What Makes A Great College Essay?

What Makes A Great College Essay? It can make all the difference in your admission decision. Different colleges have varying review processes. At almost all selective colleges however, every college essay will be read by multiple people. The personal statement might just be the hardest part of your college application. Mostly this is because it has the least guidance and is the most open-ended. One way to understand what colleges are looking for when they ask you to write an essay is to check out the essays of students who already got inâ€"college essays that actually worked. After all, they must be among the most successful of this weird literary genre. But a general guideline for the paragraphs in your college essays is that they should be about 1/3 to 1/2 of a page. Any longer, and chances are good that you have more than one main idea. In which case, you need to find the other secondary main ideas and give them their own paragraphs. At Story To College we teach how to find their most honest and authentic stories and shape them into powerful essays that admissions officers will remember. We provide college application essay courses and admissions courses to help all our students achieve their best results. Now parents â€" you all know the difference between fixing typographical errors and making massive substantive changes to your child’s essay, right? Remember â€" the admissions officers read thousands of essays every admissions season, and they can spot an overly polished essay a mile away. So â€" yes â€" it’s fine to take a quick read to look for spelling errors, but it’s not fine to write your child’s essay for him or her. You will also have to learn to bulk up the content of each paragraph. I dislike giving rules or formulas to students when it comes to college writing because nearly every rule or formula has both weaknesses and exceptions. So they use your essay, along with your letters of recommendation and extracurricular activities , to find out what sets you apart from the other talented candidates. The essay is supposed to be reflective of the STUDENT, not the parent, and admissions reps are hoping to get a better picture of the applicant’s individuality and unique attributes. It is very easy for a rep to recognize an essay that has been coached someone other than the student. Unfortunately, too many cooks spoil the pot, so to speak…and kids easily get confused when parents, English teachers, their counselor, and their friends all have different advice. Students should familiarize themselves with the campuses to which they are applying , understand the prompt, and answer from the heart. If a student is on the fence, not an early admit or deny, essays will probably be read multiple times by multiple people while an applicant is being discussed. So yes, they are read by all the admissions officers, particularly the ones who oversee your county and region. If you send more than the one supplemental essay suggested, there’s no guarantee they’ll read themâ€"unless they don’t think they have enough to go on. Make sure to keep copies of what you sent to which schools and whenâ€"and follow up on them! Be certain the college or university you're applying to received your essay. You don’t want all that hard work to go to waste. That said, if they don’t think they have enough to go on after 2 essays, you’ve got a bigger problem. Based on my experience, we read every essay at the institutions were I served. Typically, applications received two reads and a third if the decisions were split. We are excited to host our first application essay courses in Atlanta this summer, starting May 29th. Find the course that’s right for you at storytocollege.com/courses, or call us to talk to an expert at . Essays give admission officers real insight into the applicant. You might wonder how a huge school would manage reading thousands of essays, but you can trust that they hire extra staff, if necessary, to make sure the entire application gets a close look. The number of readers depends on how “borderline” the applicant is, and the number of applicants being processed. Even colleges who say their essay is “optional,” you shoulod definitely write one. It may sound like a chore, and it will certainly take a substantial amount of work. But it's also a unique opportunity that can make a difference at decision time. Admissions committees put the most weight on your high school grades and your test scores . However, selective colleges receive applications from many worthy students with similar scores and gradesâ€"too many to admit.