How To Write A College Essay

How To Write A College Essay Three former admissions officers I spoke to told me that, contrary to Steven’s observations, officers read every essay that comes across their desks. “We definitely read the essays,” says Joie Jager-Hyman, president of College Prep 360 and former admissions officer at Dartmouth College. So yes, they are read by all the admissions officers, particularly the ones who oversee your county and region. If you send more than the one supplemental essay suggested, there’s no guarantee they’ll read themâ€"unless they don’t think they have enough to go on. That said, if they don’t think they have enough to go on after 2 essays, you’ve got a bigger problem. Based on my experience, we read every essay at the institutions were I served. Typically, applications received two reads and a third if the decisions were split. Schools which require essays, however, use the essay input to form a more complete picture of the applicant, over and above the numbers, grades, lists, and so on, which are entered onto the application form. The essays may form the most deciding part of the application after the student has met basic application criteria â€" grades, standardized test scores, etc. Again, the number of readers for each essay would depend on individual institutional practices. The application essay is a common part of the university and college admissions process. After working with thousands of students from all over the world on writing the dreaded college application essay for the last eight years, I’ve finally been able to boil down the process to three simple steps. In this instance, the essay would be read by several people. Again, the number of readers for each essay would depend upon individual institutional practices. Many large schools don’t require essays at all because they don’t have the personnel resources to process the huge number of admission essays which would be submitted. The essays tell the admissions committee how and why one student is different from all the others. At ScholarMatch, Watson uses freewriting exercises to help students start their essays. Students come to ScholarMatch workshops feeling nervous about the process. Freewriting helps kids relax and simply write; it also usually helps elicit an essay topic. For the exercises, Watson asks students to write whatever comes into their minds. Your girlfriend/boyfriend/significant other.Choosing this topic might be the biggest faux pas in the history of college essay writing. No matter how wonderful this person is, and no matter how good a writer you are, there is absolutely zero chance that this topic will present you in the best possible light to college admissions professionals. This is because one of the character traits most admissions professionals are looking for is a sense of maturity and self-understanding. Focusing on someone you love, or worse yet, like “a lot,” is highly unlikely to show this side of you. Don’t assume you know what they want to read.Many students feel that their lives would be boring to admissions officials, and then feel the need to pump themselves up in the course of the essay. Some exaggerate their commitments to community service because they believe that’s what colleges want to hear. From the freewriting, he and other writing coaches help students identify points they can develop into an essay. One of the most challenging aspects of the essay-writing process is identifying a topic to write about. Many first-to-college applicants think their experiences and accomplishments aren’t impressive enough to wow college admissions officers, so they get discouraged before they even begin. But first-generation college applicants have typically overcome obstacles that other students haven’t â€" and it’s a story worth sharing. “You don’t do that job unless you enjoy reading the essays. A college application essay may be as short as 150 words, but those words can mean the difference between a “maybe” and a “yes” when it comes to getting admitted. The number of reads and the process for reviewing application essays vary from college to college. Among the top 250, I know my colleagues review essays because some are moved to “check” authenticity or to contact the school source to verify veracity of the context as provided by the student. It is my understanding that if essays are required by an institution, they are actually read. There are many different kinds of schools, however, so it would be impossible to know how each of them handles the essays which are submitted. I do know that some schools have a group of readers, each receiving one set of essays, with each individual essay being read by just one person. In other instances, each essay is distributed to several readers, who will then compare their impressions when the admissions committee meets to decide upon student admissions.