10 Tips To Write A Better College Entrance Essay


by Nick Sanders - Date: 2008-12-12 - Word Count: 624 Share This!

A brilliant college entrance essay will present a vivid, personal and compelling view of yourself to the admissions committee. It will round out the rest of your application and help you stand out from other applicants. The essay is one of the only parts of your application which lets you have complete control and so it's important to take your time to ensure you make a great impression.

Keep your focus personal. Your essay must prove a single point, which shows you are worthy of a place at your college of choice. The reader must be able to see what you are arguing for and follow it from the beginning through to the end. Let a friend or family member read your introduction to see what they think about the topic which you have written. If they don't know, then try rethinking how you've worded your essay. Remember, you are not telling the committee your life story, you are simply showing them who you are, and using past experiences and achievements to help them choose you as a candidate.

If you struggle to think of what to write, then you should ask friends, family or past employers/teachers, they will be able to tell you the positive things about you that you should write about. You should pick the ones that most closely relate to the course you are applying for.

Use facts. There is a big difference between saying you did work experience at a primary school, or saying that you spent two weeks at a primary school teaching five year olds maths and English; developed patience and empathy, as well as establishing some leadership skills by planning and teaching some lessons. Make sure you back up any opinions you use with strong facts.

Avoid clichéd writing by using specific details. Again, saying that you want to be a teacher because you want to help children succeed is okay, but it is much better to say that your own teacher was committed to teaching you in fun ways, such as hatching your own chicks to learn their life cycle, and you wish to give other children a brilliant start to their education too.

Make sure you are telling the truth, and not just writing what you think the committee wants to hear. Wanting to change the world, discover a cure for HIV or stop terrorism are all very common answers, write something new and your essay will stand out.

Make sure you aren't just rewriting your CV. Include specific information that isn't explained well, or even mention new things, such as tennis clubs or an avid interest in history. Family holidays can be mentioned if they were to places of interest, or activities such as making props or taking a role in productions. Anything that shows you are a respected member of the community should also be included.

Don't use more words than you need too. Making sentences too long and confusing will make your essay harder to understand. A lot of students make the mistake of trying to elongate sentences to look better; however, simple sentences are often better. If you have to add words to sentences, in order to meet the word count, then you are probably missing the point.

Make sure that you proofread your essay, as typos and errors can often be interpreted as carelessness or bad writing. Don't rely on your word processing software's spell check, as it can miss simple mistakes, such as accepting fried instead of friend.

Get a friend, teacher or parent to read through your college entrance essay and make sure it makes sense and sells you in the best possible way. They may also pick up on sentences that don't make sense or mistakes that you have missed.

Related Tags: college, admissions, applying to university, getting into uni

Nick Sanders is the owner and founder of Supaproofread.com, an online proofreading and editing services company, specialising in admissions proofreading and editing services. You should visit them if you are looking for a admissions proofreader.

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