How to Write an Outstanding Admissions Essay
An admissions essay is a document that you are going to present to your college admissions committee in order to prove that you are worthy of attending their institution. It should contain information about your achievements, interests, personality, ambitions and plans for the future.
Step 1- Plan Your Admissions Essay
This is the most important and time-consuming part. You must plan your essay and break it down into separate portions. These separate portions should be able to stand alone so that you can move them around your essay when you are finished.
For example you may have six paragraphs of your interests, which can be broken into two stand-alone parts. You could then insert one of those parts after an overly long section on your ambitions, to balance your paper.
Step 2 - Soak Your Essay With Proof That You Enjoy The Subjects You Have Chosen
Do it with finesse, for example if you are applying to take up human biology then tell them that you enjoy your hobby of electronics and model building because you like to know “how things work.” Or how you volunteered at a hospital because the medical side “interested” you.
Litter your essay with clues that you enjoy your subject. Do not be too brash with your indications that you like the subject because the admin officers will think that you are insincere.
You may say that you like the subject, but don’t say that you volunteered with the hospital because you like human biology, and you play with electronics because it reminds you of how a human body works, etc.
Step 3 - Speak About Them With Grandeur
When you mention wanting to attend their institution you should write with grandeur when referencing them.
They don’t use old teaching techniques, they give you time honored learning skills; their halls are not dilapidated, they are quaint olde-world; you are not joining their school, you are attending their esteemed institution.
Don’t forget that vanity and pride are the sins of all whom hold power.
Step 4 - Include Nothing Negative, Unless it is extremely counterbalanced with positive
Even if you feel that you need to explain a mis-deed in your past, do not! Explain your past if they ask.
If you include anything negative then make sure it is extremely counterbalanced, such as how you lost a foot….whilst saving a small child from a bear.
Step 5 - As You Do Each Section of Your Admissions Essay, You Must Label It
Label each portion with names such as “hobby”, “interest”, “personality”, etc. These labels will be removed when you do your final proof read, but if you put them in then it is easier to re-structure your essay later.
Step 6 - Follow your plan and make sure you essay is topically balanced
You may do a chunk on your personality, a chunk on your ambitions if you like, but it makes for pretty boring reading. Instead you should balance your topics so that they relate.
For example, I have this ambition + which I enjoy because of this pastime + which I enjoy because I have the right temperament (ambition + interest + personality). Or, I enjoy this so much + that I took up that in my spare time + which is why I plan to do this with my future (Academic work + hobby + ambition).
Step 7 - Proofread, restructure and edit as needed
This is the part when your cut and paste parts of your essay so that it flows (even thought many of the parts could stand-alone). Once you are happy with it you must remove any labels and notes and have a final read through.
If you find yourself skim reading a section (half a paragraph for example), it means that may be boring, and you should check to see if it needs changing.
Step 8 - Hand it in
And wait for them to frantically dial your number and beg to join their institution.
This is a guest post by a Scholaradvisor.com writer.
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