Creating winning Admission Essays
Writing admission essays for prestigious universities can be daunting at first. However, with the right tips, you can write a winning essay that can earn you the much-coveted slot for admission. Ivy University Prep has some tips on how to write a winning admission essay.
Use a writing style that could make your admission essays engaging
Start with your writing style. Keep the tone upbeat and avoid sounding like a whiner – or an egotistical person. You need to highlight your accomplishments and values, but avoid taking full credit. Who helped you get to where you are now? Stay away from complaints and write about positive experiences instead.
Never sound like your sour graping. Your essay is not the best place to whine about your frustrations. Always give the admissions panel the impression that you are someone who is always looking at the positive side. This way, they can see you as someone who can pull it through college and make valuable contributions to your chosen field.
Show your enthusiasm through your admission essays
Try a touch of humour and showcase your character qualities. Admissions officers want to bring in new students who will be a good fit for their institution, but also someone who will bring life and exuberance to the campus. What can you write about to show them that you would be a great citizen in their world?
The admissions panel prefers applicants who are very enthusiastic about their applications. This shows that those applicants are really interested in the program and they are more likely to succeed than others.
Shine brighter than the other applicants
Be authentic; doing so will naturally differentiate yourself from the majority of other applicants. Many applicants say what they think the admissions committee wants to hear. Even a green behind the ears admissions member can easily spot such essays and you will have lost your most important chance to shine.
Differentiate yourself from others by writing through your own voice. Here are other suggestions from another article:
What details or anecdotes would help your reader understand you? What makes you special? Is there something about your family, your education, your work/life experience, or your values that has shaped you and brought you to this career field? What motivates or interests you? Do you have special skills, like leadership, management, research, or communication?
These questions can help you come up with ideas that would make your essay unique and more in-depth. Choose an experience or cite a significant event in life where you can show your true character. This will have a greater impact on readers.
It’s not impossible for you to write a winning admission essay if you are aware of the common mistakes to avoid and the kinds of approach and topics you should explore. Again, you have to remember to use an effective writing style and make it a point to shine brighter than the rest.
Writing Remarkable College Admission Essays
College application essays should be given a lot of thought and careful consideration. An outstanding essay can take you to the next phase of the application process, the interview. Here are some tips from Info Please on how to make your personal statement for college noteworthy:
Tips on writing your college application essay
Don’t let the college admissions essay intimidate you. Remember, it’s the part of your application that is fully under your control. Make it work to your advantage!
Writing your personal statement can be a daunting task. You have to submit a high-quality essay that can earn you the slot in your chosen course and school. But this shouldn’t intimidate you at all. Rather, you should take this as a challenge. Be positive and confident because this will reflect on the way you write your essay, Just be yourself.
Here’s another tip:
Choose a topic that is meaningful to you. Write in your own words. Write what you feel, not what you think the admissions committee wants to hear.
Focus on what you want to say and not what your readers would want to hear from you. This way, your writing would appear more sincere, authentic, and personal. Use your own personal experience to show your readers what kind of an individual you are and what makes you a good member of the student body.
Use your creativity on your admission essay
Try to come up with something different. Remember that the people reviewing your essay have read hundreds – if not thousands – of essays. Don’t give them one more “The Teacher Who Influenced Me Most” or “Drinking and Driving is Bad” essay to wade through.
By creative, it doesn’t mean that you have to be overly dramatic. You have to give your readers something new. Fresh perspectives on common things may count as a creative theme for your essay. You can extraordinarily present a simple story.
Captivate your audience. Your essay needs to be engaging and memorable. Try to draw the reader in with a quick, enticing introduction. You want to catch their interest and give them a reason to finish your essay.
Hook your readers right from the start. Since they don’t have much time to go over your essay, make sure that your introduction will urge them to read further. Hold their attention till the end.
Revise, revise, revise your essay
Revise, rewrite, reword. Revision is the key to all good writing – college admission essays included. Hammer your draft into shape through various rewrites. Read each draft aloud. Your ears can pick up problems that your eyes may miss.
Aside from this, you can also ask someone else to read your essay. Let a friend, family member, or teacher critique your essay. Consider their opinions and ideas to improve your essay, from technical details to organization of thoughts and content.
Here are some thoughts about revisions from another article:
Wait a while after you’ve finished a draft before looking at it again. The Roman poet Horace thought one should wait nine years, but that’s a bit much. A day – a few hours even – will work. When you do return to the draft, be honest with yourself, and don’t be lazy. Ask yourself what you really think about the paper.
You have to put your essay down for a while and then do the revisions after several days. This way, you can edit your essay with a fresh pair of eyes and catch even small but significant errors. To give you ample time for revisions, you have to start writing your essay as early as you can.
Writing your college application essay doesn’t have to be too daunting or complicated. With these simple tips, you can make your essay unique and remarkable enough to be noticed by the admissions panel. Again, have confidence, be creative, and revise your essay several times.
3 Personal Statement Writing Mistakes You Should Avoid
Even if you have written the most creative and insightful essay, the admissions panel would not easily favour your essay if they see some mistakes on it. When you submit your essay to the admissions panel, make sure that it is almost flawless. Education Fever lists down some common mistakes that applicants should avoid when they write their personal statements.
Spelling and grammar errors
Eliminate Spelling and Grammar Errors
Sounds like the obvious one to avoid, doesn’t it? In fact, this is the most commonly cited error. It is not a small consideration. Admission Committee members generally see these kinds of sloppy errors as a reflection of the candidate’s personality and an indication of how they will likely perform in their studies. It also makes the reviewer question the seriousness of the candidate since they can’t even take the time and trouble to get such an important document correct.
You have to show to the admissions committee that you are someone who is responsible enough to make sure that you’ve done well in your tasks. You need to make an impression that you are responsible enough to make sure that your essay is well-written and acceptable. And you can do this by eliminating technical errors in your essay.
Being too original
There are cases in which people tend to go too far overboard in announcing their own uniqueness. People have written poems, told stories, and submitted videos when there was no such requirement. This is highly risky and is likely to alienate many reviewers rather than endear them to you. Generally speaking, an extreme approach like this will be seen as “grandstanding” or trying to get attention just for the sake of it. Remember, that hundreds (or thousands) of other applicants are operating within the same stated guidelines as you are. The challenge is to make you stand out as different but within those guidelines.
You’ve probably heard it a hundred times before. Your essay should be unique and original. However, you should be careful not to make your essay seem out of place or make it hard for your readers to relate to it. Share personal experiences readers can easily relate to. Choose those that can highlight your qualifications and are most relevant to your application. Remember, a little too much of something can be bad.
Not answering the admission essay questions
Admission reviewers often report that many candidates don’t address the specific question posed on the application form. When this occurs, one of three situations is possible: 1.) the candidate has made a conscious decision to ignore the question asked for some reason, 2.) the candidate has not read and/or understood the question, or 3.) the candidate has submitted a “generic” multi-program essay and has not taken the time to adjust it to address the particular question at hand.
Some universities set their own questions to be answered through the admission essay. In which case, you must do your best to tackle the issues at hand. Don’t sway to another direction but focus your discussions on the question itself. Follow the instructions carefully, as this may be considered some sort of test by the admissions officers to see how diligent you are.
When you write your personal statement, you have to keep in mind the readers, the admissions panel. This is why you need to answer the questions as best you can. Aside from this, you have to write in a way that would be most appealing to them.
According to another article:
Your readers may have thousands of essays to read, many or most of which will come from qualified applicants. This essay may be your best opportunity to communicate with the decision-makers in the application process, and you don’t want to bore them, offend them, or make them feel you are wasting their time.
If you avoid these common mistakes, you can have better chances of getting admitted to your chosen school or program. Make sure that your essay is free from grammatical errors. Also, observe proper limits on your creativity, so you won’t alienate your readers. Your response to the given question should best exemplify critical thinking skills and maturity.
Seven Common Mistakes in Writing Admission Essays
1.Introduction
2.Common Errors in Writing College Admission Essays
Writing college essays for admission is always a challenge despite the guidance brought by teachers, guides, and samples. Most high school students find these essays as the most stressful written works to make since it adds SAT and a good grade point average (GPA) in convincing college admission committees to allow you for enrolment, However, college essays for admission remain essential since they are the “tickets to your future.” Like it or not, you should get used to writing them since your hopes for a great career or landing a decent job are at stake. You should write the best essay as much as you can since its content and format can reflect on your grades and the letters of recommendation sent to admission committees.
Here are the most common errors in making college essays for admission to a college or university.
First is re-writing resumes. This issue can become a waste of space because it does not add any new information about you. Most admission committees require resumes as part of the admission process, which they read first before your essay. You can solve the problem by writing new personal stories into your college admission essay, where these stories are not included on your resume.
Second is mentioning your grades and test scores in your essay. This misconception is based on the belief of most students that strong grades and scores must be written to make the essay more suitable for admission. Admission committees do not need grades mentioned in the essay since they’re written within the application. Instead of grades, you can address your scholastic achievements, which are more appropriate factors since admission committees seek to know you personally.
The third is brown-nosing, which refers to uttering praises about the school you want to apply at. To make your essay impartial, address objective reasons why you want to study at your chosen school.
Fourth is about the decline of personal growth. You must utter the people and experiences that inspire you to strive academically and towards the development of your life. If you don’t remember people and experiences that drive you to change, you can make up your own story. Having nothing that inspired you to change for the better can cause concern for admission committees regarding your personality.
Fifth is about doubtful thoughts and weaknesses. Do not mention them in your essay because they can affect your credibility in applying for a college or university.
Sixth is about misspelt words and typographical errors. These errors can damage your essay since they measuring factors for admission committees in terms of the commitment you have in pursuing your target course in your chosen college or university. Conduct word-by-word spellcheck and present your essay to a proofreader to see what you miss.
The seventh problem focuses on wrong punctuation. Wrong placements of commas, periods, and other punctuation marks can ruin your essay, making it difficult to read. You can solve the problem by reading grammar books on proper punctuation or consult someone to help you.
By knowing these mistakes you will be able to learn on how to make good-quality college admission essays. Keep in mind that these essays you write are your “tickets” towards higher education. So make your essays become error-free and properly formatted and you’ll have your own “keys” to a better future.
How Sample Graduate School Essays Prepare You for Your Application in Graduate School
It is a fact that an excellent graduate school essay would boost your chances of getting accepted in your school of choice, whether it be an Ivy League school such as Harvard or any high-quality learning institution. The big question is: what exactly would a topnotch essay accomplish for you?
A strong essay would elevate your application from the multitudes of other candidates whose qualifications are about as solid as yours. In cases wherein the admissions officers are having a hard time choosing between two equally good applications, the better admission essay might be the “deadlock breaker.”
A very good essay should have a theme, also called a “thesis statement”. This would be the central topic to which the essay would revolve around. If the essay is compelling, original, and personal, this could only strengthen your chances of getting into your dream school. A good essay should not have the following bad parts: elements that make the essay an angry narrative, too many attempts to make the readers laugh, or simply an essay that goes in circles.
Other tips for a more effective admission essay
Have the materials prepared. Get copies of resume, transcripts, the application form, sample graduate school essays, etc. Create a list of crucial data such as titles of jobs in the past, duties you did, and the names of former employers. Using sample essays is very helpful, especially if you don’t have any idea on how to start writing your own.
Use “I” appropriately. It is good to be a little creative in writing one’s admission essay, but this is not a piece of creative writing or fiction. In creative writing, the use of the first or second or third case all depends on the style or mood of the writer. In the admissions essay, however, using the first person is crucial, because this would enliven your writing. A little warning though. Beginning all sentences with “I” is overkill.
Do not be redundant. If you have included certain information in the other application documents (transcript, resume, etc.), then you need not repeat that information on the admission essay. Doing so would make your essay redundant.
Be conscious of your essay’s length. How long should it be? If it is too short, the admissions board might think you didn’t put a lot of thought in it. If it’s too long, they might get tired of reading it. Admission essays must follow the given length range. However, if yours is a two-paged essay and you feel that cutting it shorter would be detrimental to your chances of getting accepted, then let it be.
A strong admission essay must have a solid thesis statement. To write a topnotch essay, the following are crucial things to consider: preparation involving the use of sample essays, properly using the first person, avoiding redundancy, and being conscious of the length. While not a 100% guarantee on getting accepted, an exceptional admission essay would most surely raise your chances of landing a spot at your preferred school.
