How to Write a Killer College Essay for Admission Application
Writing a college essay for an admission application can be a challenging and tiring task. It’s not something that you’d do week in and week out like at school when you are assigned to write something.
Instead, it’s an important essay that’ll determine the fate of your admission to your chosen business college or university. That’s why, there’s no wonder many students stress out about the prospect of writing a good admission essay.
However, much like anything else in the admission process, this too, has a way of doing it properly. So, let’s dive right into it and talk about some of the best strategies to write a killer admission essay.
How to Write a College Essay – A Step-By-Step Guide
The process of writing an essay seems straightforward. However, a college essay needs to deliver something—the idea that you are the perfect candidate/student for the said college. Most accredited universities or colleges take this process very seriously.
That’s why you must tend to a few things, such as:
- Pick the right essay idea/topic;
- Create a proper outline to keep things tidy;
- Write personal essays carefully;
- Formatting the essay correctly;
- Leveraging essay checkers and other tools;
- Or get feedback from a peer or expert.
Now, this process can be intricate and requires proper thinking and thorough preparation before you get started. So, here are six key steps in the process of writing a college essay:
1: College Admission Essay Topic Ideas
The first and perhaps the most important thing is to select the right college essay topic. One of the best ways to get into the reader’s head and convey your ideas is by picking on something that’s a social issue, such as professional culture, business ethics, environmental problems, or economic downfall.
How do you think it affects you? What can you do to make it better? Or better yet, what do you plan to do to make it better? Let’s say you do go down this path, then here are a few examples that you can pick from:
- How Nepotism Affects Us: What Can We Do To Eliminate it (Opinion)
- The Downfall of Economies (or Rising Inflation): What My Plan For It Looks Like (Plan)
- How Environmental Decline Has Harmed Marine Life: What Is Being Done To Help It Or What We Can Do (Report/Opinion/Plan)
The final topic idea is a bit ambiguous and could be taken in any direction. These are just examples, and you don’t have to go by them. The idea here is to understand how many topics you can choose from. And how you can twist them and turn them into an essay where you are the problem solver.
The point at the end of the day is to prove you’re worthy of being a student at the institution/university. So, for any topic or idea that you pick, make sure you’re ready to not only dive deep into it but also something that proves you.
2: Outline of the Essay
The next step is creating the outline of the essay. Trying to write an essay without a proper outline is like building a house without proper structure. You need the pillars of formation to hold the entire essay together and that’s why creating an outline is important.
The formatting and outlining of the essay also depend on the writer. There are certain principles, like needing a proper structure. But you can be creating, though you shouldn’t step out of certain bounds. Usually, an essay outline goes like this:
- 1: Introduction (with Thesis statement)
- 2: Topic One (With subpoints)
- 3: Topic Two (Points/subpoints)
- 4: Topic Three (Points/subpoints)
- 5: Conclusion
This is an idea, but you can go on to write about topic four or topic five as well. However, it’s important to remember that an ideal admission essay would be around 600-1000 words only.
3: Should You Write a Personal Essay? If So, How to Do It Yourself
There are some universities and colleges that require you to write a personal essay. It’s important to know the difference between any general and personal essay is the difference of statement. Usually, admission essays are called Statement of Purpose in institutions and universities.
However, there’s another type of essay required by the university or college called the Personal Statement. Now, this essay is focused more on personal goals, achievements, and an overview of skills and knowledge.
The most important thing to remember is that both these essay types will have the same outline mentioned before. However, a personal essay would be inclined towards:
- Personal story, particularly an engaging one or one with an achievement;
- Something that reflects your personality, resolve, and dedication;
- An engaging narrative that doesn’t bore nor drag the story;
- A clear thesis statement—important as always;
- And a conclusion with a future outlook.
This is what you should focus on in the personal essay if the university requires it. However, most universities or colleges won’t have a problem with students writing a personal statement over any general idea. Some samples to get you started.
Source: College Essay Guy
Source: College Essay Guy
Source: College Vine
Nevertheless, it’s essential to focus on all these elements that make a personal essay engaging. And then, make sure it stands out with impeccable grammar, acute structure, and readability.
4: College Application Essay Format
Now that we know the substance and outline, let’s talk about the formatting of the essay, it’s important to format an admissions application essay properly to get it approved. There have been times when students have written great essays, but lack of formatting has got them rejected.
Formatting is important because it shows attention to detail and abidance to the laws of essay writing. So, you must focus on this particular area, and there are a few key things to focus on”:
- Font size and style;
- Margins and line spacing;
- Page headings and subheadings;
- Application essay title;
- And citation/referencing style.
Now, the admission essay font size and style should be 12-point Times New Roman. Spacing depends on your personal preference, but usually, 1.5 or double spacing is considered the one that looks best. And use a one-inch margin all around to keep it looking neat.
Lastly, the application essay’s title should be 16-Point, and it should appear in bold characters. Lastly, let’s talk about citation and referencing. Compared to most academic writing, college essays happen to be quite informal.
So, you can simply quote a reference like “In this particular research, Quincy Jones says….”. Then, you can reference it in the style the college or university has required you to, i.e., APA, MLA, or Chicago. Therefore, it’s important to research individual formatting requirements by the institution.
MLA Style
APA Style
5: Reviewing with an Essay Checker
Essay checkers are programs that can help fix minor and major issues with an essay quite quickly. While overreliance on these programs isn’t exactly suggested, they can still fix a problem or two with any essay. For instance, a common essay checker can:
- Fix grammatical issues;
- Improve the content flow;
- And improve clarity/quality.
That’s why using an essay checker is suggested, and at its core, it’s a grammar checker. However, some essay checkers are made to ensure that the purpose goal of the essay is achieved—in this case, it’s admission into a college or university.
So, what are some of the premium or free essay checkers you can use? Here are some:
- Free Essay Checker – Grammarly
- Free AI-Powered Essay Checker – Quillbot
- Essay Checker – EasyBib
- Free Online Paper Corrector –ProWritingAid
Now besides these essay checkers, it’s also recommended that you use additional tools to avoid plagiarism or AI-based content. While it’s strictly prohibited that you use AI in any sort of admission or academic essay, it’s still important to ensure you’re not accidentally getting any AI content in there.
Therefore, you should use plagiarism checkers as well as AI detectors alongside these essay checkers to ensure the quality of your essay.
6: Getting Feedback from Peers
Another good way to ensure that you have written a good essay is to get feedback from peers, family members or friends who are already in colleges. This allows you to get a second opinion, and perhaps also reform your own in the process. There are times when writers don’t have a subjective way of looking at their work.
And finding a second opinion about your essay can help you get that subjective look. Remember, it’s not something that can be compromised, so it’s better to get a second opinion than to mess it up. So, get feedback from peers, teachers, or anyone who has been through an admission process before.
7 College Admission Essay Writing Tips
Now that you know what college admission essay writing is about, let’s talk about some of the tips and tricks to do it properly. Here are 7 key tips that can help you formulate an engaging admission essay:
1: Start Early
One of the best things you can do is start early and plan ahead of time. If your admission is a few months ago, or even a few weeks ago, just get started. If you already have the requirements, do your research and start early. Most college admission starts five to eight months before the intake or term start date. For example, if you are planning for the fall term, then preparation starts in January.
2: Show, Don’t Just Tell
It’s a story-telling device to show, and not tell. Now, it’s not exactly a complex concept, but some writers mess it up. Now, here’s how you tell:
“Mr. Allen was weak, old, and had a limping leg.”
It’s descriptive, but it’s telling. Here’s how you show the same thing:
“Mr. Allen, struggling to get up from his chair, staggered in his gait as his wrinkles reflected the winters and summers he’s spent on this earth”
Feel the difference? See how the telling part is short, but showing is more descriptive and helps the reader imagine and feel.
3: Be Authentic and Genuine
One of the biggest mistakes to avoid is to try and be someone else when writing an essay. Be yourself, and let your inner self shine through your words. It’s important to be authentic and genuine in all your writing, and a college admission essay is at the top of that list.
4: Revise and Edit Multiple Times
Revision and editing don’t have to be a one-time thing only. You can revise and edit your essay multiple times before you think it’s in the best possible shape that it can be. That’s when a second opinion comes into play.
5: Follow the Prompt and Stay Focused
If the university or college has given you a prompt, don’t stray from it. It’s important to provide them with what they are looking for. And in an essay, they are usually looking to assess your qualities, and what you can or can’t do. So, pay thorough attention to the prompt.
6: Be Concise and Avoid Unnecessary Fluff
It’s important to avoid fluff and unnecessary words in an admission essay. It’s not supposed to be long, and it certainly shouldn’t drag on. So, try to keep things concise and get rid of fluff as much as possible before passing it on.
Source: wordagents.com
7: Use Vivid Language and Specific Examples
Using examples and vivid language is one of the easiest ways to ensure that your reader is engaged with the last word. And that’s why it’s important to use such words and examples in an admission essay.
Source Merriam-Webster.com
Writing Tools and Resources
Now that you’re off to a good start, you can make it even better with specific resources, writing tools, etc. While there are some essay checkers mentioned above, here are some additional sources you can use:
- Essay Topic Generator – EduWriter.AI
- Hemmingway Editor – Hemmingway App
- Citations & Academic Content – Google Scholar
There are other resources as well, like The Art of Plain Talk by Rudolf Flesch, ResearchGate or Web of Science. Besides, you can also get Grammarly premium, if you’re too keen to find any issues with the text before passing it on.
Conclusion
These are some of the key facets of writing an admission essay and ensuring that you get admission. Now, the essay will play an important role, but that’s not all there is to it. So, make sure you meet all the other requirements as well, that the university or college demands. And then, follow these tips, tricks, and methods to write a killer essay that gets you through the door.
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