College Essay Advisors

College Essay Advisors 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. 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. With upwards of 25 or more essays to write for a balanced college list of schools, it’s tempting for students to repurpose essays across applications if the prompts are similar. While students can use the same main essay on the Common App for multiple schools, we always recommend that students tailor their supplemental essays to the individual colleges. Telling Caltech why you want to attend MIT is a quick way to end up in the “no” pile. Take the time to write original responses to all the prompts. 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. 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. As students write their essays, it might help to keep in mind why colleges ask them for these writing samples in the first place. The style and tone of a college essay are very different from most essays and research papers you write in school. So, often students aren’t sure exactly what to aim for when writing their essays. 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? 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. The college essay often frightens students because they think it has to be about some extraordinary event and they may not have something momentous to write aboutâ€"that is OK. Actually, the best college essays I have read have been about mundane, everyday life. It’s a lot of work, but it will pay off in the end. English teachers have the best intentions when helping students with college essays, but they don’t always understand that a great English essay does not always make a great college essay. It is fine to break out of the 5 paragraph mold for a college essay, and it needs to tell about the applicant. 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. What made them great is that the students showed who they were through their writing. Tips for writing an effective college admissions essay are essentially the same for all students. Remember that admissions officers will be reading large numbers of essays, and you will want to create an essay that will stand out in the interesting way it is formulated, as well as in its unique subject matter. You definitely don’t want to put the readers to sleep! A quick and easy remedy is to read example essays written by successful applicants. College essay writing fills most students with apprehension and dread. College application essays are important to winning over the admissions officers. 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.