How To Write A Winning College Application Essay

How To Write A Winning College Application Essay You have the space tell us what you’re thinking about and how you’re thinking about it. Perfectionâ€"in college admission and in lifeâ€"is often overvalued. What will distinguish your writing and your application is your unique voice. Be willing to take risks, be vulnerable and share your truth. The readers will appreciate the opportunity to learn more about you, and you will get to know yourself better as well. Jodi Then is the High School Counselor at Boston Green Academy. Before joining BGA, Ms. Then spent 15 years working at a non-profit organization that specialized in college access and financial aid. If you seem genuinely passionate about the college, then they can assume you’re more likely to matriculate if offered a spot in the freshman class. College admissions committees are looking to build a student body that will contribute to and sustain the community. They want to attract students and eventual alumni who are innovators and creators, and they want to have a hand in shaping those minds. It’s okay if you haven’t won the Nobel Peace Prize. Or built a school brick by brick, with your bare hands. We read essays about the most mundane things - solving a crossword puzzle, taking a walk with a sibling, collecting zany socks - but the way the applicant writes the piece makes it effective. She holds a master’s degree in Higher Education Administration from Boston University and a master’s degree from Bridgewater State College in School Counseling. A more concrete reason for this prompt is that colleges want to have a high yield, the ratio of accepted students who end up attending. Yield factors into rankings in sources like U.S. News and World Report and contribute to the overall reputation of the school. This essay is one way for them to gauge how likely you are to attend and help them attain a high yield. She also worked as a consultant for the Boston Public Schools District and the Department of College Counseling. Ms. Then has presented her work for local, regional, and national organizations, including the National School Counselors Association and the National College Access Network . For your essay to truly shine, you need to pay attention to not justwhat you say, but also how you say it. These style tips can help you turn a bland and wordy admissions essay into an engaging narrative that improves your chances of being admitted. We help every applicant, no matter their prior comfort level with writing, compose a powerful personal essay that transmits who they are in the most important ways. We work with students at our labs in small-group workshops, private sessions, and also at schools and partner CBOs. Read on to learn how long a perfect college essay should be. You may have an amazing story to tell for your college application essay, but your writing is going to fall flat if it doesn't use an engaging and effective style. When you’re responding to the “Why Us” prompt, you’re telling them exactly how an education there will shape your intellectual and professional journey. This essay isn’t just about the college; it’s about you, too. The college essay is not a test to see if you can read minds or anticipate what the admission office wants to hear. Plain and simple, they want to know about you, how well you write and how self-aware you are. When we begin evaluating your application, everything can seem pretty standard - grades, test scores, activities, lists of AP classes. Yes, your letters of recommendation tell us about you, but they’re written from someone else’s perspective. Thus, the college essay is an invaluable component of your application because you're able to speak to us directly.