Finishing high school and preparing to go to university is one of the most thrilling yet overwhelming stages in the life of any young adult. It is the stepping stone into adulthood and being almost completely self-reliant. It can be difficult leaving home, family, and friends and starting a new chapter, but it’s a chapter worth reading, just as you hope your college application essay will be. It’s one of the most important parts of the process, so we have put together some tips that will help you get into the college of your dreams.
Think of Your Essay Goals
Nothing goes as well as you want it to without proper planning. That’s why you need to take a minute and think about what you want your essay to look like. Ask yourself how you would want the reader to perceive you. Think of a way to combine your classroom achievements with your authentic personality. You should also take some time to carefully read the instructions because, with the excitement and stress, you might miss one or two points. It’s better to always keep the guidelines in front of you while writing to avoid having to do major alterations once you’re done. Following the instructions to a tee proves you’ll be able to follow them in your university’s program.
Write the Way You Speak
You might think keeping your college essay formal is the best way to sound mature and educated. However, while it’s important to demonstrate college-level diction, you should still sound like yourself. Try to showcase your character through the way you write instead of plainly stating your personality traits. Pretend you’re reading your essay aloud to a room full of people you don’t know. A good way to sound like yourself in your college essay is recording voice memos of any thoughts you want to incorporate in your own way.
Distinguish Yourself
What makes you different from the thousands of applicants with the same academic potential, especially with big universities like NYU? That’s what you should strive to showcase in your college essay. The best way to do that, as the experts from Transizion.com believe, is to find something that you feel defines you as a person and sets you apart from other students. Admission officers mostly want to know about your growth both academically and personally. Add any interesting hobbies or skills you might have, like playing music, sports, or speaking a different language. Just make the essay more about who you are and the things you care about.
Write a Captivating Introduction
The admission officer has probably read thousands of college essays before you, and thousands will come afterward, that’s why you need to stand out from the start. A compelling introduction will do the trick in capturing the attention of the reader, especially if you start by posing questions they want to be answered. It’s highly advised you use the style of journalism writing, starting with a peculiar and mysterious paragraph that gets the reader hooked and keeps them engaged.
It’s All About the Details
The devil’s in the details, it’s true, especially when it comes to writing your college essay. The more details you mention about your personality or in the story you’re telling, the more memorable your essay will be. Don’t just mention how you love history and visiting museums, for example. Instead, go into detail about your favorite historical figure or historical artifact and how it makes you feel or how you relate to it personally. Just make sure you don’t get too lost in the details that you miss the main point.
Don’t Forget to Proofread
Once you’ve finished writing the essay, don’t be too relieved it’s over because there should still be several stages of proofreading. You’ll need to run it through a spellchecker to make sure there aren’t mistakes, and it’s advised you only read it after a few days of finishing it to be able to spot any mistakes easily. Your editing and proofreading, however, is not enough because sometimes words don’t make it into writing the way we planned it in our head. You’ll need fresh eyes to proofread it like a friend, teacher, or parent.
There you have it! This is basically what you need to look out for when you write an essay for your college application. The most important thing is to give yourself enough time before the deadline by starting early. Even if it’s just planning and brainstorming ideas that you will outline later, it will save you a lot of time. Remember to just be yourself and be confident that it will be enough to be accepted.