How to Write a Good College Application Essay

What is a College Application Essay?

A college application essay is often an important pre-requisite for getting admission in a college or at the University level. These days almost every major college requires a college application essay for admissions. Considering the magnitude of competition from the vast sea of applicants, it is imperative that students should have a basic idea of writing a good college application essay as the chances of getting admission in the colleges depend also on the college application essay. Hence, students should try to make their college application essays as better as possible to stand a better chance of securing their place in the admission process.

In the following article we will guide you through a process of writing a good college application essay. The following steps and points should be kept in mind while writing a good essay.

How to write a good college application essay – 5 things to consider

1. Keep the college application essay concise

This is an important aspect of the essay. Although there is no upper word limit for a college application essay, yet you should try to keep it no longer than 700-800 words. Even if you exceed this ‘threshold’ limit, try to keep your overall word limit to 1000 words at the most. This is because the admissions officer will be reading not only your college application essay but also various other essays from other applicants. Writing ‘too many’ words in the college application essay might invariably degrade and lessen the quality of your essay. So try not to exceed 1000 words and keep the word limit to around 700-800 words for the best impact. Remember, your aim should be to impress the admissions officer in as little words as possible. If the admissions officer finds your essay to be excessively lengthy and tedious, he or she will get bored and this can invariably lessen your chances of success in securing your admission to the college in a major way. So, being concise is one of the key aspects of writing a good college application essay.

2. Honesty in content

Often students tend to exaggerate things while writing their college application essays. They tend to canvass their essays in the hope that will impress the admission officer. However, doing this is not a wise thing at all, as sooner or later the truth will be out in the actual interview and that will undo all the good work you might have done so far. Try to be honest in your application. Even if your achievements had been small or meagre, highlight them but don’t use false information in your application, as that will cause trouble for you later on.

3. Proofread your college application essay

One of the keys to writing a good college application essay is that your essay should be free from grammatical and spelling mistakes. The spell checker in most of the word processors might be good at identifying spelling mistakes but you need to apply your mind and skills also to improve your grammar and syntax. Use of proper punctuation marks like semi-colon, commas, etc. should be used properly in the essay.

4. Coherence and focus

Focus and coherence of content is another important parameter for your college application essay. Even though you might want to talk about yourself and your ‘achievements’ in your essay, you should try to avoid talking about everything and should focus on only a few topics/matters. If you try to cover everything in your college application essay, you can easily deviate from your path/track and that would be again bad for your application. Try not to do too many things at the same time and be focused on a narrow range of topics. Remember, it’s a college application paper and not a ‘mini-encyclopaedia’. So stay focused on the main points you want to highlight and at the same time try to be coherent and clear in whatever you want to communicate.

5. Be bold in your approach

If you think you have some views on some matters then express it boldly, no matter how controversial it might be. College is a place where lots of people from different backgrounds discuss many things and you should also try to voice your opinion or concerns in a clear and free way. Many college applicants fail to raise the ante and their application looks dull and monotonous. If you have something unconventional, unique and original idea or thoughts, which you can express clearly, then go for it even if it might be somewhat controversial to others. This will make your application stand out from others and will help in impressing the admissions officer.

If you follow the above steps, you will be in a better position to write a good college application essay for your academic career. 

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