College Essay Essentials

College Essay Essentials Before earning her graduate degree, she attended the New York Summer Writers Institute, The Breadloaf Writers Conference, and the Five Powers of Poetry Conference for Teachers. The two “unique” essay prompts are already fairly well defined, so Rachel doesn’t need further brainstorming on them at this stage. Rachel will write 150 words for Michigan about her love of basketball and her growing leadership experience (she’s now team co-captain), focusing on engendering a sense of mission and camaraderie. No; probably every teenager in the world will write about that this season. Main essay for the Common App of up to 650 words. To her surprise, it takes Rachel more than a week to obtain all the data and organize these lists, and now she wishes she had started working on this during the last week of school. Notice that Rachel will be applying Early Action where it’s offered. Students use their grades and test scores to select where they apply. That means every college has a pool of applicants with similar grades and test scores. Did you know that Babson has a Writing Center on campus? Staffed by professors and peer consultants, it offers a supportive environment to practice and refine your writing. DO write about other people as well as about yourself. University of Mary Washington (EA Nov. 15) CA main essay. We use cookies to personalise content and ads, to provide social media features and to analyse our traffic. You consent to our cookies if you continue to use our website. For lots more information on applying to college, see the links on the next page. We’ll make sure you get the right guidance at the right time. (She cannot afford to apply Early Decision because her family needs to compare financial aid offers.) She intends to submit all applications by Oct. 15, even those that aren’t due until January. That will allow her to focus on academics and enjoy the holidays. DO be yourself â€" your essay should sound as if it could have been written by no one else. DO show that you can be introspective & reflective about your experiences; don’t be afraid to reveal something personal or admit mistakes (but see warning in Don’t #2). is a published poet and a high school English teacher. She has a BA in English from Skidmore College and an MFA from the Warren Wilson Program for Writers, where she studied poetry. Essay writing tips adapted from Kelly Tanabe’s “Four Steps to Writing a Winning Admissions Essay, Part I”. See how eliminating extra words actually makes your point stronger? Eliminatingprepositionsis a great, easy way to tighten your writing. Start with a creative lead.Capture the readers’ interestin the first two sentences. You don’t have to make changes based on everyone’s comments, but give them all some careful thought and try to imagine how the essay would look if you made each change. If you write on a topic in which you have little interest or knowledge, your lack of sincerity and enthusiasm will show. Focus on an event or idea rather than trying to cover an entire subject. We are defined as individuals largely through relationships and experiences with others. DO write about something about which you feel strongly. The sorrow of being far away when her grandmother died? She feels sad even thinking about it, making her reluctant to write; and even stateside kids have lost faraway grandparents. The story of when Rachel and a friend got lost on a hike and how they got back to safety. “Favorite work of literature” essay (UVA, ; George Mason, up to 750). An introduction like this is colorful and intriguing. It gives the reader a sense of expectation and excitement, without giving too much away from the beginning.