3 Common College Essay Mistakes To Avoid

3 Common College Essay Mistakes To Avoid At the end, you'll have a unique essay that you'll proudly submit to your top choice colleges. Want to write the perfect college application essay? If our thesis was that cell phones should NOT be controlled in college, we would explain the dangers of not having access to cell phones. During your scholarship applications, you may need to submit a 500-word essay answering a specific question. The theme of the essay can range from personal achievements to political controversies. This means you can adjust your writing style to fit the message of the prompt. The college essay has to grab the attention of an admission’s reader. It is imperative, then, that the introduction to the college essay capture the reader’s attention and make the reader want to read more. Warn students not to write about high-minded topics or exotic locales simply to impress the reader. If you really can't find any length guidelines anywhere on the admissions website and you're at a loss, I advise calling the admissions office. They may not be able to give you an exact number (in fact, they probably won't), but they will probably at least be able to tell you how long most of the essays they see are. Admissions officers tell us they read every essay. The number of reviewers reading the essays vary from school to school. Yes, every college essay is read if the college has asked for it . The number of readers depends on the college’s review process. It will be anywhere from one reader to four readers. Or, they capture a several-line conclusion in one pithy, well-worded phrase or sentence. Or, maybe they end with a simple, clean truth written from the heart. Do not be just another of thousands of applicants that do not make an impression. If you are reading a newspaper article, the writer fades behind the facts and you know nothing about the writer except that s/he can collect, organize, and present the facts that you need to now. You want the admissions reader to say, “Ah, this is a real person writing to me. Colleges would be irresponsible to offer you a place in their program if you do not have the basic skills needed to succeed. In the same way, you should end your college essay with something that not only summarizes the most important aspects of you but that is also memorable. Memorable endings are poignant, making the reader feel an emotion. Your essays are necessarily a reflection of your mind, and the admissions officers want to know that you have the “soft skills” to excel in their program. At any point in time during your college education, you’ll probably have one or more papers to write for your classes. The most important role of the essay is to give admissions committees a sense of your personality and what kind of addition you'd be to their school's community. These kinds of qualities will have a profound impact on your college experience, but they're hard to determine based on a high school transcript. Depending on how it is that you write, you may use this list in one of two ways. This is something you are familiar with from high school writing. You don’t want to write an entire essay only to find out you were completely off topic. Notice how our conclusion was definitive but optimistic. We explain that colleges need to adapt their rules to fit the needs of their students. Yet still, confirm that cell phone use policies should be enforced. The majority of college applicants are high school seniors, and most of the college application advice out there is aimed at them. But what do you do if you don't fall into this narrow category? Your dedicated PrepScholar Admissions counselor will craft your perfect college essay, from the ground up. We'll learn your background and interests, brainstorm essay topics, and walk you through the essay drafting process, step-by-step. This guide will explain how to write a 500-word scholarship essay. Join thousands of students & parents learning about finding the right college, admissions secrets, scholarships, financial aid, and more.