Seniors: What You Need to Know About Application Essays
Nothing causes more anxiety among applicants to top-tier colleges than the prospect of writing essays. Anxiety may arise from doubts about being up to the task as a writer, especially if you’re a prospective STEM major, or you may be intimidated by the sheer number of different essays that you’ll need to write.
Questions arise such as, “What are admissions officers looking for in essays?”, “How will my essays be evaluated?”, and, “How should I begin the essay-writing process?”.
You should ponder these and other questions now to confront and remedy concerns before the application season begins in earnest.
You should understand that admissions officers (AO’s) are looking for reasons to accept you, not reject you. They’re mainly trying to learn more about you as an individual through your essays. Of course, they also wish to see proof of your writing skills, intellectual power, and passion for learning. However, their primary interest is your unique personal characteristics. With this information, AO’s seek to determine if you’ll be a good fit within their student body. If you can demonstrate how you’ll contribute to the lifeblood of the institution, your essay will be looked upon favorably.
Essays are evaluated in a number of different ways. AO’s will consider how well you write. Your writing ability will be analyzed based on your persuasiveness, thoughtfulness, and the structure of your submissions. On a deeper level, your essays will be evaluated based on what they reveal about you — your maturity, character, personality, and goals.
What constitutes the basis of a great college essay? An essay that evokes your passions will impress an AO if it exhibits good writing skills and relates a bit of who you are. Try to demonstrate your intellectual capability and desire to learn in your essay, but if you’re writing about a topic that doesn’t permit such digressions, there’ll be other opportunities to reveal these traits elsewhere.
It’s vital that you tell a story and convey authenticity. Don’t write something because you think it’s what an AO wants to see. Often, students envision AO’s as middle-aged careerists, so they write to please that type of an audience. The great majority of AO’s are recent graduates and are only a few years older than you.
Your college essays can often be instrumental in your acceptance by a top-tier institution. What separates one student with a 4.4 GPA and a 1500 SAT score from another? The answer is nothing objective. Only a subjective assessment of the two applicants by AO’s can make a difference. The best way to show that you’ll contribute to the school and enhance its diverse student body is to write compelling essays and personal statements. If you can make a visceral connection with the person reviewing your application — the AO — you’ll have a big advantage over your peers.
Crafting essays can be a daunting process. You may soon realize that you need help. IvySelect provides the top-notch assistance you require to stand out.
IvySelect college admissions consultants are experts at assisting high-ability students craft essays that are instrumental in the application process to Ivy League and other elite institutions. We invite you to contact us to learn how we can help you maximize your competitive stature through our comprehensive, one-to-one essay-writing program.
