All students have to go through the dreadful process of applying to colleges. It’s a stressful yet crucial period in young people’s lives. It takes a lot of time and energy to complete all the stages of the admission process. One of which is writing an admission essay. Now, students often struggle with academic writing in general. It takes strong writing and editing skills to complete a decent paper. Yet, admission essay writing is a whole different thing.
One should know how to show themselves at their best while also praising the school they are applying to – all within a thousand words. It’s a challenge, to say the least. However, there is a way. Here is how to write a stunning admission essay with little stress and high chances of success.
Start early
The number rule of writing an admission essay is the early start. Don’t wait till the week before a deadline to start working on your paper. Such an approach (or lack of it, to be precise) will only bring chaos and stress into your life for a whole week. Better start early and work your way up to a perfect essay within several weeks or months. This way, you can create several versions, edit them as much as you like and give them to your mentors and parents for their opinions.
Overall, an early start will give you the upper hand in planning your college applications and dealing with all the pressure that comes with it. Besides, you will have more free time during your exam sessions, as you have one less thing to worry about.
Make several drafts
Experiment with your writing. Try several different approaches and make many drafts. Don’t stick to the most formal and traditional writing styles. See what else you can bring to the table. For example, try different hooks in your introduction. A hook can set a tone for the entire paper. Thus, you will end up with several different hooks. You may add humor or personal stories to the text for better effect.
In general, try different things to see what works best. It’s especially important to try when you feel stuck or uninspired to write an essay. After all, it can be a life-changing event in your life. And it starts with the paper. Of course, you can always pay for an essay whenever you need help. It’s also a common practice among students. Professional writing services can help you create an outline, make drafts, give directions, or edit your text. Moreover, you can cooperate with them to create a perfect essay to your liking.
Show your personality
Can you imagine how many admission letters each school receives every year? It’s a lot. Most of those letters are even fully read. Do you know why? Those essays all look like one to admission boards. They lack personality. Showing your individuality in a letter like this is the whole point of writing one. Hence, students fail to stay personal in their admission essays and, so, risk being forgotten in the middle of the read.
Of course, it’s a hard thing to nail for young people. First, they are all thought to avoid any personal opinions in academic writing. So, the need to use personal pronouns is a sudden change in writing habits.
Secondly, writing about one’s accomplishments or about oneself, in general, can look like bragging and seem uncomfortable. It’s not exactly true in this case. Admission boards expect to learn more about you, your achievements, and your ambitions.
Lastly, young people don’t tend to reflect on their individualities and actions. In fact, many feel somewhat self-conscious about doing, especially when it comes to writing to a whole bunch of strangers about themselves.
However, this fear will only prevent you from a perfect essay. It won’t help you get into the college of your dreams and live the life you want. So, it’s important to reflect on how you can personalize the letter. Find your voice. Be honest, and feel free to show who you are. However, keep the formal tone and remain professional.
Avoid cliches
No matter what you do, do not use any cliches in your text. You know what we are talking about. These are all the common, impersonal, boring phrases that are widely spread in such writing. Of course, admission boards have seen those cliches a million times, and they are not fans of seeing them again. So, do your best to minimize lazy writing and use your own words to describe your ambitions, excitements, skills, and so on.
Show your knowledge of the school
Lastly, always include some information about the school you are applying to. Students should show that they treat each admission letter personally and with respect. Thus, you have to reflect on the qualities they value or programs they are most proud of. Overall, show that you don’t just copy-paste an admission letter to several schools at once. Convince the readers of your devotion and inspiration to study in the given school. They should feel great about accepting you as they are fulfilling your dream. Make sure to show it to the board.
