Wednesday, August 5, 2020

College Essay Mistakes

College Essay Mistakes Some parents should not even read their kid’s essays as they want to change too many elements that make the essays lose their unique adolescent voice. I know this is the touchiest of topics, but I always beg parents to believe in their child. And then they are pleasantly surprised when admissions officers write acceptance letters with personal notes about their child’s fabulous essays. I have seen too many essays where parents “helped” and as result, the essay lost the student’s voice. An admission essay is a kind of essay that contains student’s personal statements and his or her vision of an exact college. It includes student’s purposes, reasons to enter the college, achievements they aspire to fulfill there, etc. The task of this essay is to show motivation and inspiration of a student who is applying for a course and persuade the authority of an institution that they will be worthy students. Usually the topics are the same, but motivation speech differs. No matter how well you write your first draft, there's probably room for improvement. Use your own voice and your own stories to illustrate why you would be an asset to the school. Don't fall into the trap of sanitizing your speech and your opinions for risk of offending an admissions officer. Although you do need to use proper spelling and grammar, your college essay is a perfect place for creative metaphors, witty turns of phrase and humor. Writing the college essay takes time and effort, and you should feel accomplished. When you submit your essay, remember to include your name, contact information, and ID number if your college provided one, especially if you send it to a general admission email account. Nothing is worse than trying to match an application essay with no name (or, worse, an email address such as ) to a file. Make sure to keep copies of what you sent to which schools and whenâ€"and follow up on them! Be certain the college or university you're applying to received your essay. You don’t want all that hard work to go to waste. Parents can help their child brainstorm topics, encourage them to write multiple drafts, and help him or her meet deadlines. After your initial draft is complete, let it sit for at least a day. With some space between yourself and your initial writing, you'll be able to view your essay objectively and have better luck finding the flaws. After polishing it up, let it sit again and give it another coat of polish before showing it to your proofreaders. The best college admission essays go through several drafts before they're finished, so don't be afraid to rewrite your essay as many times as needed. Unlike the rest of your application, which consists largely of objective facts like grades and test scores, your application essay allows you to truly showcase what makes you unique as a student and a person. Your college counselors are there to help, but they can’t if you don’t ask or wait until the last minute to seek guidance and feedback. Make a plan to meet with your college counselor and go over your college list and essays, and ask for feedback on your writing. Your college counselor can provide valuable insight into how to improve your college application essays, so seek feedback on your drafts as soon as possible. School-based counselors have a lot of students to advise and are very busy, so seek guidance early and often. As social media and technology begin to change the landscape of higher education, admissions officers are looking for new ways to get to know potential students. There is still no better way to introduce yourself than through an admission essay. Most times, an outline should not be based on the college admission essay format which will be discussed below. However, this format may vary depending on your university of choice or the course you intend to pursue, as will be explained below. Every year, the path to college is paved with more roadblocks. Increasing applications from the U.S. and abroad mean that universities across the country are rewarded with an even more elite pool of candidates. Impeccable grades and test scores alone are no longer enough to set students apart from the crowd. Too many words had been added that just did not reflect the student’s vocabulary or mode of writing. College admissions readers are bright and intuitive and can tell when an essay has been “helped” too much. I see no problem with parents doing a grammar/spelling check as well as offering suggestions on how an essay could be improved.

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