Every spring, aspirant college students find themselves facing the terrifyingly giant floating green wizard head that is the admissions essay. No matter their prowess with the written word, the prompts and proddings found in these essay assignments intimidate them because of the whole “dictating the course of their future” thing. While it’s easy to understand why the fear creeps in, teens need to know they don’t have to hammer these papers out in a vacuum. Although no game-changing checklist for guaranteed acceptance exists, a few universal tips do apply. Use these in conjunction with advice from higher ed professionals, teachers, counselors, and parents and ship off your admissions essay with pride.
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Spelling and grammar errors
You could be penning the most eloquent and thought-provoking essay this side of “A Modest Proposal,” but failing to properly adhere to spelling and grammar norms means all the admissions people will be reading, “Herp derp duhr derp de herp derp” instead. They almost always understand if English is not your first language or you have been diagnosed with a learning disability, of course, but if that isn’t the case you’d best proofread. A lot. And then get some trusted, sharp-eyed friends, family, or teachers to help out as well. Most schools aren’t going to read “creative” grammar and spelling as an avant-garde or postmodern commentary on the arbitrary nature of the written word. They’ll more than likely think your previous teachers did a lousy job.
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Sending it in late
Missing deadlines without a verifiable, justifiable explanation will completely compromise your chances of acceptance. Colleges and universities only possess so much time to process applications, so refusing to work within their temporal parameters shows a lack of respect for their needs. Not to mention leads them to think you’re not exactly a reliable sort. Despite stereotypes painting institutes of higher learning as nonstop partying (which they really aren’t), they do actually care about little things like responsibility and accountability. Be sure to mark the due date (and, if applicable, send-by date) on a calendar early in the application compilation process.
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Oversharing
By all means, be nothing but honest in your essay. However, self-discretion and editing are your besties here. Jettison anything that might hint towards irresponsibility or instability (yes, even if they taught you some of those valuable life-changing lessons admissions people love so much), because that might serve as a major warning sign. In some cases, such as those involving struggles with mental illness and addiction, this isn’t always the fairest perspective. Until society experiences a major overhaul and schools grow more comfortable giving equal chances to potential students with not-so-unicorns-and-rainbows pasts, play it safe. If nothing else, this gives you an opportunity to flaunt your creativity and find more innovative, straightforward, and effective writing solutions readers will appreciate.
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Going over the page or word limit
Respecting page or word limits carries the very same unspoken message as staying within deadlines – you understand the individual(s) on the other end of your application have a job to do and only so much time in which to complete it. Even if you happen to send in the next A Confederacy of Dunces, at best the school will merely ignore anything beyond the required one or two pages. At worst they might dismiss your application altogether for disobeying the rules. Don’t compromise your academic future over a few minutes of paring things down to acceptable lengths.
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Don’t flirt with controversy
Unless the prompt in question specifically courts touchy political, social, and economic topics, keep your essay strongly planted in the one-size-fits-all zone. Even schools with clear liberal or conservative inclinations might still have a population of “the other” mixed into their faculty and staff. And Murphy’s Law strikes anyone, anywhere, anytime. Much like essays for standardized tests, you never know if the reader on the other end disagrees or not — or how open they are to other perspectives. That high degree of subjectivity means, through no fault of your own, your chances could wind up borked. Wait until you get in before disclosing which divisive causes you embrace.
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Avoid cliches
Face it. By this point, your average college applicant probably doesn’t have the most original story to tell. Fret not, however! Admissions professionals know this, so a little bit of creativity and innovation within the given limits will not go unnoticed after round 9000 of, “And that was when I gathered together the inner strength to move on and become the man or woman I am today.” Think of fun ways to subvert expectations while still constructing a clear, compelling narrative.
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Too confident
Many — if not most — essay prompts, to some degree, request applicants to analyze their strengths as people and students alike. Understandable! As with dating, job interviews, and other wholly dehumanizing facets of human interaction, you must temper the confidence with a healthy amount of self-awareness and modesty lest you be labeled arrogant. Nobody likes a preening, self-centered narcissist, so take pains to present a well-balanced paper. However, do keep in mind that it’s also entirely possible to come off as …
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… too humble
Yup. For as much as you have to tone down your positive traits, so too must you also edit your writing to make sure self-deprecation doesn’t reign supreme. Otherwise, schools are going to question why they’d want such an obvious loser on campus. Striking the right note between egomaniac and sadsack sits among the greatest challenges for professional writers, so the inexperienced will certainly struggle. Ask teachers and counselors to look over your ideas before shipping them off for consideration; they’ll provide excellent, personalized pointers about how to come off as a healthily(!) self-assured individual.
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Sucking up
Colleges and universities know you want to attend classes there; otherwise, you wouldn’t bother spending the money and time required for the application process. So don’t devote much — if any — priceless essay real estate lauding them for the brilliance of their professors and the greenness of their quads. Your readers aren’t stupid; brown-nosing ploys probably aren’t going to work unless mommy and daddy bought the school a brand new auditorium. Sucking up only serves as a weak, insulting diversionary tactic. Yes, even in simple prompts asking you why you want to go. Likewise, don’t ruminate on what the school can do for you after enrollment. They’re quite aware of what they have to offer, thank you very much.
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Not lining it up with the rest of the application
Consistency between the necessary documents should be obvious before shipping off the application packet, but it sadly stands as incredibly simple to overlook. Sending the same essay to different schools saves time while simultaneously upping the risk of incongruence. If you must repeat yourself, proofread like a caffeinated Chihuahua to ensure everything lines up with everything else before applying. Negligence will make you seem unprofessional; not exactly the impression you want to give.
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