_The following tips will help you create an essay that you can feel confident about sending off to the college or university of your choice._
A Piece of the Puzzle
So many students think that their admissions essay is going to make or break their chances of getting in to the college they want. This simply isn’t the case. While it is important to create a well-crafted, well-written essay that’s been carefully thought out and edited, this is just one part of a much larger whole. College admissions counselors will look at the total picture, the overall package you present. They will consider your high school academic record, your extracurricular and volunteer activities, your letters of recommendation, and your application essay. A great essay will not grant you automatic admission nor will a less-than-stellar essay ruin your chances, so relax and let go of some of that pressure you’re feeling. You’ll be surprised how much easier it is to write an effective essay once you take a deep breath!
h3. Answer The Question
I review dozens of essays every week and the biggest pitfall I see is that students are so eager to present themselves in a positive light that they ignore the essay prompt altogether. It’s understandable that you’d want to write about how you spent your spring break saving endangered mosquitoes in the Amazon or how your clothing drive collected enough skinny jeans and trucker hats for every last refugee in Darfur, but if the essay is asking you to write about why you want to pursue a career in accounting, these noble pursuits won’t have any relevance. You can’t make a square peg fit in a round hole, no matter how good that square peg makes you look. One of the main reasons colleges want applicants to write essays is to see if they have the ability to follow direction and think critically. Be sure you have read and fully understand the essay prompt before you begin writing. This will ensure that you are demonstrating your ability to answer a question thoughtfully, completely, and with a clear writing style, which is what colleges are looking for. The rest of your application will speak for itself.
h3. Shortcuts Suck
Unless you’re using the common app (a single admissions application that is accepted by several different colleges), you should write an original essay for each application you fill out. Yes, it’s a pain to have a stack of five or six applications in front of you and to have to write an essay for each one of them. However, this is the only way you can be sure you’re presenting your best written self. It’s actually much harder to rework an existing essay to make it fit a different topic than it is to just write a new essay. It’s true that some colleges ask the same or very similar essay questions, but proceed with caution and be flexible—if the essay you wrote for Vassar about a person who has impacted your life just isn’t working for Wesleyan’s question about your most memorable experience, resign yourself to writing a new essay.
h3. Short is the New Long
Pay attention to length requirements and understand that more is not always best. Admissions officers read thousands of applications every day. Essay word limits are not a challenge to you to see how much more you can write; those limits ensure that admissions personnel can devote equal time to each essay and get through the huge volume of applications they receive in time for fall semester. If they open your envelope and are presented with a 15-page manuscript all about how you single-handedly saved your school’s performing arts department, your application will go straight to the trash. When the question asks for 500 words, write 500 words. Use concise language to get your point across. Even better, if you can state your case or make your point effectively in fewer words you can give yourself a real boost to the top of the heap.
h3. Share The Love
The more you let your work be read, the better it will be. When you’ve been sitting with an essay for a long time and reading it over and over as you revise it, you can miss glaring errors that somebody else who’s unfamiliar with the piece would see right away. Run a draft by your English teacher to catch grammatical mistakes or misspelled words, have your guidance or college counselor look it over for quality and content, or let a family member read through it for a confidence booster (you know your mom will love it no matter what). You might even look into an online tutoring service for a final check before you send it off. These sites employ trained professional tutors and teachers in subject-specific areas, including essay writing and college prep, who can help you pare down words, fix structural errors, correct grammar, or just give the essay a once-over to make sure you’ve got a great piece ready to hand in. Check your local library to see if they participate in such a program or do a Google search.
Writing a college admissions essay can be a daunting task. Remember, though, that the essay is one small piece of the puzzle. If you’ve done your work throughout your high school career—kept your grades up, participated in extracurricular activities, volunteered, been involved in school or community life, etc.—your essay will be just a little extra icing on the cake. So find a quiet corner, take out that app, and get to work!