Tips For Writing Your College Essay

Tips For Writing Your College Essay Last week I talked to a high school senior as a favor to a friend. The student is not applying to Georgia Tech, so I was giving him general application advice. Remember that your research will be more effective if you do early research into ALL your schools at once, or at least all the ones that have Why School essays. A college application essay is all about reflection; it’s an opportunity for applicants to share something meaningful about themselves. It’s an odd, vibrant place with odd, vibrant people. Originality is celebrated there â€" not in the half-hearted “good for you” way, but in the full-throated “GOOD FOR YOU! One of the first of my fellow students to befriend me wore corset tops and tutus and carried a parasol with which she punctuated her every utterance. Be specific and use examples from your own life. Provide some details to help the reader see the setting and understand you better as a person. From the perspective that you have gained in life, discover the message or story line that is unique to you. Her best friend was a boy with purple hair who once wore a shirt with built in LED lights for Christmas. They were the most popular people in school, in direct contrast to all that was socially acceptable in New Haven. Our peers recognized them as being unique, but instead of ostracizing them or pitying them, the students in Berkeley celebrated them. Develop the arc of your essay with an introduction, body and conclusion. Conservatively, I’d say I’ve looked at more than 10,000 essays by now. I wouldn’t be surprised if it’s more, and I know plenty of people on my staff and around the country who put that number to shame. Colleges are not necessarily only looking for students who perform well academically. Understanding the purpose of the college application essay will help you to understand how to tailor it to appeal to your audience. DI correllates to yield, and yield boosts rankings â€" and everybody likes high rankings. Make sure to use the short essay questions to talk about things we do not yet know about you. We talked about prioritizing extra-curricular activities, such as putting the things you care about most and have the most involvement with, first. While an application may have eight, 10 or 30 lines for involvement, busy admission officers who speed read this section may only get to third on the list. Make them want to keep learning about you by telling them clearly and thoroughly what’s most important to you. Start by posting any ideas, themes or reflections on sticky notes on your wall â€" don’t be afraid to be far-fetched. Examine each one individually then discard or amplify as you go. Revisit the wall a few times before you begin writing your essay. Rick Clark is the Director of Undergraduate Admission at Georgia Tech. In this role, he directs the Institute’s recruitment and enrollment efforts, manages the review and selection of all undergraduate applications, and leads the admission team. Under his leadership, the Institute has dramatically increased brand awareness, improved overall academic class profile, and exceeded goals for geographic, gender and ethnic diversity. I’ve read for several institutions, two testing agencies, and various scholarship competitions. Don’t they already know what is great about their school? They’re asking because of something called demonstrated interest. Demonstrated interest is a fancy way of saying, how much do you really want to go to OUR school? Did you pick us just because we’ve got a good ranking, or do you actually know something about how we work? Cultural reputation, IE, what the students behave like and what they value?