How To Write The Best College Admission Essay

How To Write The Best College Admission Essay If you think of the application as pieces of a puzzle or as independent voices coming together to tell your story, the essay is part of the puzzle over which you have complete control. The essay also provides you with an opportunity to say what hasn’t been said in your application and do so in your distinct voice. My friend Alex, who’s about to enter her senior year in high school, has a second-degree black belt in judo. She was thinking about doing an essay on her beloved “Calvin & Hobbes.” Can you guess what my advice was? Ask this reader if your essay sounds like you, is interesting to read, wanders off the topic anywhere, and is vivid and coherent. Instead, write an essay that sounds like you are talking to a favorite aunt or uncle. After reading your essay, the committee member should know something about your personality, your style and your values. Every admissions office has a story about receiving an essay folded into origami, or embossed on a five pound chocolate bar. These are not amusing at 11 PM after ten hours of essay reading. While you should read it over , also consider having an outside party take a look. He/she has more distance and thus is likely to find something you missed. Admissions officers are pros when it comes to separating the genuine from the insincere. It’s possible to write a compelling essay about delivering pizza and a completely mundane essay about volunteering in the Brazilian rain forest. Trust that your life story and your unique view of the world are enough. Show how you fit into the campus culture and how you will impact the community through specific examples. Finally, we cannot stress this enough â€" make sure you proofread. However, sometimes even the best essays are quickly undone by a few careless typos or grammatical errors. You want to demonstrate diligence and pride in your work. The easiest way to show that is by submitting a blunder-free essay. Right now, halfway around the globe, an American high school junior is gearing up for the U.S. college admissions process. Let’s give her the way-too-peppy name of Rachel Resilient. Show this draft to your college English teacher, your counselor, your Transfer Center director, or a relative who will be brutally honest. She has 14 years of high school teaching experience, both at private and public high schools. In addition to teaching teenagers, Sarah has run writing workshops for both adults and children. Before teaching, Sarah worked as a freelance writer, newspaper reporter, fact-checker, and an assistant to a literary agent. These workshops will help them fine-tune their writing and come away with a strong personal essay. They will write the essay themselves, but the workshop will help them come closer to a finished product about which they will feel proud. For example, instead of “it was really very important to me â€" and my parents too - that…” use “it was imperative that I…” Keep your essay around 500 words, unless otherwise specified in the application. Our counselors are accustomed to tutoring over the phone and reviewing drafts by email. They can work with students from anywhere in the world, at any time. The essay is valuable to you and the colleges to which you are applying. Write a story with a setting, a beginning, a middle and an end. In drafting your essay, focus on the content of the narrative. You’ll see THREE winning essays that were part of accepted applications. Get the college essay help you need, right when you need it with the convenience of online lessons. Below are some tips for writing an essay that will enhance your application. ” Instead, ask, “What should I tell them about me? ” Have someone read your essay to see if your point comes across. Be clear about the theme of your essay from the first paragraph. Grab the reader’s attention with a compelling opening sentence. When tailoring responses to individual college prompts, it’s important to use specific details you’ve learned through visiting and research. Not only does this show colleges that you’ve have done your homework, but it also demonstrates your interest in the college â€" and colleges want to admit students who are likely to enroll. Show your knowledge of the college by mentioning specific courses, professors, places of interest, and more.