College Application Essay

College Application Essay Jacob Imm is a communications specialist in the North Central College Office of Marketing and Communications. He has 10 years of collegiate communications experience and has worked with hundreds of college students. He has a bachelor’s degree from the University of Notre Dame and a master’s degree from Northern Illinois University. At the same time, don’t go against what you’ve written on the rest of your application. Keep the details straight, and if there’s something you want to reveal in the essay, just be sure it’s about your thoughts and feelings, not an important fact you left out elsewhere. Let it sit for a couple of hours untouched or even a whole day where the deadline isn’t close. After catching the new episode of that TV show you love or going a few chapters of the book you have been reading, go through your essay one more time. Correct any mistakes you find, but be sure not to rely on grammar and spelling checkers as they cannot put your words into context. Be sure to keep the focus of the essay narrow and personal. Don’t tell your whole life story, but tell enough of it to answer the question. Not only does this show colleges that you’ve have done your homework, but it also demonstrates your interest in the college â€" and colleges want to admit students who are likely to enroll. Show your knowledge of the college by mentioning specific courses, professors, places of interest, and more. Show how you fit into the campus culture and how you will impact the community through specific examples. DON’T use the personal statement essay to repeat your resume. This final step will likely take much longer than writing the entire essay. If you want to demonstrate your integrity, share a story that illustrates how you passed up an opportunity to exploit an advantage that was unfairly gained. Claiming that you have good study habits is another empty claim. Detailing the exact study habits that have helped you succeed in school, backed up with the GPA on your application, carries much more weight. You may have to revise several times before your essay delivers your message perfectly. As you go through your revision keep these basic guidelines in mind. It’s time for you to narrow down your options for an essay topic and begin to build your story. Every academic institution will have there preferences, therefore, verifying which format is the most suitable prior to writing the essay is recommended. Essays for admission need to be written in the proper manner. You have to use proper words, proper grammar and write in a positive manner. This essay can be written as a persuasive essay although it should be said to keep the persuasion at a minimum. Admission Boards do not have the time for long and winded illustrations and examples. While revising and reworking the drafts is more of a “global” process, this step also includes changing phrases and fixing grammar, punctuation, and style errors in the work. Not everyone is a born writerâ€"in fact, pretty much no one is. And this is why it is absolutely essential that you give yourself some time to not only finish the first draft of your essay but to edit and revise your work and even rewrite the essay again if necessary. When you apply to Stanford, you apply to the university as a whole, not to a particular major, department or school. We encourage you to indicate prospective majors and career interests in the application, but please know you are not bound by these selections in any way. As you are telling your story, be honest, be yourself and do it in the most concise way you can. Before penning down a word of your admission essay, it is important that you understand the question and what it expects from you. At the end of the essay, the question that was asked should have been answered fully and in detail. Afterward, take the time to think about it before brainstorming on the different ways to answer it. Our writers will ensure that your essay is written in the proper manner for you to be selected into the desired school. This part is like your last word and last chance to prove you deserve to become a student of the college or university of your dream. A good topic is essential for the essay, especially if it is to catch the eye of the reader. The same process which was used to select English essay topics can be used to select admission topics as well. Simply asserting that you have what the university is looking for is not convincing; anyone could make the same claim as plausibly as you if you don't back up your claims with evidence. Stating that you believe in integrity, for example, is an easy claim that's made by thousands of politicians and used car salespeople every year. Using words in your essay that you don't typically use in your daily conversations can sound awkward and forced. Words have nuance to them, and simply inserting a word from the thesaurus is a great way to destroy that nuance. Thesaurus abuse is a lazy and easily spotted trick, and seasoned admissions officers will see right through it. If you feel that you're overusing a particular word, think of alternatives on your own without consulting a thesaurus; using words that you're familiar with will help you avoid misusing them. When tailoring responses to individual college prompts, it’s important to use specific details you’ve learned through visiting and research.