Tips For Improving The Style Of Your College Essay

Tips For Improving The Style Of Your College Essay Over 70 percent of students choose just three of the seven Common Application prompts . That is because three of them work well if you write your essay first and pick the prompt second. The college essay is a page-long assignment given to you by a school, to be completed by a certain date. The moral to the college essay is that there need not be a moral. You are writing a personal narrative, not a parable, so don’t feel compelled to conclude with a lesson learned or a happy ending. Finally, submit your college essay, along with any other application materials, well before the submission deadline. This shows colleges that you're serious about developing your future potential with their institution. Regardless of the topic about which you choose to write, be sure the essay reveals more about you than the other characters or places in the story. My 17-year-old is working with Russell on a college essay. He is thorough, highly knowledgeable and patient. He has so many tips about writing a solid college essay. Emily guided me through the revision process of my writing and helped clarify my drafts for a supplemental college essay. To make the most of this opportunity, once you have your essay questions, practice writing your essay using the tips provided by the college or from one of the links in this article. If you're lucky, your junior and senior high school language arts teachers incorporate essay writing into the curriculum. Use this space to show the person behind the history buff or mathlete. Ultimately, that will give your application more weight. The language in your essay should be a more refined version of how you normally speak, but don’t try to be overly flowery in your writing in an attempt to woo the admissions officers. You don’t want to confuse the reader or come off as pretentious. Community involvement is key to being a well-rounded individual and college candidateâ€"it shows the admissions office that you will be involved with student life on campus. Use the story or stories you tell to illustrate a larger, more abstract point. Many students fall into the trap of offering superficial or generic reasons for wanting to attend. An admissions committee doesn’t want to hear that you’re attracted to the warm weather â€" you can just as easily find that at another college in the South. She provided thoughtful feedback and kept prompt communication to meet my deadline. I highly recommend Emily if you need assistance for your college essay. DON’T reveal something you would never consider telling your parents â€" while honest essays can be strong, your college essay is not the place to admit to shoplifting or drunk driving. DO tell a story; your college essay will be more similar to your creative writing or journal assignments that to your persuasive essay. While you may prefer certain settings or sizes, the fact is, you can easily find those qualities anywhere. The Coalition Application has offered a similar COVID-19 prompt. To me, this implies colleges want students to save their main essay topic for anything but Covid. Emory even calls out the commonality of that response in its prompt. The same applies to wanting to be in a city or town or being part of a small, medium, or large student body. It’s never too late to get involved in community service at your place of worship, youth group, local soup kitchen, or nearby homeless shelter. Demonstrate that you are a leader and a thoughtful citizen, and you will not only improve your extracurricular portfolio, but also demonstrate your commitment to making a difference in college and beyond. Keith Berman is the President of Options for College (), which he founded in Harvard Square right after working in the Harvard Admissions Office. He has appeared on MSNBC, CNBC, CNN, PBS, Fox Business and Lifetime. Even with essay writing experience, it can be hard to frame a well-organized, comprehensive, thoughtful answer in 500 words or less. You might need to approach the questions from a few different perspectives before you find the right formula.