College Essay Mistakes

College Essay Mistakes Admissions officers have to read an unbelievable number of college essays, most of which are forgettable. Many students try to sound smart rather than sounding like themselves. So if a school requires an essay it is VERY likely to be read. If a school has a writing section in their supplement to the Common Application you can rest assured that ALL of that writing is evaluated by admissions officers. Do your best and assume that it WILL be read and that it WILL have a bearing on your admission chances. There is no way to determine a typical scenario regarding a college’s method for reviewing applications. In all cases at least one admissions officer will look at your essay. Others write about a subject that they don't care about, but that they think will impress admissions officers. The thing is, college writing differs drastically from what you've been doing in school. It is apparently more complex and, subsequently, requires more time. Rare students manage to survive freshmen year without help with essay writing by someone experienced from the sidelines. The tricky part is that not always peers and relatives have the necessary expertise. Prompt’s web application is now available to high schools who want to improve their students’ college essays and is currently used by districts such as the New York City Department of Education. If you were to take bets on the percentage of essays read by college admissions personnel, I’d guess that it would be in the high 90’s. An essay is an important part of sharing who you are with a school. With increased competition for admission, the essay has become an important factor in consideration of your admissibility to a school. Prompt’s team of essay experts has reviewed and provided feedback on tens of thousands of college essays. Prompt’s hundreds of Essay Specialists support thousands of students each year with feedback on their college essays, having helped students get into every top-50 university and earn millions in scholarships. That's when you can think back about guys who supported you during the admissions process. It’s December, the height of college application season, and students across Massachusetts are hunched over their desks, putting the finishing touches on their college application essay. Or at least that was the case when students were still writing their own essays, which, increasingly, they aren’t. Andrew Belasco, the CEO of College Transitions, an Atlanta-based admissions consulting firm, says that college essays about mental health issues can impress admissions officers. The college essay often frightens students because they think it has to be about some extraordinary event and they may not have something momentous to write aboutâ€"that is OK. Actually, the best college essays I have read have been about mundane, everyday life. What made them great is that the students showed who they were through their writing. The best essays are the ones that provide real insight into who you are and how you think. If a school uses an admissions committee the number could jump to three or more. In any case, what YOU can control is how well your essay describes who you are and gives the admissions person a chance to see things in you that will be an asset to the school. College admissions officers are very busy and only want to read essays that help them make admissions decisions. Some colleges have a team of people read each file. Others divide them up, and then only share files that require further discussion. Your essay should definitely provide perspective on you that augments what is found in the rest of your application….perhaps highlighting an area of passion for you that may not otherwise be obvious. The essays that read best are the ones written authentically, and from the heart. There is not one way that all colleges work, so I always tell students to assume everyone in the admissions office could their essays so that they cannot write anything that anyone and everyone cannot read. Also I believe that students should believe that the more people who read an essay the better as these essays should really captivate and engage readers and help them see why you belong on their campus. Students who have struggled with mental health may be able to powerfully convey in their essay how their battle has made them a more sensitive, thoughtful and resilient person. It is incredibly easy for an admissions offer to see if a student is answering the prompt truthfully or simply writing what the student thinks the admissions officer wants to hear. This is the one true opportunity to paint a picture of who the student really is and what kind of person they might be on campus if accepted to the university.