Well-Written College Admission Essay
Since we are in the throes of college application season, I’d like to continue on the word choice theme I started in December and talk about college admission essays. This is a question that I get often- how do I make my essay stand out? While there are lots of different writing styles you can employ, you should stick to a style with which you are most comfortable.
From my perspective as a former admissions officer, there are a few definite things to do and things to avoid, but later in this post I’ll share an interview that I had with a current admissions officer.
1. Keep it positive- even if the question asks you to talk about a struggle, make sure you keep it positive and talk about what you learned from the situation.
2. Go into detail- if you don’t share the details of your story, your essay will come across as flat to the reader. It can be hard to open up in your essay, but it’s what will grab your attention, keep the reader interested and get the admissions officer to fight for your admission if it is a toss up situation.
3. Tell the truth- nothing is worse than reading a plagiarized essay (trust me, they will check!) or finding out down the road that what was written isn’t true. It’s a good way to receive a flat out rejection or a decision reversal.
4. Follow the directions, edit and spell check- I know that seems obvious, but if they say to keep it under or over a certain word count, make sure you do. Review your answer and even have someone else read over it (they will catch things you may have missed).
My former colleague and good friend Dr. Dave Fedorchak is now the Director of Admission at Northern Colorado University and has shared his thoughts on well-written admissions essays.
VP: What makes an essay standout to you?
DF: The answer to this depends on the person reading the essay. Essays that stand out are ones where students do a good job of telling us about who they are. We want to learn more about them as people. It is key for them to answer the prompt and stay on topic. For ones that tell us about something that did not go their way and they explain what they learned from the situation.
VP: What advice would you give to students who are writing their essay?
DF: Write in paragraphs, avoid defining words (ex. success) unless a definition is absolutely necessary, choose the number of adjectives used wisely, use your words, don't try to be someone else with your writing. If answering a prompt, be sure to answer the prompt while sharing information about who you are. Just be real with your essay. If no word limit is provided, the essay should be no longer than one page double-spaced in 12 point font.
VP: What common mistakes do you see in essays?
DF: Names of different schools, incorrect grammar, punctuation and spelling, not answering the prompt, run on sentences, uploading the wrong essay to the wrong school.
VP: What do you recommend including or not including in an essay?
DF: Depends on if there is a prompt or not. Most important things to include are personal info about you that makes you who you are. No need to tell us, repeat things that we already know from your application, test scores or transcripts.
VP: Lastly (and a little unrelated), do you have any recommendations for students who may have gotten in trouble during high school? How should they address this on their application?
DF: This should not be part of the essay. It depends on the questions listed on the application, either Common App or school specific application. If asked about past disciplinary problems, academic dishonesty or criminal charges, students need to provide detailed information about what happened, what did they learn from the experience and show accountability for their actions.
A big thanks to Dr. Fedorchak for providing your insights!
I hope you’ve found this helpful. If you are looking for more information, please visit my website- Higher & Hire. If I can be of assistance to you, please reach out to me here.
Many Thanks!
Valerie Palmer
