In most cases, having an efficient essay is very crucial when applying to a college and getting accepted. However, many students tend to struggle when it comes to writing their essays.
A college essay determines whether a school thinks someone will be a good fit in their community, which means they have high expectations.
“A college essay is important because it gives you one more chance to demonstrate who you are as a student and a prospective student for that university,” said Emily Hancock, University of Indianapolis college admissions counselor.
There are many mistakes one may make when writing a college essay, one of these being telling stories about themselves that aren’t necessarily doing them much good.
In their essays, students may make themselves out to be not a good person, meaning that they are being irresponsible and making themselves out to not be a good fit in the community. Instead of this, applicants should highlight their positive qualities rather than negative ones.
“When you are thinking about what story you want to tell, you want to show yourself in the best possible light,” Hancock said. “So whatever story you choose to share, you want to write it in a way that makes you the hero of the story.”
However, when writing a college essay, there are a plethora of things that a college admissions counselor looks for.
One thing that they look for are characteristics that don’t tend to show up on a resume. They look for qualities and components that someone may not know about. For example, a good essay could include giving them stories about lessons that a person learned from an experience.
“One of the things that I think would strengthen them is if you can show them a time when you weren’t so awesome, and how you overcame that and learned something from the experience,” English teacher Julie Breeden said.
Another thing that college admissions counselors look for is that there are no mechanical errors such as grammatical or spelling mistakes.
One way to make sure that there are no errors in an essay is to have someone read over it. This could be anyone, ranging from family, friends and teachers.
“First and foremost, we look for good spelling and grammar,” Hancock said. “If there are spelling and grammar issues, I think it is an immediate detraction from the skills that they have academically or otherwise.”
One final thing that college admissions counselors look for is that someone is conveying exactly what the counselors may want to know clearly.
Explaining exactly what the admissions counselor needs to know helps get the point across of what someone is trying to say without saying too much or too little.
“They want to make sure that you are able to deliver what you want them to know clearly,” business teacher Ashley Quinlin said. “If they have to read it and it’s not following along, or they can’t tell what the idea (is) that you are trying to get across, that is not good.”
Once again, a good college essay leaves a lasting impression on whatever college or university someone is applying to. Since it’s such a key component of being accepted into college, applicants should make sure that they tell relevant stories about themselves, proofread and get straight to the point in their essay.
