How To Write A Winning College Application Essay

How To Write A Winning College Application Essay Finally, make sure that the essay does not have glaring errors in spelling, sentence structure, and paragraph formulation. Besides appearing very careless, these kinds of errors can actually interfere with the ability of the reader to understand your point. College admissions officers are very busy and only want to read essays that help them make admissions decisions. I felt intimidated, to say the least, especially since I knew that I had to knock it out of the park with my essays if I even dreamed of being admitted to the selective schools on my list. I was terrified of clichés and blending in with thousands of other applicants, and I struggled to look away from “successful” essays, wondering if I could do what they did. College essay writing fills most students with apprehension and dread. College application essays are important to winning over the admissions officers. Everyone â€" my parents, peers, counselors, teachers â€" always emphasized the importance of the Common Application college essay. It felt so daunting, to summarize the last 18 years of my life into 650 words, all while showcasing my “unique” personality against thousands of other students. Limit the number of people that you ask to review your essay. Someone else can read your work for technical accuracy but too much revision removes your personality and creativity. REMEMBER that everything you write, each essay or short answer will be read and evaluated. Your essays are your only true voice in the application process. As students write their essays, it might help to keep in mind why colleges ask them for these writing samples in the first place. After that, some strategic editing can be done to trim the fat off and get the essay down to the required size. Although this task may seem daunting when you think about it, it inevitably results in a more concise, streamlined presentation of your concept. You definitely don’t want to put the readers to sleep! You have surely had certain life experiences which will provide interesting material for your essay â€" even things which you yourself take for granted. Consider how the story you have to tell would be perceived by someone else who has never before heard that story. Reading other successful admissions essays is the best way to learn how to write a college application essay. GradeSaver provides the best sample college application essays in this premium content section. Many were written by students of Ivy League colleges. We have been mentioned in the Washington Post, the Economist, and other papers around the world for our exceptional college essays. Write analytically, rather than merely descriptively. Descriptive writing is a factual account of a topic or event, simply telling what happened. Analytical writing will pose or answer questions, make comparisons, or present and defend viewpoints. Rather than just state what happened, an analytical approach will explain and interpret events. How do/did you feel about the topic about which you are writing? In most cases, you will be required to limit the essay to a certain number of characters or words. I always suggest that students not worry too much about this limitation to begin with â€" just get your ideas written down . Before the whole process even began, I already felt pressured to craft this beautifully written ssay that screamed, “This is who I am! While I was aware that I would be writing countless essays over the next couple months , the Common App college essay felt the most daunting. So many students think that they “know” what colleges want from an applicant, and this can have a big influence over their essays. Students will abuse the thesaurus and write about strange topics in an effort to impress and stand out. Instead of writing what you think the admissions office wants to read, write about what you want them to know. Again, the essay is a great space to reveal something new about you, so stand out by being yourself and showing another side of you as a person or student. Tips for writing an effective college admissions essay are essentially the same for all students.