To Write An Extraordinary College Essay, Tell An Ordinary Story

To Write An Extraordinary College Essay, Tell An “Ordinary” Story so, just keep repeating to yourself that knowledge is power and most of the time the truth really hurts. Admissions officers have to read an unbelievable number of college essays, most of which are forgettable. Many students try to sound smart rather than sounding like themselves. Others write about a subject that they don't care about, but that they think will impress admissions officers. It is okay for a parent to review a child’s essay; it is not okay for a parent to take over a child’s essay, tell her what words to use, what story to write, what message to send. It is fine to break out of the 5 paragraph mold for a college essay, and it needs to tell about the applicant. The college essay often frightens students because they think it has to be about some extraordinary event and they may not have something momentous to write aboutâ€"that is OK. Actually, the best college essays I have read have been about mundane, everyday life. So the primary purpose of the college essay is to provide an opportunity to tell your whole story. With upwards of 25 or more essays to write for a balanced college list of schools, it’s tempting for students to repurpose essays across applications if the prompts are similar. While students can use the same main essay on the Common App for multiple schools, we always recommend that students tailor their supplemental essays to the individual colleges. When parents get too involved, the stories do not sound genuine. When a parent gets too involved, the story does not sound like an essay written by a 17-year-old student. We can tell when the student’s voice is missing; the colleges can tell too. English teachers have the best intentions when helping students with college essays, but they don’t always understand that a great English essay does not always make a great college essay. the chapter that describes a fictious late night conversation between two admissions officers will make your skin crawl. if admissions people are so burned out and bored with reading applications with less than brilliant essays then i suggest they find another line of work. however, the book is well written, humorous at times and filled with absolutely essential information for kids trying to get into competitive colleges. If you would not want to see the work you are submitting published there in such a public way, then it is probably not in an acceptable form to submit for your application. It also depends on the school as to how many people will read an application essay. It is always best however, to ask each school this very question and to understand exactly what they are looking for from the applicant in their answer. I always tell students that they should be writing and essay that is to be published in the New York Times. What made them great is that the students showed who they were through their writing. It really depends on the schools to which you are applying. These tend to be smaller liberal arts schools or small selective programs within a larger university. Other schools may only read an essay if there is some question/s about the other parts of the application or there is a scholarship component and the answer to the essay has influence over that decision. It’s a lot of work, but it will pay off in the end. The college application essays are often the college application component where students experience the most stress, and the element where they’re more likely to make mistakes. this book will tell you everything you need to know, in very direct language, about what you need to do to write a good essay on an application to a competitive college. the problem is that the author will leave you infuriated at what a sleaze bag, crap shoot the whole college admisssions process has become. Telling Caltech why you want to attend MIT is a quick way to end up in the “no” pile. Take the time to write original responses to all the prompts. College admissions officers tell us time and again that too many essays come to them sanitized. They want to read a genuine story written by the child in the child’s words and the child’s voice.