Looking for ideas for writing a great college application essay? This article will make your college entrance essay amazing.
The top reputed universities have changed the criteria for the student admission process in recent years. The high school grade and test scores are not considered for choosing students for undergraduate and postgraduate courses. Colleges now follow a more traditional approach, i.e. essay writing, that gives each individual a fair chance to contest for the seat.
Writing an effective college admission essay takes effort and time. The essay decides whether your application will be accepted or rejected by the college/university. It is a golden opportunity to stand out from the crowd of candidates and distinguish yourself from the competition. Read the blog for some effective tips to writing an essay that will rock!
Why Is College Application Essay Important?
Many students face test anxiety, and thus can perform badly in the test, in spite of preparing thoroughly for the exam. For this reason, the administrative heads of various universities decided to give an equitable chance to every aspirant who aims to seek admission in top B-schools. Hence, admission essay became the key determinant for whether the student will be admitted or turned down admission in well-known B-schools. College admission essay is an opportunity for students to narrate their story. And one should use this chance to their benefit and be distinct.
So, why is college application important? Read below:
| Each essay is personal and soul-searching. You have to self-reflect when writing the essay for college admission. It should be written in first person and answer the question, ‘Who are you?’ |
| The essay should be descriptive and retain the reader’s attention by creating vivid images. It should make effective use of the writing concept, that is, Show, Don’t Tell. |
| Each college prompt is different. Thus, each essay will be college specific. And it should answer the question, ‘Why should we admit you?’ ‘Why do you think you are a good fit to our university?’ |
If you are clear why you should spend months and days to write and improve your application essay, let’s get to the best part.
Effective Tips To Write College Application Essay
Remember, the admission officer is not looking to read an essay that boasts about your achievements, recommendations and flowery vocabulary. The reader wants to know you better. So be authentic when writing your college application essay. It doesn’t happen in a day. To distinguish yourself from thousands of entries, you have to start working on your essay months before the date of submission.
Paint An Original Picture |
One thing the admission officer dislikes is reading through an essay that’s written to impress. If you want your college admission essay to count and stand you out from others, you have to be authentic, and paint a self-portrait with words in simple language. Portray your original self. Lies, however neatly written, are detectable.
Always choose the topic/prompt that resonates with you. Mention your struggles, transformation, childhood memories, or an experience that changed your specific view point. The more honesty and originality is shown in your essay, the stronger the chances are for you to climb up the admission ladder.
Hold The Reader’s Attention |
A substantially good essay is one that can hold the reader’s attention. And the most important part of the essay is your opening line. Begin by posing a question, or surprising the reader with your witty imagination.
If you can get the reader hooked in the introduction itself, it’s a win-win for you.
Show, Don’t Tell – Pro Writing Tip |
Ask an expert writer, and you will receive this pro-tip, to show what you are trying to say, rather than just stating it. Show, don’t tell is a writing technique that engages a reader by presenting sensory details and actions, rather than a simple one sentence explanation.
Check out the following example-
Telling: Ashley was afraid to stay at home alone.
Showing: David came out of the room whistling, picked up his car keys, and leaned to hug Ashley. Tears ran down her cheeks as she grabbed him by his right sleeve. She peeked through his arm, out of the window, and screamed, trembling in fear.
In the above ‘showing’ example, we have framed Ashley in a situation where her experience of fear comes alive, rather than just stating what she is afraid of.
Write Your First Draft |
If you keep thinking from where to start or how to begin the essay, you will miss the idea. It is critical to start writing now. Any written piece is not the final piece in the first draft. It takes many drafts to reach the final outcome. However, the first step is difficult to write. Sometimes, there is no clarity about what you are supposed to write.
As mentioned before, the essay has to be self-reflective. So write about yourself. What do you think about yourself, your dreams, embarrassing/daring/reckless experiences, anything that can picture your true reflection in words? Once you get in the flow of writing, you will begin to make sense.
Read, Revise, Edit, Polish |
Now that your first draft is ready. Read out your essay. Edit it once, edit it twice. Editing helps you omit unnecessary paragraphs and add the ones that would fit apt in the sequence of the series.
Hence, the good time to start writing your essay is months before your submission date. It leaves you with ample time to edit your first draft to perfection. Use short sentences, simple vocabulary, and proofread for grammatical mistakes.
Read Out Aloud |
Once you have finished your first edit, read the essay out loud to yourself or to a mentor. When you read aloud what you have written, it helps understand the content better. In silent reading, we often skip words and even the grammatical mistakes. Reading out loud forces us to read every word, and find even the minute mistakes like punctuation. This is the best practice to fix the errors in your essay.
Ask Someone To Proofread It For You |
Proofreading should be part of your essay writing planning process. Ask a friend, family member, or English teacher to proofread your essay for you. Pick up someone with a sound knowledge of grammar. A proofreader helps to correct grammatical errors, and also tells if your essay reads clearly and logically.
Also Read: 11 Tips For Writing Analytical Writing Assessment – GMAT Preparation
A Few Activities To Help You Discover Yourself to Write The Best Essay
You are made up of your stories, beliefs, obsessions, mistakes, adventures and more. So, let’s put the essay prompts away for now and discover who you are with the help of visuals – images and objects.
Create a Memory Box |
Find a shoebox or a rectangular plastic box, and fill it with your most cherished items. In the box, keep the things that are close to your heart or things that help define you. For example, you may fill the box with the following items:
- Photos
- Souvenirs
- Quotes
- Key chains
- Lucky charms
- Song books/CDs
- Saved plane/train ticket
- Postcards
- Birthday cards
- Notes, letters
- Candles
- Picture cut-outs from magazines
Then twice or thrice in a week, open the box, and randomly grab an object from it. As you scan the things in the box, feel the emotions deeply. Think about the time it reminds you of. Keep a notepad and a pen handy. Set a timer for 10 minutes and start free writing. Write whatever comes through your mind. Keep the language simple and easy to read. This unedited, rough first draft is ‘your story’. It’s not great, but it is the start. It is true, authentic, and real. And that’s exactly what the admission officer is looking for in your college admission essay.
Make Personal Image List |
We just live through our days without noticing what’s happening around us. Because we are busy tapping on our smartphone screens. Give yourself a break from the gadgets from time-to-time. Start living consciously and becoming aware of your surroundings. Twice a week, make a list of 5 images you come across during the day.
Sharing mine for the day (3 examples from my personal image list):
- I stopped at the traffic-light, and the eunuch smiled at me as I searched my purse for cash to give her.
- A chick (baby sparrow) had fallen from its nest. It was trying to fly back in despair, but always fell back to the ground.
- A young boy, in tattered clothes, walked barefoot, from one car to another, in a hope of selling his last bunch of slowly deflating balloons.
Pick up any topic from your list. Write about it in your journal. Be specific with details, emotions, feelings, visuals, smell, sound, whatever you experienced at that moment. This activity helps sharpen all your 5 senses, which further helps to write an interesting essay.
Scan Your Phone Gallery |
Our smartphone gallery is like a mini picture album that we carry with us. Every photo has an emotion attached to it. As you peek through the images in your phone gallery, choose the one that calls out to you. Pick up your notepad and start describing the picture. Write exactly what you did, who you were with, what were your feelings at the time. Share vivid details, as much as you remember. You don’t have to find the most adventurous or happy image. It could be as simple as you were sitting on your porch watching sunset.
This is yet another great exercise to help you improve narration.
Take a Walk and Write What You Remember |
The best ideas often come when we are not ready with our writing pads and pen. Moreover, our mind is always occupied with so much information that it’s hard to filter our own emotions sometimes. My most brilliant ideas strike in the middle of the night, when I am about to pass in deep sleep. Or when I am out partying with friends, dancing in loud music, the epiphany strikes. So, it’s important to find your peace to understand yourself better. Take a walk, calm your mind, remain silent, focus on your breath as you walk. Slowly move your attention to yourself. How do you feel? Are you happy? Do you have any regrets? What are you passionate about? Or even why do you want to join the college you have applied for?
Once you are back home, sit without distraction, and write everything you remember.
Conclusion
The real purpose of the college application essay is to help the reader, i.e. the admission officer, get to know the real you – your passions, determinations, everything about you that makes you, you. So put in extra effort to know yourself better before you even start writing the essay. It can help you reach among the top essay writers in the run for reputed colleges.
