounds unnatural and distances the reader from you. I think most students are torn between a pathway dividing a diary entry and a press release. Write about what matters to you, not what matters to them crawford recommends students begin by answering the question, if you had 10 minutes to talk to them in person, what would you say? the admissions teams are looking for authenticity and quality of thinking. Theoretically, i think anything could be ‘the perfect topic, as long as you demonstrate how well you think, your logic and ability to hold readers’ attention, crawford says.

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You’ll be surprised to see that they’re not winning pulitzers they are pieces of someone. Rawlins recommends showing the essay to a family member or friend and ask if it sounds like the student. Don’t pretend to be someone you’re not. while colleges tend to nod to disadvantaged students, roughing up your background won’t help your cause.

It’s less about the topic and more about how you frame it and what you have to say about it, robinson says. The better essay is has the most interesting thing to say, regardless of a topic that involves a crisis or the mundane. The essays serve as a glimpse into how your mind works, how you view the world and provides perspective. If you have never had some earth shattering experience that rocked your world, don’t pretend you did.

While the directions on the applications may sound generic, and even repetitive after applying to a variety of schools, rawlins points out that every rhyme has a reason. They have to know that college put a lot of thought into the instructions we give them so please follow them! he says. Use this space to tell them what your application can’t. most colleges don’t have the time or bandwidth to research each individual applicant. Like crawford, he recommends students imagining they are sitting next to him in his office and responding to the question, what else do i need to know? and their essays should reflect how they would respond. At the end of the day, however, rawlins wants students to know that the personal essay is just another piece of the larger puzzle. It makes a massive difference good or bad to very few out there, so keep it in context. Don't sweat this part of the process, but do be prepared with a good topic and concise writing.

No subject is more fraught with anxiety for the high school senior than the essay on the college application. Whether it is as bizarre as the university of chicago 's how do you feel about wednesday? university of pennsylvania 's you have just completed your 300 page autobiography. Or tufts university 's are we alone? or whether it is a more mundane question about a formative experience you've had in your life, or about some controversial social or political issue, students tremble at the very thought of writing the essay and being judged on it.

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