Writing an application essay for college is a tough task and so many students tend to fail miserably in making an impact through it.
Writing the perfect college application essay is indeed a difficult task and students need to be extra cautious for it.
However, not everyone knows the art of drafting the ideal essay and in course needs assistance on “how to write a college application essay”?
- Don’t make a resume
One of the biggest mistakes that students make is making an embellished resume. You are not here for a job and hence no need to be extra professional with your essay.
Drafting your essay in the form of a resume will appear to be pretentious and officials might not like that aspect very well.
Essays are sometimes thought of a way of showing yourself off and hence be casual but prominent in your approach and explain your hobbies, interest, experiences and skills in an elaborate but easy way.
- Mention its worth
One very common pet peeves of officials while going through students essay is the way they describe an event without mentioning its significance.
The incident you are explaining should have a critical context in your story and you should be aware of the benefits drawn out of it.
If you are explaining a story you should conclude a connotation or an impact that it created upon you to bring in its importance. Otherwise, the story is of no good.
- Focus on yourself
So many times it is seen that students mention their family or loved ones and their achievements, shifting the whole focus to that person.
This is a big no! no! in a college application essay as the authorities are looking forward to know about you and not your near ones. Hence, you should be the hero of your essay!
Even if you want to add the name of your loved ones in your essay then also make sure to tilt it a bit in a way that it is signifying your characteristic aspects.
- Don’t overdo
Creative students often think that they should write an essay that is more visually appealing and hence they end up creating an essay in the shape of something that represents them.
Most of the times it becomes hard to read an essay that is crafted like a chalice, and thus it require students to know how to write a college application essay in a proper way.
Even if you want to show your creative side, it is always better to stick to a simple heartfelt essay that will not take too much time but will create an impact on the officials mind.
- Incorrect usage of parenthesis
Parenthesis mostly acts like a functional use rather than its usage as an element to break up parts of a sentence.
Never place parenthesis in place of commas, only use them for functional reasons.
Right usage of parenthesis makes the essay more readable and also develops high chances of creating a positive image on the authorities for the writer.
On the other hand, improper or misused parenthesis end up making the essay look like it is written by an elementary school student or someone who do not know how to write a college application essay.
- Avoid cliché sentences
Don’t state general and vague things that you dint actually have any experience! Also, avoid exaggerating things out of proportion.
Always remember one thing that the selection panel read a lot of essays a day and can smell out the not-so-true factors of your essays.
Avoid using words like perpetually or continually, these make your essay look like bit overemphasized.
- Don’t confuse
Never make any random statement or just use an unnecessary term in your essay. Even the usage of word like “many” is not much appreciated as it does not show any specificity.
Also avoid repeating information that you have already mentioned. If you think that your essay is too short and you need to increase its length, then add extra information or some incident but never repeat the same subjects continuously.
Officials do not have time to read the same things numerous times and hence gets irritated by this mistake asking students why they do not know how to write a college application essay.
- Stay Modest
Yes it is true that the main motive behind writing the whole essay is to impress the officials through it but being too positive about things makes it less believable.
You do not need to show how awesome you are in every line you write, this will only depict how proud you are of yourself.
Self-promotion is a given. However, you should distinguish yourself by your desire to intensively take up challenges and study the subjects of your interest. Also show them that you are open to a wide range of ideas without mere advertising yourself.
Bring your best side by showing the magic of words without plain boasting about yourself. Also, you should be carrying the proofs of the commitments that you made in your essay; else it will be just vague.
- Don’t whine about hardships
If you are sharing an incident that has affected your life then also explain why or how you overcame it.
Of course no one likes to read a sob story without a happy ending. Just for the sake of bringing in an emotional quotient you do not need to write a heartbreaking content that will make you look like seeking for pity.
In order to turn the table towards you, you can instead show the committee how you surpassed the difficulties and triumphed over it. This move can make you achieve a high GPA, a leadership position as well as any other accomplishment.
- Don’t be gimmicky
Avoid using “cute” techniques to stand out. Using foul commitments or stating something that is not true to your knowledge might cost you later on in your study course, hence, refrain yourself from taking the shorter route, instead take the longer yet smarter route ti excel in your essay.
Above are certain very common pitfalls that admission officers see repeatedly through the course of selection and wonder if students know how to write a college application essay. Hence, to avoid making the same mistakes, abide by the above-listed recommendations.