College admission officers read thousands of essays. They try to discover the applicant behind the standardized test scores, GPA and letters of recommendations. As experienced readers and judges of character they spend about three to five minutes actually reading. You, therefore, want your essay to make leap from ‘average’ to “accepted”.
Here is a comment I heard from an admissions officer: “I read hundreds of college application essays each season. I know the difference between ‘ho-hum’ and Wow! We want this student!”
Here are some times for tips for Writing the College Application Essay
- Don’t Panic. In this part of the college admissions process, but do be prepared with a good topic and concise writing.
- Answer the question. Sounds obvious, however, admissions officers we’ve talk with stated that many students don’t answer the questions, especially the short answers. Read the question carefully and answer what they are asking for.
- Be Honest. Don’t embellish! This is self explanatory. Admissions officers look for inconsistencies.
- Be You. You don’t want to sound “amazingly unique” like everyone else. Write about your passions and achievements and show the admissions officers that you mean it. Don’t pretend to be someone you’re not.
When written well, an essay is marketing tool that can help you STAND OUT and give you that added advantage in the competitive college admissions process.
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Dr. Paul Reginald Lowe is the managing director of Pinnacle Educational Center Admissions Advisors Group network. He and his team of admissions advisors through its admissions affiliate: College Essay Tune Up, review, objectively critique, proofread, and constructively edit college application essays.
Dr. Paul Lowe - Admissions Expert 