First impressions matter greatly, especially when admission committees and officials have to go through thousands of college essays. You need to have an intro that catches their eyes and gets them invested in your essay. Starting an essay is the hardest part. Open your essay with a statement or a dialogue that will make an impression and get them to read your essay thoroughly and with interest.
Address The Prompt And Don’t Stray
Read the instructions and the prompts thoroughly. The prompts and questions the colleges provide are designed to get the most relevant information out of you that they require. If you don’t address the provided prompt directly, the officials are more than likely to disregard your application completely.
Read the prompt multiple times and understand it completely. Make sure there are no hidden details in the prompt and that you touch on every subject and topic required.
Use Your Voice
Don’t copy and base your essay on the clichés and other essays you see. Colleges want to know you personally. Don’t use cliché phrases and ideas that every other applicant will also be using. Make your essay as authentic and genuine to yourself as possible.
Your essay should reflect your beliefs and personality. It should show off your skills and knowledge while showing the admission officials how their college can lead you to the success you want to achieve. If you read your essay back and it doesn’t sound like you, something is wrong, and you need to fix it!
Get Feedback
Don’t just submit the first draft you create. Show your draft to your friends, your family, and your teachers. Ask for their feedback on it and make the required changes. Ask them if the essay makes sense.
Ask them if there is something more you should add or if you have missed something. If you know anyone who was accepted into the same college you are applying to, make sure to ask for their feedback too.
Revise And Proofread
Once you are done, revise it and proofread it multiple times. While minor spelling or grammar mistakes shouldn’t cause you to get denied, they certainly won’t help you get accepted. Read your essay carefully multiple times. A good trick is reading it aloud. Hearing your essay instead of reading it will help you identify anything that doesn’t sound right.
