How Important Is The College Essay?

How Important Is The College Essay? It’s impossible to write an article covering every possible essay prompt you could encounter in the college application process. Ah, college application essays â€" the necessary evil of college-bound high school seniors everywhere. When you’re responding to the “Why Us” prompt, you’re telling them exactly how an education there will shape your intellectual and professional journey. This essay isn’t just about the college; it’s about you, too. A good college essay is one that stays with the reader after he or she finishes reading it, maybe even thinking about it later that day, or the next day. When possible, select a topic that engages you and is one you are interested in addressing. If you don't plan on using the Common App, these prompts can still offer insight into a topic you'll likely be writing on for your school of choice. So whether you’re seeking flexibility in your college admission essay or you’re just doing a little preliminary research on likely essay prompts, the Common App is a good place to start. Many selective colleges and universities have their own essay prompts. Other colleges may simply offer you free writing space to provide a personal statement. When you apply to Babson, you’ll be required to submit two essaysâ€"a Personal Statement and a Writing Supplement. Some of the most frequent questions about the application process we get from students are about the essays. While you are always welcome to contact us with these questions, we provided some tips to get you started. Free writing, ideally done with pen and paper instead of on the computer, is an exercise in opening the creative mind and letting ideas flow. It is also well written and grammatically correct. I hope that after reading this post you feel a bit more confident in your ability to write your college admissions essay. It may feel scary and impossible, but with right approach , you can write an essay that showcases your unique personality and impresses admissions officers. Vagueness isn’t a problem unique to admissions essays. It’s something all writers struggle with â€" including myself; I struggled with it while writing this very article. Feel free to start out by painting a vibrant picture of yourself too! Many college admissions counselors have said that the more unique your essay â€" the content and writing style â€" the more captivating it is to read. College admissions committees are looking to build a student body that will contribute to and sustain the community. They want to attract students and eventual alumni who are innovators and creators, and they want to have a hand in shaping those minds. It is important that your voice comes through and that the reader feels he or she has had an opportunity to experience a more personal facet of your character and your unique perspective. Avoid cliches at all cost and never write what you think someone wants to hear. When you are finished with the essay, read it out loud and carefully listen to the content, grammar, and pay attention to spelling or word glitches. A great college essay is an essay that is interesting, pithy and well written. Knowing this, you will be more relaxed and inspired as you write. Whether you’re prompted to write about a formative experience, why you think you’d be a good fit for the university or about a person who has influenced you greatly, answer the question honestly. Don’t just write what you think the admissions office wants to hear. Very often they are inundated with essays that cater to “what they want to hear,” making such essays exactly what they don’t want to hear. See how the first relays information in apassivevoice, while the second paints anactivepicture? However, the Common Application is perhaps the best starting point for anticipating likely college essay prompts. Finally, submit your college essay, along with any other application materials, well before the submission deadline. This shows colleges that you're serious about developing your future potential with their institution. Practicing your writing skills in advance can help you prepare for college essays. Reading your essays gives us insight into how you define yourself and how you will define yourself as a member of the Babson community. You want both to keep the reader’s attention and to make the reader want you to be a member of the next freshman class at the reader’s college. This is your chance to make your application stand out and your one opportunity to have a real voice appear in the file. Tell the reader something about yourself that might not be included in the rest of the application. A great college essay is one in which the student’s voice and though process comes through clearly. It should be consistent with the rest of the application and showcase an aspect of the student not highlighted in the rest of the application. If you’ve just finished your junior year of high school, then these may very well be in your near future. The team at Marks Education was very helpful to my college application process.