Writing Tips

Writing Tips
Four Tips for a Great Essay
College admission and scholarship application essay prompts might make you feel like a contestant in some nightmarish pageant. "In 250 words or less, describe yourself, your future goals, and your plans to achieve world peace." Why do college admissions departments and scholarship foundations even require an essay? After all, they have your grades, test scores, and letters of recommendation from teachers. Why make it more complicated?
Admissions and scholarship officers recognize that grades and scores do not always tell the whole story. They want a balanced picture of you. Aside from an interview, the essay is the only personal part of your application.
Consider these four tips before you put pen to paper (or fingers to keyboard) to create an essay that makes a great first impression.

Remember your reader. Neither friend nor foe, admissions officers and scholarship coordinators would like to get to know you better, but they have little time to muddle through convoluted writing. They must read hundreds, or even thousands of essays. Many applicants will have high GPA's and SAT scores, volunteer in a local organization, or be the president of a club or captain of a sports team. Admissions officers are looking for something, anything, to distinguish your essay from the pile. You need to grab your reader's attention and hold it. But how?

Write what only YOU can write. Your essay should sound like you. If it were read aloud among thousands, your best friend or mom could say, "That's Joe's essay!" Admissions and scholarship officers recognize that grades and scores do not tell the whole story. Your essay should not be merely a writing sample or laundry list of your achievements , but a small slice of YOU. How do you accomplish this?

Show, don't tell. Be specific, using vivid details to paint a picture for the reader. Instead of writing, "I led my soccer team to a state championship," describe the winning game, including the sights, sounds, and sweat. Avoid passive verbs like "I am," or "I was" and use powerful, active language to convey your ideas.

Use a fresh set of eyes. Ask a friend, parent, guidance counselor, boss, someone else to read your essay before submitting it, and not only to check for the usual suspects like spelling and punctuation errors. Ask, "Does this sound like me? Is it interesting?"

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Q&A with an Assistant Director of Admissions
My friend, "Sarah," asked that her name and school not be specified. However I can say that she is the Assistant Director of Admissions at a large, ultra-competitive state university. I interviewed her in Fall 2008 regarding the importance of essays in admissions decisions.
This is a busy time of year for you, isn't it?
Yes! November 1st was our official deadline, although we do continue to accept applications through March which we review on a space-available basis. Last year we didn't have much space available!
How many applications do you anticipate?
Last year we received about 28,000 applicants and admitted 10,000. Of that, around 6,600 students actually entered the freshmen class.
What role does the personal statement or essay play in your evaluation of applications? How important is it, really?
I'd say the essay plays a VERY important role. In our admissions office, at least two officers read every essay, in some cases three. We also read them blindly, meaning apart from the academic profile portion.
What does the process for reading essays entail?
We evaluate essays based on content, and our main goal is to learn about the student. So many times we get essays which are technically well-written, but may not tell us anything about the student.
What kinds of things are you trying to learn?
We're looking for a student who will come to the campus and contribute something special. I guess it's a certain level of maturity. I tell students to think of the essay as their interview. This is truly the part of their application they have the most control over. At this point, the students' grades are in — they can't change those. But they can write a strong essay, which may be the tipping point for admission.
What makes a strong essay?
Every once in a while I read an essay that makes me stop and say, "Wow!" Maybe the student has done something out of the ordinary, lived overseas, or had to overcome a big obstacle. Mainly strong essays discuss what the student feels he/she may bring to the tables which others will not.
What should students avoid in their essays?
We get a lot of: "I really want to attend this school. I've been wearing the school colors since I was a baby!" That doesn't tell me much about the student as an individual. I can also tell when a student is just telling me what they think I want to hear.
Any final words of advice you'd like to offer?
Be descriptive! Avoid "I am...I am...I am..." statements. Tell us about yourself and what you hope to achieve and contribute to our school! Oh, and have someone proofread your essay. We can always tell the ones who didn't...
Thanks so much for your time and words of advice.
Thank you.