College Essay

College Essay He has been at St. Christopher's since 1990 and was previously an admissions officer, women's basketball coach and philosophy professor at the college level. Jim is a past president of the National Association for College Admission Counseling. We would expect a nursing applicant to have had academic training and extracurricular choices that support a desire to help others. A student who highlights their love of community service but has only one or two short-term service opportunities is probably not as committed as he or she wants to claim. I responding by suggesting that he call the dean of admissions at his first-choice college and ask him the same question. It’s meant to be a deeper dive into who you are beyond the numbers and accolades. As we mentioned earlier, you don’t know who is reading your essay or how they feel about these subjects. It’s best not to offend them or make them feel uncomfortable. Sometimes, applicants write about obstacles they’ve overcome or illicit/illegal topics including arrest, sexual experiences, drugs, and alcohol. This will also make it easier to cite your sources when writing your final essay. Once you have done your brainstorming and chosen your topic, you may need to do some research to write a good essay. Go to the library or search online for information about your topic. Interview people who might be experts in the subject. Choose the best topic idea from among your list and begin moving forward on writing your essay. Make sure that you are confident in your essay and accept feedback, but don’t allow others to change your essay in any way that will cause it to lose its original message. My preference (and admissions officers’) would be that parents are minimally involved in the essay. Believe me, those admissions officers are experienced and they can definitely spot the difference between a 50 year-old businessperson’s phraseology and a 17-year-old senior’s own voice and manner of expression. In most cases, your essay isn’t the factor that determines your admission to college. However, an offensive, off-putting, or forgettable essay can hurt your chances. His reluctance to do so showed that he already knew the answer. I hammered home the point that misrepresenting himself was wrong and an honor offense, and that colleges are interested in authenticity rather than heroism. In a few cases, these topics have been addressed effectively. But for the most part, it’s better to avoid subjects that could reflect poorly on your judgment and morals. After all, you don’t want colleges to think you’re someone they’d rather not have on campus. Your thesis statement is the main point of your essay. It is essentially one sentence that says what the essay is about. You should usually state your thesis in your introductory paragraph. Keep your research organized so it will be easy for you to refer back to. Another common area of concern is quotation marks. It's important to cite your sources with accuracy and clarity. Follow these guidelines on how to use quotes in essays and speeches. Start by writing the thesis statement at the top, and then write a topic sentence for each paragraph below that. This means you should know exactly what each of your paragraphs is going to be about before you write them. I told him that any college admissions officer would detect instantly that the story was not genuine. Editing for grammatical errors and spelling mistakes is fine, but don’t change the voice of the essay. If an essay is too “polished” it may seem inauthentic, creating confusion in the reader. By avoiding the topics listed above, you’ll ensure that your essay helps â€" instead of hurts â€" your chances of admission. Make sure that your essay is more than a recitation of the accomplishments, activities, and experiences already hashed out in the application. If your essay doesn’t present any new information, it will be dull and forgettable. If you really want to make an impression, let your personality shine through. The essay is supposed to reveal information that you haven’t had a chance to discuss elsewhere in the application.