College Admission Essay

How to write a College Admission Essay

With each passing year, competition in colleges gets tougher with the number of students increasing while the seats remain limited. The GPA scores, class ranks and SAT scores are already in place by the time you apply.

 So how can you strengthen the chances of gaining acceptance in your dream college? By creating an impact par excellence on your application through an exceptional college admission essay. A good essay also signifies you as a scholar, distinct from rest of the applicants and as someone a college would look for as part of their commune.

Writing an outstanding personal essay:

Preferences: Choosing a topic requires a ‘thought process.’ The colleges evaluate your choice of topic as a reflection of creativity, values, opinions, inclinations and depth of knowledge which you possess. Topics can deal from your extra-curricular activities, any characteristic or skill that distinguishes you from others, contributions to society, favourite books, movies, role models, failures and accomplishments to your future dreams and goals. Also read other sample essays to understand the ones which have succeeded. Categorize your essay selection by ‘general’ or ‘specific’ topics. General essays contain information about you or your reasons for applying to a particular college. Specific topic essays deal with your views on a significant event or issue.

Topic Selection: Select the topic that best describes your personality and experience while simultaneously matching the institution’s strengths and needs. The topic should also demonstrate diversity in your interests and illustrate your prospects of probable contribution to the institution’s scholastic environment.

Writing the college admission essay: The colleges scrutinize your essay for good English, style, power of conviction and organizational capabilities. Choose a format from ‘standard’, ‘less-is-more’ or ‘narrative’ essay. Standard essay is written by expanding on one’s experiences and activities. Less-is-more essays deal with a single motivating and appealing point. Narrative essays tell a story/tale thereby revealing more information about you or your learning from it. Try to avoid mentioning weaknesses or any negative aspects about you. Do not repeat any feature which has already been mentioned elsewhere in the application such as exam scores.

Draft: Give an idea of your content in the introduction section. It has to grab the interest of the reader. Build the reasoning in the body of the essay with apposite transitions. Narrate the main idea while showing the story, don’t tell. Do not summarize in the conclusion. Organize the main points, redefine a term, broaden the discussion pointers or show that your topic has a broad appeal.

Revise and edit: Check for grammatical errors or unclear logic. Keep the language simple and unambiguous. Ask an editor to assess the essay for: clarity and active voice, detect clichés and generic words, restructuring required for sentences or words which do not support the main idea of the essay.

Proofread your college admission essay two to three more times. Keep the focus on the main idea by proving it with facts and examples.

Wishing you the best of luck in all your endeavours!