The College Admission Essay Is More Important Than Ever

The College Admission Essay Is More Important Than Ever Experts also note that adversity-themed college essays are rarely mandatory. Colleges understand that students are busy and apply to multiple colleges but some schools will have a zero tolerance policy and deny admittance due to a mistake. It is simply not worth all the time and effort to submit an essay without being completely confident that it is free of error. Much like applying to a job and handing over a resume with a typo on it, spelling and grammatical errors send the message that the student either lacks attention to detail or rushed the essay. Strong writers can be just as guilty if not even more guilty of skipping the brainstorming process when writing but this step cannot be ignored. Most students can agree that the college admission essay is one of the more stressful aspects of the college application process. 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. This handout provides examples of college application essays and shows what admissions officers are looking for in an applicant. Join thousands of students and parents getting exclusive high school, test prep, and college admissions information. 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. 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? The essay will be a narrative of my achievements and struggles in life so far and trying to explain to the college board why will I be a good candidate for this program. Sarah Fischer, the director of admissions at Grinnell College in Iowa, says that students should only write their essay about adversity if they are prepared to discuss the ways that they overcame that challenge. A common mistake that students make when tackling their college essays is to pick the wrong topics. It's a huge turn off, for instance, when applicants write about their sports exploits or their pets. For students who are applying for college, one of the scariest parts of the admission process is writing the dreaded essay. It's also the most exciting part, because it's your chance to show admissions officers your personality. Overly cheesy or overly sentimental college admission essays can be read as cliché and over the top. While a personal admission essay topic is often expected, make sure your essay doesn’t read like a sob story, which might be interpreted as the “admit me! It’s the one part of the application where you can really show your personal self, your goals and your creativity. A good college admission essay topic creates an amazing opportunity to stand out â€" but it also makes the pressure to write something great that much higher. The essay, however, doesn’t have to be an insurmountable project. 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. Arguably the most difficult part of the US college application process is the admissions essay, or personal statement. If activism is important to you, you might mention wanting to join Rice for Black Life, a newly-formed racial justice group that raised almost $100k in a day for organizations fighting anti-Black violence. This advice applies to most creative writing situations. We assume some well-meaning English teacher shared this advice with you in high school. Admissions officers aren’t interested in a timeline of events or a bullet-list of accomplishments. Brainstorming actually saves time in the long run, students can get their ideas together on a scrap sheet of paper and then begin to figure out what applies and what does not to the essay. A great way to start the brainstorming process is to write down exactly what comes to mind when considering the topic, even if it is just words or phrases. Give the admissions officer a picture of who you are and the type of college student you would be if they offer admission. 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. Secondly, it is preposterous to suggest that an independent college counselor should not address (and fix!) poor grammar or word choice. 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.