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| College Essays Tips |  1. Solicit feedback from trusted others.
2. Proof your essays. Nobody submit a grammatically-incorrect application essay. You have adequate time and you have access to others' "fresh eyes" as well. Demonstrate the school you care that you possess attention to detail.
3. Take advantage of recycling opportunities. You will be able to use some college essays from one application to another application. This can save essential amounts of time and stress. You should only make sure that the essay questions are indeed similar and they both advocate your story equally well.
4. Provide analytics and insight. You should not simply provide a long laundry list of accomplishments or appear to be a real-life Forrest Gump who goes through life without any comprehension of cause and effect. Try to impress the colleges with your analytical abilities and insights in your essays.
5. Keep the essays centered on you. The college essay may require you to tell about a significant event or a role model. Regardless, you must ensure you remain the focus of the essay. Remember, you are the one applying to school, not the role model or significant event.
6. Talk out the essays individually and collectively. Before you start writing the essay, talk it out to yourself or a trusted friend or relative. Be sure the "story" sounds compelling and effectively communicates your main points. When it does not, you may need to change your essay topic. Do not forget, if it doesn't sound right to you, you can't expect the admissions staff to fully appreciate the essay.
7. Don't let writer's block affect you. Once again, this is an obstacle that can be overcome.
8. Spend adequate time selecting your admission essay topics. This is an important first step and it will be tough to write a compelling college essay about a poorly chosen topic.
9. Determine what you need to say based on your background. Every applicant is unique and, therefore, will need to address different weaknesses and trumpet different strengths. Get to know what your profile will look like to the admission committee and focus your college essays accordingly.
10. Don't procrastinate. You need to spend a lot of time and make a lot of iterations to write well-planned college essays that will help you succeed in the very noble task of being accepted into your first-choice schools.
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