Admission Essays Writing

Tips For Sure-Fire Admission Essays

There you are, perhaps finishing up high school and getting ready to apply to your favorite university, or maybe finishing up your bachelor's degree and preparing to apply to graduate school. You discover you are required to write an admission essay to go along with your application. No problem, right? After all, you've written dozens of essays during your scholastic career, and this isn't any different. Wrong. The admissions essay is likely to be the most important essay you will ever write, and you need to make sure it is a winner. Sometimes the only difference between you and another applicant with a similar GPA and standardized test scores are the words you write in your admission essay.

Before You Begin

Before you sit down to begin writing your essay, allow yourself a few days to reflect back on what you've done and accomplished throughout your entire life thus far. Really take time to think about this, and you'll be surprised by how much valuable material you will come up with. You can also consult with parents or any others you spent time with while growing up. Be sure to take notes on what you or anyone else remembers, and decide if it can be utilized within your essay.

Good Ideas

Allow Yourself Time: You don't want to be rushed when writing your essay. Remember, the admission essay is most likely the most important essay you are going to write. Therefore, it only makes sense to allow enough time to write the best essay possible.

Be Yourself: Admissions officers aren't just looking for the most spectacular of applicants. When they are selecting applicants from their essays they are actually trying to construct the most well-rounded and diverse class as possible. You will have a better chance at being part of a diverse class by being yourself.

Craft A Truthful and Accurate Essay: When you write your essay, no matter what the question prompt may be, always answer in a truthful manner. Don't write what you think the admissions officer wants to read, because it invariably shows through in your writing. Unless you happen to be a professional novelist, your true stories will be a more interesting read than something that is made up.

Editing Services: There are professional editing services available that can help you polish your essay and make it the best it can be. With the admissions process as competitive as it is, it can't hurt to consult with the people who make it their business to get you accepted.

Bad Ideas

Modifying Essay Examples: In today's Internet age, there are numerous essay examples available at the touch of a button. It may be tempting to download one of these, modify it slightly, and then hand it in as your own. This is a recipe for disaster. Admission officers know which essays are available on the Internet. After all, it is their job to be informed about what is out there.

Using A Previously Accepted Essay: You may consider it a good idea to simply copy the admission essay from someone who was successfully accepted into the school of your choice. Admission officers may read a large amount of essays, but they will be able to discern if two essays sound the same, even if from different entering classes.

Both of the above examples are forms of plagiarism. Plagiarism is the worst mistake you can make, bad on two levels. First, if your essay sounds like all the others, you aren't differentiating yourself from the crowd. That was the whole point of the admission essay to begin with! Second, admission officers take plagiarism very seriously and the consequences can be quite severe. You may end up being denied admission permanently.

Check the section on custom admission essays writing mistakes and advice on writing personal admission essays.