Why pay special attention to the essays?
Admission essays are written for the Admission Board to have a proper understanding of the personalities, goals and inspirations of the prospective students. They want to know what type of person you are and whether you are suitable for their organization. Grades and other attributes are of course, given preference, yet a well written essay can tip the scales in your favor.
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Admissions Essay Writing Tips
What to Include in the Essay?
There are thousands of essays which will be received by the Admission Board. Most of these essays will not be read at all. This is because, they may not be written in a manner which a good admission essay needs to be written in. A good essay needs to stand out among all the others. Therefore, it should be written in a certain manner;
There are several tips that can help students to write excellent papers. The most useful are the following:
There are thousands of essays which will be received by the Admission Board. Most of these essays will not be read at all. This is because, they may not be written in a manner which a good admission essay needs to be written in. A good essay needs to stand out among all the others. Therefore, it should be written in a certain manner;
- The essay needs to address the question. Writing an essay requires students to understand what is being asked. This is applicable to any type of essay from argumentative essay to controversial essays. If proper understanding is not had of the requirements, the essay will be worthless.
- 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.
- These essays need to be short and concise. Admission Boards do not have the time for long and winded illustrations and examples. Keep it short as time is very important to them.
- 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.
- Avoid the use of excessive humour and excuses as to why you have low grades. The point of the essay is to highlight your strengths and minimize the weaknesses.
- Adhere to format and structure. Every academic institution will have there preferences, therefore, verifying which format is the most suitable prior to writing the essay is recommended.
There are several tips that can help students to write excellent papers. The most useful are the following:
- Using a voice. This technique shows personality and own desires in text. Experienced authors recommend using humor, jokes, metaphors, and other literature tips. Different kind of emotions make the essay unique.
- Varying the length. There are no restricting rules about perfect length. So remember one important tip: you should write as much as it would be interesting to read. In general experienced authors recommend writing admission college papers under 500 words. But frankly speaking, educational institutions try not to limit students.
- Being yourself and being unique. Can you imagine how many papers professors read? Well, it is uncountable. That is why the task number one for students is to impress college professors with unique thoughts. Universities do want to encourage new brains and improve students’ talent and skills.
Curated list of quality essays
College Essay Guy
If you only go to one resource, go to the College Essay Guy. Ethan Sawyer’s website is a treasure trove of college essay resources for students, counselors, teachers, and parents. Despite having a book you can buy as well as offering multiple courses on the topic, he provides plenty of free resources.
What: Twelve College Essay Examples That Worked
Why: Yes, in his Guide to Writing Personal Essay which includes 13 page PDF with worksheets and essay example of each of the 4 methods.
John Hopkins University
Of the essays posted by colleges, Johns Hopkins’ offers the most in the “Why” category. When reading what the committee liked about the essays, be sure to pay attention to the comments about what they thought the essay revealed about the student. One comment included “We not only get a good picture of his personality through his writing, but also what kind of student Curtis is—one who thinks across disciplines and has creative ambitions, and someone who wants to contribute to a community.” Yes, look for the attributes that made it personal and an essay that only the author could write.
What: Essays that Worked
ThoughtCo.
If you’re only going to visit two websites, ThoughtCo. is my second choice. For each of the 7 Common App prompts, it provides at least one sample essay which includes a detailed analysis. The critique is broken-down by Title, Length, Topic, Weaknesses, and Overall Impression. Yeah, that detailed. They also provide a Tips and Strategies section for each prompt. I would say it goes beyond the normal tips I mentioned earlier but their usefulness will vary by student.
What: The 2020 Common Application Essay Prompts
Tufts University
Tufts has posted 4 Common Application essays as well as some of their supplemental essays.
What: Common Application Personal Statement
How: Just a general “5 Essay Writing Tips to Get You Through the Fall.”
Hamilton College
Offers essays from four different classes.
What: Essays that Worked
Shmoop
Shmoop is definitely worth a visit. You’ll find a list of 20 applications grouped in categories such as No One Special, Minority, and Athlete. After each example college essay, there is a detailed explanation on why the essay works. While these aren’t actual “How” tips and strategies, I think they provide enough insight to be valuable to students trying to figure out how they’ll write their essays.
What: Examples of Awesome Personal Statements
Shemmassian Academic Consulting
This has 8 essays from students admitted to the most competitive schools in the country. The page itself doesn’t offer any tips or analysis of the essays. However, if you take the time to give them your email you can download a 110 page guide to “How to Get into America’s Elite Colleges” that includes a detailed chapter on how to write the essays, a timeline and sample students’ essays. It may be geared for the elite schools, but the same principles apply to any college essay. Definitely worth downloading with the bonus of plenty of other valuable college admissions information.
What: Successful College Essay Examples From Top-25 Universities
The Admissions Strategist
I was ready to blow off the post as another list of general tips although their bullet point approach to the common app questions makes for a nice contrast to CollegeVine’s. But make sure you scroll down to “How to Use the Right Tone in Your Common App Essay” for a little more analysis of what doesn’t work and why. The website also includes Essay Guides to individual institutions such as Emory, Washington and Lee, Virginia Tech, and Boston College.
What: How to Write Powerful Common App Essays (2020-2021): A Complete Guide
C2education
I’m suggesting C2education because of its College Essay Example #1 which shows an essay that works even though it is using a college cliché experts say to avoid-moving from a foreign country. The thing is, when something is cliché it’s because it’s true for some many and that makes it difficult to avoid. So I appreciate the example. The College Essay Guy’s formula is one way that you might be able to get a cliché to work for you.
What: Read These Top College Essay Examples
CollegeVine
Don’t look for in-depth help in how to write the general personal essay. CollegeVine’s strategy of brainstorm, organize, and write is just the basic advice most students receive from multiple sources. The real value in visiting the site is for the explanation of the prompts and examples of student responses. I do find the repeated use of “one of our consultants” tiring. Yes, they would really like to sell you their services. And if their analysis and examples resonate with you, maybe you will. But they should at least give you something to think about whether you agree with them or not. CollegeVine also has specific guides for selected colleges that can be useful in breaking down what the questions are asking.
What: How to Write the Common Application Essays 2020-2021 (With Examples) Not full length
Winning Ivy Prep
Yes, these are for a limited population (University of California) and are much shorter than the normal personal essay requirements. But if you’re looking for a quick example by category, this website is worth the visit. You can easily select the college essay example by essay number and type. Types include Basketball Coach, Talented Artist, and Caring for Disabled Patients.
What: 2020 Ultimate Guide: 20 UC Essay Examples
Babson College
Only 4 samples but one includes a video option.
What: Babson Writing Supplement
Connecticut College
14 example essays. If it helps, it shows the high school the author attended.
What: Essays that Worked
St. John’s College
These are essays to consider for their unique prompt. And being a Great Book’s school, it shouldn’t surprise you that there is a word minimum instead of a maximum.
What: Great Essays from Past Years
If you only go to one resource, go to the College Essay Guy. Ethan Sawyer’s website is a treasure trove of college essay resources for students, counselors, teachers, and parents. Despite having a book you can buy as well as offering multiple courses on the topic, he provides plenty of free resources.
What: Twelve College Essay Examples That Worked
Why: Yes, in his Guide to Writing Personal Essay which includes 13 page PDF with worksheets and essay example of each of the 4 methods.
John Hopkins University
Of the essays posted by colleges, Johns Hopkins’ offers the most in the “Why” category. When reading what the committee liked about the essays, be sure to pay attention to the comments about what they thought the essay revealed about the student. One comment included “We not only get a good picture of his personality through his writing, but also what kind of student Curtis is—one who thinks across disciplines and has creative ambitions, and someone who wants to contribute to a community.” Yes, look for the attributes that made it personal and an essay that only the author could write.
What: Essays that Worked
ThoughtCo.
If you’re only going to visit two websites, ThoughtCo. is my second choice. For each of the 7 Common App prompts, it provides at least one sample essay which includes a detailed analysis. The critique is broken-down by Title, Length, Topic, Weaknesses, and Overall Impression. Yeah, that detailed. They also provide a Tips and Strategies section for each prompt. I would say it goes beyond the normal tips I mentioned earlier but their usefulness will vary by student.
What: The 2020 Common Application Essay Prompts
Tufts University
Tufts has posted 4 Common Application essays as well as some of their supplemental essays.
What: Common Application Personal Statement
How: Just a general “5 Essay Writing Tips to Get You Through the Fall.”
Hamilton College
Offers essays from four different classes.
What: Essays that Worked
Shmoop
Shmoop is definitely worth a visit. You’ll find a list of 20 applications grouped in categories such as No One Special, Minority, and Athlete. After each example college essay, there is a detailed explanation on why the essay works. While these aren’t actual “How” tips and strategies, I think they provide enough insight to be valuable to students trying to figure out how they’ll write their essays.
What: Examples of Awesome Personal Statements
Shemmassian Academic Consulting
This has 8 essays from students admitted to the most competitive schools in the country. The page itself doesn’t offer any tips or analysis of the essays. However, if you take the time to give them your email you can download a 110 page guide to “How to Get into America’s Elite Colleges” that includes a detailed chapter on how to write the essays, a timeline and sample students’ essays. It may be geared for the elite schools, but the same principles apply to any college essay. Definitely worth downloading with the bonus of plenty of other valuable college admissions information.
What: Successful College Essay Examples From Top-25 Universities
The Admissions Strategist
I was ready to blow off the post as another list of general tips although their bullet point approach to the common app questions makes for a nice contrast to CollegeVine’s. But make sure you scroll down to “How to Use the Right Tone in Your Common App Essay” for a little more analysis of what doesn’t work and why. The website also includes Essay Guides to individual institutions such as Emory, Washington and Lee, Virginia Tech, and Boston College.
What: How to Write Powerful Common App Essays (2020-2021): A Complete Guide
C2education
I’m suggesting C2education because of its College Essay Example #1 which shows an essay that works even though it is using a college cliché experts say to avoid-moving from a foreign country. The thing is, when something is cliché it’s because it’s true for some many and that makes it difficult to avoid. So I appreciate the example. The College Essay Guy’s formula is one way that you might be able to get a cliché to work for you.
What: Read These Top College Essay Examples
CollegeVine
Don’t look for in-depth help in how to write the general personal essay. CollegeVine’s strategy of brainstorm, organize, and write is just the basic advice most students receive from multiple sources. The real value in visiting the site is for the explanation of the prompts and examples of student responses. I do find the repeated use of “one of our consultants” tiring. Yes, they would really like to sell you their services. And if their analysis and examples resonate with you, maybe you will. But they should at least give you something to think about whether you agree with them or not. CollegeVine also has specific guides for selected colleges that can be useful in breaking down what the questions are asking.
What: How to Write the Common Application Essays 2020-2021 (With Examples) Not full length
Winning Ivy Prep
Yes, these are for a limited population (University of California) and are much shorter than the normal personal essay requirements. But if you’re looking for a quick example by category, this website is worth the visit. You can easily select the college essay example by essay number and type. Types include Basketball Coach, Talented Artist, and Caring for Disabled Patients.
What: 2020 Ultimate Guide: 20 UC Essay Examples
Babson College
Only 4 samples but one includes a video option.
What: Babson Writing Supplement
Connecticut College
14 example essays. If it helps, it shows the high school the author attended.
What: Essays that Worked
St. John’s College
These are essays to consider for their unique prompt. And being a Great Book’s school, it shouldn’t surprise you that there is a word minimum instead of a maximum.
What: Great Essays from Past Years
