Admissions Essays

Admissions Essays With the right information, realistic time management and good proofing and editing, it should be easy to write the best college essay you can. One of the most common mistakes on college application essays is students trying to fit in too many key messages into a short essay. But if you’re looking for someone to tell you that your essay is great as is and those six spelling errors are perfectly fine, well, you’ve come to the wrong place. We’d be mortified if a student of ours submitted essays with grammatical errors to college. Now that doesn’t mean our students can’t submit fragments. You should take the time to read and re-read the essay prompt, so you can answer it fully. Don’t be intimidated; unlike some college exams, the college application essay prompt is not designed to trick you. However, you must demonstrate that you can read and follow directions. But the parents and kids lining up for their services have no idea what they’re really getting themselves into. Give the admissions officer a picture of who you are and the type of college student you would be if they offer admission. You have produced a list of ideas/attributes/details about yourself that colleges will find appealing. You have narrowed that list to the three or four most important ideas â€" the ones that will get you into your preferred college/university. Reading and answering the prompt may seem a bit obvious, but it’s often the obvious that people ignore. The admissions officers are expecting you to celebrate yourself, to underline your strengths and personality, so they can make a quick, accurate judgment about you. At this stage in the college admissions essay writing process, you have considered the goals and psychology of the college admissions board. If your classwork already shows that you are studious and determined , then you may want to highlight another feature of your personality. When you have compiled all the pieces of your application and sent it to the college/university of your dreams, all of your hard work gets placed in a pile with hundreds of other applications. Then a small group of admissions officers will review each application, looking over the scores and coursework and reading the college application essays. Boston is headquarters to a growing workforce of admissions essay editors who will hone college applicants’ personal statements for a fee. For students who are applying for college, one of the scariest parts of the admission process is writing the dreaded essay. This handout provides examples of college application essays and shows what admissions officers are looking for in an applicant. It doesn’t mean our students can’t start sentences with “and” or “but.” We love it when our students write in a colloquial tone. We strongly suggest you not listen to this particular advice of Mark Sklarow, a man who has openly defied the very bylaws of the organization he leads. Well, for starters, who uses paper and pen these days? Secondly, it is preposterous to suggest that an independent college counselor should not address (and fix!) poor grammar or word choice. The essay should be more than words on paper or a glowing example of writing skills; it should be your story. The essay creates frustration for students, stress for parents, and an overall feeling of dread as the deadline for submission approaches. The essay, however, doesn’t have to be an insurmountable project. The admissions officers are looking for a reason to disregard candidates. Don’t let them reject you because you hastily overlooked a sentence in the essay prompt. Most students want the college admissions board to view them as responsible, dependable, and academically ambitious. These are excellent essay goals, but you should also consider the essay in relation to your classwork. If a student makes a grammatical error, you bet we’re going to fix it. We would never allow a student to apply to colleges with grammatical errors in their admissions essays and any independent college counselor that did allow a student to do so, well, we’d argue they’re not any good.