Studying in the USA is almost every prospective student’s dream. But there are a number of factors associated with applying to a university in the States. One of them is the college admission essay. It is an essay that demonstrates to the admission offers the reasons why they should be accepted.
Unlike test scores and academic transcripts, college admission essays or personal statements are where a student’s voice can shine through. Every student wants their essay to make a good impression and boost their chance of getting into the school of their dream. This can feel like a lot of pressure, but with the right tips, you can compose a college essay that will surely wow the admission officer.
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What do Colleges Look for in an Essay?
Admission officers want to understand the person who is writing the essay, your background, personality and values to get a fuller picture beyond your grades and test scores. Here are some of the things that colleges look for in an essay:
- Values and qualities
- Vulnerability and authenticity
- Self-reflection
- Creative, clear and concise writing skills
Getting Started on the College Essay
Start working on your college essay well before your senior year in high school ends. Starting early will also give you plenty of time to write multiple drafts until you have the perfect paper you can confidently submit.
Step 1: Choose a Compelling and Unique Topic
If you have a unique topic, it will be easier to write a standout essay. If you want to write an essay about a common topic (like volunteering overseas), consider how you might spice it up and make it stand out. You will need to write your story in a way that sets it apart from similar essays and show deep insights into your writing.
Think about what makes a topic good. If your topic consists of these things then you have a good topic:
- Meaningful and personal to you
- Uncommon or has an unusual angle
- Reveals something different from the rest of your application
Step 2: Plan Your Essay
Plan out what you are going to write by making an outline. Everything starts with a plan, be it a dish, a design of a house or a webpage. A college essay is no different. Before you start writing, take some time to brainstorm ideas that you can include in your essay. Think about your experiences, accomplishments, and future goals. Make sure that your essay includes information that is relevant to your field of study, and that will help you make a good impression on the admissions committee.
Once you have a few ideas, it’s time to create an outline for your essay. This will help you organise your thoughts and ensure that your essay flows in a logical order. Start by listing the key points that you want to make in your essay, and then break them down into more detailed sections.
- Convey your story in the form of an introduction, body and conclusion. All good stories have a beginning, a middle and an end, so following this structure makes your essay easy to read and coherent.
- Plan how you are going to write your introduction. What will you include in the body of the essay? What memory or qualities will match with the program and university you are applying to?
- Write naturally and stick to your writing style and voice. It’s important to write how you usually write when you are writing a piece about yourself. By planning the layout of your essay ahead of time, you stay consistent throughout the essay.
Step 3: Write a Strong Introduction
Admission officers read thousands of essays every year and they only have a few minutes to spare for each one. So, make sure that you get their attention from the start of your essay. Your introduction needs to grab their attention and compel them to read till the end. You may think starting your essay with a famous quote, cliché or reference will make it appealing but trust me it will not. Avoid it, however, you can sometimes use a dialogue or a meaningful quote from a family or friend but make sure it matches the overall theme of the essay.
You can start your essay in two ways: you can either start with an intriguing hook or start with vivid imagery. If you are choosing the first option then begin your essay with an unexpected statement that grabs your reader’s attention from the get-go. As the admission officer has read thousands of them, an unexpected and mysterious introduction raises questions that can only be answered if they proceed to read more.
If you are choosing the latter option, create a clear and detailed story to take your reader into your memory. You can describe an object or an important scene that communicates the theme of your essay.
Step 4: Develop the Body of Your Essay
The body of your essay should be the most important part of your essay. This is where you will explain in more detail why you are a good candidate for the school or program. Include any personal experiences or accomplishments that will help you stand out from the crowd. Make sure that you provide evidence to support your claims.
Step 5: Conclude with a Powerhouse Conclusion
Writing a conclusion for a college admission essay is the last step in the process of creating a successful essay. It is where you tie everything together by summarising the main points of your essay and showing how they support your overall argument. A good conclusion should leave readers with a lasting impression that will stick with them as they make their decision about your application.
Make sure that your conclusion reiterates the main points of your essay and ties them together. This will help to ensure that readers get a sense of closure after reading your essay. Additionally, the conclusion should be succinct and succinctly summarise the points that you made throughout your essay.
Tips for Write a Great College Essay
Here are some tips that can help you craft an essay that will grab the admission officers’ attention.
Open Strong
As we mentioned above, there is a lot riding on your introduction, so make sure that you create a strong opening paragraph that will pique the admission officer’s curiosity enough to read the rest of the essay.
You can start with a bold statement, a thoughtful quote, a question or a descriptive scene. Starting with a clear thesis statement can also help you in the writing process. It will serve as a roadmap and present the purpose of your writing to the reader.
Be Authentic
It is important to choose a topic that is consistent with who you truly are. Admission officers can sense when you are inauthentic. Inauthenticity can be in the form of overly flowery language or choosing a topic that reveals very little about who you are. So it is very important that you use your own voice, sense of humour and a natural way of speaking. Start by choosing a topic that is genuinely important to you, write about a specific experience, hobby or personality quirk that shows your strengths but also remember you don’t need to shy away from your weakness. Weaknesses are part of you and writing about them will not make you look bad in front of the admission officer.
Writing with honesty about your traits and background that you are working to improve, the reader can resonate with you more strongly than an essay that seems like a victory speech.
Focus on Deeper Themes
Many of the students think that they can impress the admission committees by presenting them with an essay full of facts, figures and descriptions of activities but that is not the point of the admission essay. If this is what they are after they can simply focus on your transcripts and the resume you will submit with the college application.
Admission officers are more interested in learning more about your personality, what your values are and what makes you tick.
They want to read what brought you to this point in your life. They want to know what adversity and successes help you be the person that you are today. So write about things like how a volunteering gig helps you develop as a person or make the connection between it and how it inspired your educational journey.
Show Don’t Tell
As you expand on whatever theme you have decided to explore in your essay. remember to show, don’t tell.
Simply reciting a list of activities will make the essay boring. So, set a scene and provide anecdotes and also show the admission officer the arc of your emotional journey through your writing.
Ask Others to Read Your Essay
Be sure the people you ask to read your essay represent different age groups – a teacher, a parent, or even a younger sibling. Ask each reader what they took from the essay and how you can improve it.
Format is Important
Although admission essays often have no strict word limit, the majority of educational counsellors and teachers suggest that essays stay at about 650 words.
Other than this review other technical aspects of your essay such as if the font is readable, the margins are properly spaced or not and if there is enough spacing at the top. Make sure your essay looks clean and inviting to the reader.
Don’t Forget to Proofread
One of the biggest mistakes students make is they skip the proofreading part of the essay writing process. If your essay is full of silly grammar, punctuation and spelling, the admission officer will think you are not fully committed to the task and the result will be not getting into the school of your dreams.
To avoid this, proofread it several times. Ask a family member, friend or teacher to give it a quick read as well.
Conclusion
Writing a college essay can be one of the most challenging tasks for any student. It requires creativity, hard work, and careful attention to detail. With so much riding on the outcome, it’s no wonder that some students struggle to write an essay that will make them stand out from the crowd. However, by following the steps and tips you can compose an admission essay that gets you into your dream school. Or if you are under too much pressure and the thought of writing one is making you anxious then you can always ask for help. Assignment Studio College Essay Writing Help will help you write a winning essay.
