A well-written college admissions essay can mean the difference between admission and rejection. This applies particularly to students in the “gray zone.” Admissions officers are more inclined to take a chance on a student in the “gray zone” if the student’s admissions essay is well-written, compelling, and error-free. So how do you write a stand-out essay? Let the “Five P’s” guide you:
- Purpose – Before you even start brainstorming topics for the essay, stop for a moment and think about what the purpose of the college essay is. It’s not to get an “A” in a class or to argue a point. The primary purpose of the college essay is to persuade the admissions officer to admit you. Keeping this in mind will help you exercise good judgment when writing your essay.
- Preparation – While you don’t need to draft a detailed outline of your essay, most people find it helpful to do some brainstorming before putting pen to paper (or fingers to keyboard). Start by listing general topical categories. These might include significant accomplishments, family, hardship, music/sports/extracurriculars, work, or any other category essay writing service reddit that interests you. Once you have your topical categories you can start listing specific essay topics in each category. This organized approach will help you decide what you would like to write about.
- Personal – An effective college admission essay gives the reader a sense of who the student is on a personal level. Avoid clichés and generalities. Your writing should be clear, concise, and cogent. There’s no beating around the bush – this is the hardest part. But conveying a personal message to the admissions committee is really what this is all about.
- Proofread – One of the most important parts of the writing process. From the College Board website: “Typos and spelling or grammatical errors can be interpreted as carelessness or just bad writing.” After you are done with your review, have your essay edited by someone you trust or by a reputable admissions essay editing service.
- Practice – Now that you have written your essay, you are all done, right? Nope! Time to write another one. As you go through the process again you will notice that your thinking is sharper and your ideas are more refined.