Although grades and test scores are fundamental elements, they only reveal part of your academic career. Universities are interested in learning about you, what makes you tick, and what makes you stand out from other applicants. A personal statement is a document you can use as an application essay to enroll in your preferred college or university. It is your best chance to show the world who you are beyond the letters and numbers on your high school record. When admissions officers compare applicants based on test scores and extracurricular involvement, a solid essay that humanizes the applicant can put that candidate at the top of the list.
Consider these professional recommendations to make your college essay stand out.
Put Yourself First, Not The Essay Question
Writing about yourself is hard. Any of us would prefer to write about something other than ourselves, which makes personal essays a tricky document.
Your options are already limited when you begin your college essay with the notion that you must write an immediate response. Your interpretation of the question will depend on hypothetical rules, and you will also doubt your creative propositions. Instead of writing for yourself, you will write for your readers, and one of the deadliest traps you can fall into is this.
Instead, focus on yourself alone. What do you most enjoy doing when you have free time? What action do you find offensive? What about yourself do you find difficult to understand or accept?
To get to the core of your unique story, you must learn to feel comfortable making it all about yourself. Countless additional questions can help guide your thinking, but these are just a few examples. Therefore, the best way to handle such questions is through dialogue.
Instead of coming up with and answering sensitive questions, plan to talk about them with someone close to you. Your confidence should be someone you’ve known for a long time, but not your parents, sibling, or someone else who might bring too much emotional baggage to the conversation. It’s best if they’re your family friend, aunt or uncle, coach, teacher, mentor, or college counselor.
Explain Your Plans for the Future
A college application essay is all about your personal motivations, ambitions and future goals. Admissions gurus recommend doing a self-reflection activity before you start writing application essay. Consider the following questions before writing the essay:
- What can I contribute to the world?
- What skills do I possess?
- What sets me apart from rest of the applicants?
- At the core, who am I?
- What do I want to achieve by attending this particular university?
To answer these questions and make the essay interesting, here are some details to keep in mind:
- Avoid Being Monotonous: You want the admission committee to be excited about your personality and ambitions. Therefore, the essay must emphasize your strengths in addition to your academic performance, extracurricular involvement, and standardized test results.
- Be Precise: Try not to be too general because you can’t fit your life story into a 650-word essay. Focus your college essay on a specific issue, personal experience, or life lesson which reflects your personality.
Keep Things Simple
Admissions officers will be reading thousands of application essays daily, and the ones that will stand out are with simple sentence structure and narration. Complex vocabulary might be appealing but it will not serve the purpose in an admission essay. Moreover, students think that complex and long sentences will showcase their command on the language however, such sentences are confusing if proper punctuation or transitions are not used.
The best way to avoid this scenario is by keeping the writing style simple and paragraphs shorter. You must make an outline of all the things you want incorporate or discuss in the document. Once you are done, edit it and remove unwanted information to keep the information on point. If you try to explain every aspect of your story, the essay will feel uninspiring and an exaggeration of your life story.
Adopt the following habits to maintain your natural voice and make your work direct and meaningful:
- Before writing, think about what you want to write for ten minutes without reading anything.
- If you have trouble writing, start speaking out loud and capture your thoughts exactly as you say them. It is still beneficial, even if you talk rather than write for the entire session.
- Try to avoid editing what you just wrote. Only come back to revise your language at the end of your writing session and again when you are in the editing phase.
Keep a Casual Writing Style
You may feel a bit like you’re performing for a confidential admissions committee as you go through the arduous process of putting together your application package. These admissions professionals are in charge of your future. However, considering the acceptance rates at top colleges, it’s best not to see them as merciless reviewers looking for any reason to reject your application entirely. Most students who make this assumption immediately go on the defensive, doing everything to hide any potential red flags and present themselves as perfect.
Instead of trying to wow the admissions committee with your college essay, focus on connecting with them. It means you have to project a human presence. To do this, imagine a casual conversation with the person reading your essay. Consider telling a story to a new acquaintance while you’re at the party. Additionally, do the following:
- Write as if you were talking to a friend: Admissions officials are not out there to judge you; they want to know who you are behind all the numbers and documents. They are understanding and kind people who are looking for something to appreciate in you. You don’t need to repeat basic information or use unnecessary space to drive the point home. They genuinely want to know more about you, so be sure they can understand your deepest thoughts.
- Avoid overstating or underselling: Both are important. When someone you meet is bragging or dishonest, you can tell right away. Still, when you embrace your talents and don’t hesitate to show them off, you come across as the most entertaining. Therefore, showcase the strengths and skills you are developing as much as possible.
- Avoid describing your lowest moments in great detail: It may seem counterintuitive with everything said about being true to your narrative and perspective. And, yes, there is great value in being somewhat vulnerable. Yet, if you meet someone at a party, it’s unlikely that your traumatic childhood experiences or history of major depression will be the best icebreaker. You can talk about these things but you must then immediately follow it up with something that shows your character and problem-solving skills.
Edit Your Essay
Remember to revise your essay when you’ve finished it. You must check for flow, grammatical flaws, and linguistic faults. It would be great to write an essay in your own words instead of using an official academic tone. Get a trusted professor, tutor, or counselor to read and revise your work. While you should write the essay your way, an editor can expertly help you craft a final draft free of spelling and punctuation errors. Make sure your college essay is unique by making it personal, organized, expertly written, and proofread. Ensure it provides specific details and examples demonstrating your qualifications to avoid boring the administrators. Additionally, avoid sounding too professional and using vague language. For more info visit https://tutorsfy.co.uk/
As the editor of the blog, She curate insightful content that sparks curiosity and fosters learning. With a passion for storytelling and a keen eye for detail, she strive to bring diverse perspectives and engaging narratives to readers, ensuring every piece informs, inspires, and enriches.
