The process of writing and submitting a college application essay is probably the best and most beneficial step of the entire admission process. As all applicants spend hours of their days researching, learning, writing, drafting, and proofreading. And as troubling as writing a college essay could be, it distinguishes an applicant from his peers.
The college essay is meant to give the admission board an insight into who you are as a person, and whether admitting you to their school is a good decision. So, a college essay can help out a student get into the college of his dreams.
With a little research, a few steps, and using our tips to write the perfect college essay, a college essay can turn from an annoying task to one of your best assets to help you get into college.
Why College Admissions Boards Require College Application Essays
Most U.S universities and colleges require their applicants to write an essay about a specific topic or list of topics to choose from, such as “What event made you become who you are today?” or “Talk about the most influential person in your life”.
These essays are very important as they give the admission board a sense of who you are and how well you will fit into their school. These are things that cannot be found out using the GPA or ACT scores. Therefore, essays are essential.
On the downside, for foreign students, writing a full expressive college essay could be challenging. Learning to speak a language is one thing, but writing, researching, editing, and proofreading are a lot of work that requires deep language knowledge.
This is precisely why international students prefer to avoid schools that require an admission essay in the common app.
How to Write the Perfect College Application Essay?
The college application essay can make the difference between “maybe” and “yes” when it comes to college admission. Keep in mind that the admission board reads around 50 to 100 essays per day. Therefore, you will need to bring your A-game to write this essay.
While there is no exact way to write a great essay, there are still a few steps to follow that can leave a great impression on the readers and boost your chances of admission.
1. Talk About Yourself
One of the main reasons for writing this essay is for the admission board to get to know you personally and to find out more about your dreams, achievements, challenges, passion, character, and values.
Therefore, try to show your good traits through your essay and this is what, which is generally asked in remote jobs interviews as well so it is something to be practiced well.
If you were asked to write about someone else who had a major influence on you, they will need to know how they have influenced you and how that influence helped shape your personality. Whichever topic you choose to write about, make sure that you use it to shine.
2. Carefully Follow Guidelines
When you receive the task and before you start writing, you need to make sure you have gone through all the guidelines provided by the college.
Make sure to write the correct word count, including all the points required, and most importantly, make sure to understand the purpose of the essay and what challenges you need to tackle.
3. Tell an Impressive Story
The admission board will be searching for the story that will stick in their minds, tell a story that shows how compassionate you are without saying that you are. Try using a real story from your life, it will give you vivid details that you need to present an unforgettable essay.
Keep in mind, admission committees look for deep details that tell them more about you, therefore, only share things that make you sound great and suitable for their school.
4. Use Your Native Traditions and Culture
If you are an international student, then you have leverage of so many diverse traditions, experiences, and thoughts.
Therefore, do not try to make yourself sound too American, your native culture could be the thing that makes you stand out.
5. Write an Authentic Essay
All schools are looking for great applicants and if a school finds out that you have lied about something in your essay, you will 100% be rejected.
Make sure to always tell the truth in your essay while talking about yourself. The same thing goes for plagiarism, which is now easily detected with universities’ advanced tools.
6. Do Not Repeat the Same Words
While writing your essay, try to diversify your vocabulary as much as possible. For instance, you can say “ended” instead of “completed” or “concluded”.
However, using a different and diverse vocabulary does not mean that you should use words that are too fancy or out of context. Keep your essay simple, understandable, and thorough.
7. Have Someone Proofread Your Essay
Even though most students now use applications to check their grammar and spelling, you cannot rely on the tools as they can let the wrong words slip without detecting them.
Therefore, ask a professional to proofread your work, as well as check for any plagiarism to ensure your essay is good to go.
8. Get Someone’s Feedback
Once you are done with your college essay, ask someone to read it and give you their honest feedback.
Sometimes when you write an essay, it becomes a bit difficult to find the mistakes you have made. But having someone objective give you their feedback is essential, especially if they do not know you personally.
This is because they will be able to tell you if they could learn enough about you by reading the essay, and if you need to talk more or less about something.
This can help you adjust your wording, humor, and facts to the best they can be before submitting the essay.
Your college essay can play a huge part in getting you admitted into the school of your dreams. Therefore, make sure to follow a clear plan when writing this article, know what you want to talk about that can make you stand out and shine.
