Writing Your College Essay

When writing your essay keep two goals in mind: to persuade the admissions officer that you are worthy of admission and to make the admissions officer aware that you are worth more than a GPA and an SAT/ACT score.

The following list will help you with writing your admissions essay:

• Answer the question.
• Be original.
• Be yourself. Write about something meaningful and describe your feelings, not necessarily your actions.
• Spend the most time on your introduction. Expect admissions officers to spend 1-2 minutes reading your essay. You must grab their interest from the beginning.
• Body paragraphs must related to the introduction. Your introduction can be original. the paragraphs that follow must relate to your introduction.
• Use transition. You must use transition within paragraphs and especially between paragraphs to preserve the logical flow of your essay. Examples: while, since, as a result, etc.
• Conclusions are critical. The conclusion is your last chance to persuade the reader or impress upon them your qualifications.
• Revise, revise, revise. You are only allowed so many words, use them wisely. BLAH BLAH BLAH