The College Essay Timeline

The College Essay Timeline Even if you’re only applying to a couple schools that you know you can get into, it will still serve you well to write a compelling admissions essay. Standing out from everyone else could put you in the running for additional scholarships and will also simply make a good impression, which never hurts. So treat a college application essay as a tool for standing out in ways the robots can’t. It’s a lot like the cover letter you write when applying for a job â€" it’s your chance to reveal the person behind the accomplishments and statistics. Admissions writing truly requires a new set of skills which most high school applicants don’t frequently get to practice or cultivate. Do write in your own language and remember to show rather than tell. My College Options ® is an online college planning program that connects millions of high school students with colleges and universities. The college application essay is no cause for panic. There’s no winning formula and no “correct” way of writing. Admissions committees simply want to get a better understanding of each candidate. We serve students who have not yet begun the college application process, students who may already have a draft they want to polish, and students who are anywhere in-between. Keith Berman is the President of Options for College (), which he founded in Harvard Square right after working in the Harvard Admissions Office. He has appeared on MSNBC, CNBC, CNN, PBS, Fox Business and Lifetime. The college essay is a page-long assignment given to you by a school, to be completed by a certain date. DO NOT PROCRASTINATE. Look, we all procrastinate. But please, please, please do not not procrastinate on your admissions essay. Everything I’ve covered in this article matters only if you give yourself enough time. However, avoiding some of these pitfalls will help you as you refine your CommonApp, supplemental and scholarship essays. Your admissions essay must be fundamentally reader-friendly. It should not read like a dense PhD dissertation OR an informal e-mail to your best friend; it should strike a balance between the two. Over 70 percent of students choose just three of the seven Common Application prompts . That is because three of them work well if you write your essay first and pick the prompt second. And with a little sincerity, self-reflection and hard work, you’ll deliver what they’re looking for. Your transcript already alerts people to the fact that you excelled in American history or that you nailed your SAT scores. There’s no need to mention either again; it won’t make the achievement seem more impressive if you elaborate. Your college essay gives you the chance to talk about your best assets. While your essay should convey your best qualities, you want to avoid bragging too much. If you write about an activity or an experience, focus not on how good you are or what you have accomplished, but instead on what the experience/activity means to you. Admissions officers read thousands of essays every year. Yours doesn’t have to be the most creative; it just has to be a good read. You may have a beautifully crafted essay or a wonderful story to tell, but if you don’t take the time to proofread, your essay may be overlooked and end up in the rejection pile. Careful proofreading shows the reader you care and you aren’t sloppy. Before you send your essay to colleges, have someone you trust read it and provide feedback. Usually, your English teacher will be happy to take a look. If you start the day before the application is due, all I can say is good luck. For the most part, it’s unlikely that you’ve experienced anything extremely uncommon in the relatively short amount of time you’ve been a human. Most high school students lead lives that don’t deviate too far from the norm â€" except that one quiet guy in your class who sits next to the window near the back. He’s almost certainly either a genius mech pilot or the subject of some prophecy in an alternate dimension that he’ll be transported to. After the session, students will receive an evaluation and comments. Prices are a flat consulting fee based on the number of essays , so there is no limit to drafts or time spent communicating while working together. Track deadlines to keep students throughout all essay drafts and applications.