College Admissions Essay Weighing You Down? Here Are 5 Tips to Make Your Writing Shine
This past summer Temple University made headlines when it announced that standardized test scores would now be an optional part of its admissions process. In its place, students have to answer written questions. While its unknown if other colleges will follow a similar path, the reality is that the personal essay or writing sample is becoming more important in the college admissions process than ever before. If you’re a natural born writer, that’s a good thing. For those who struggle with their writing, the thought can be overwhelming.
There’s no doubt that any writing portion of the admissions process can be tricky. Unlike class ranking or test scores, there’s no “right” answer for what admissions is looking for. We’ve seen students fall into two camps when it comes to the personal essay or writing sample. In one group, there are the students who dash off a piece of writing thinking other things (GPA, extracurricular activities) will make more of an impression with admissions. In the other group are the students who try too hard to make an impression. The result? An overworked piece of writing that strays from the prompt or doesn’t covey anything about you to the admissions committee.
We don’t claim to have the magic bullet, but we know some things you can do to make your admissions essay stand out. Some of these tips are straight out of your English class and others come from Gina Tomaine, an admissions counselor at St. Joseph’s University. Here are our tips for writing a great admissions essay!
- Focus on and follow the prompt. Remember that some colleges want an explanation as to why you want to attend their particular school. What drew you to their school? What can you offer? Be specific. Always be specific. If you’re applying to a school you should already be learning as much as you can about that school. Your knowledge of the school also tells the admission committee that you’re truly invested and passionate about not just any school but their school.
- Treat the essay the same way you would treat any regular assigned essay. That means all the steps you take for a successful high school paper will come into play here. This is especially important if the thought of writing any kind of paper nearly paralyzes you. If necessary, brainstorm the prompt then narrow down your choices to find the best one. Don’t let yourself get tripped up on the details. Of course, clarity, spelling and grammar matter. Those things will come later. The important thing now is to just get something down on paper.
- Start with a bang. Tomaine said that admissions counselors will read hundreds of essays. If you want yours to shine, make sure you grab their attention.
“Give your essay a strong, interesting opening,” she said. “You could start with something surprising, like ‘I lost the best race I ever ran by a mile,’ or descriptive, like ‘There is a wall in my room completely devoted to DVD collections, containing everything from Scorsese to Aronofsky to Burton.’ Now you have their attention – tell your story.” - Revision is your friend. Let people you trust read your essay and offer suggestions for improvements. Revise, and then revise some more. Trust us when we say that revision is a skill that will come in handy during your freshman composition class. Practice it now.
“Be diligent about editing,” Tomaine advises. “Don’t be afraid to change things.”
We would also encourage you to ask the people reading your essay if it sounds like you. Even though the people reading your essay may not know you personally, a false or trying-too-hard voice is something that jumps off the paper. You want your essay to pop – just not for the wrong reasons. - Have fun. This is your chance to let your personality shine through. Remember that colleges are genuinely interested in the whole package. They’re looking for the person behind the test scores and GPA.
“Try to write a story only you can write.,” Tomaine said. “If you are going to write about a service trip or a sports injury or win, that is fine (Admissions counselors read a lot of these topics), however, you need to make it unique to you. The way you do that is with specific, unique details that are known only to you. Don’t be afraid to talk about something silly, like a grilled cheese sandwich or a pogo stick, if it means something in the context of the story you are telling about you.”
Struggling with a college essay? Contact us at Tutor Delphia. We can help!