Gaining entrance to just about any college 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 application.
How you write your personal essay shows the admissions committee why you are different from everybody else. It provides information about you that test scores, grades, and extracurricular pursuits just cannot. A great college application essay will present a vivid, personal, and compelling view of you to the admission staff. It will round out the rest of your application and help you stand out from the other applicants.
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 reader’s attention and shows that you are exceptional.
Check out these tips before you begin.
DO’s
Keep Your Focus Narrow and Personal
Your essay must prove a single point or thesis. The reader must be able to find your main idea and follow it from beginning to end. Try having someone read just your introduction to see what he or she thinks your essay is about. Essays that try to be too comprehensive end up sounding watered-down. Remember, it's not about telling the committee what you've done -- they can pick that up from your list of activities -- instead, it's about showing them who you are.
Prove It
Develop your main idea with vivid and specific facts, events, quotations, examples, and reasons. There's a big difference between simply stating a point of view and letting an idea unfold in the details:
Be Specific
Avoid clichéd, generic, and predictable writing by using vivid and specific details.
Write and rewrite!
The essay is the closest possible model to a principal form of college writing, the term paper, so treat it as an example of your college readiness.
DON'Ts
Don't Tell Them What You Think They Want to Hear
Most admission officers read plenty of essays about the charms of their university, the evils of terrorism, and the personal commitment involved in being a doctor. Bring something new to the table, not just what you think they want to hear.
Don't Write a Resume
Don't include information that is found elsewhere in the application. Your essay will end up sounding like an autobiography, travelogue, or laundry list.
"During my junior year, I played first singles on the tennis team, served on the student council, maintained a B+ average, traveled to France, and worked at a cheese factory."
Don't Use 50 Words When Five Will Do
Eliminate unnecessary words, try to get to the point using an accurate description of your message.
Don't Forget to Proofread
Typos and spelling or grammatical errors can be interpreted as carelessness or just bad writing. Don't rely on your computer's spell check, it can miss spelling errors very easily. |
