How to Improve Your College Admissions Essay

The college admissions essay can be quite a daunting and intimidating task for many aspiring college students. However, the college admissions essay does not have to be so bad. In all actuality though, it seems many colleges do favor an application essay which knocks them off their feet, but in that case, a book on writing essays may help with that task along with a LOT of practice. On the other hand, many colleges and universities just want to know more about YOU…while seeing how well you write.

Colleges and universities WANT you to succeed. They want you to do well on the college admissions essay so they can accept you and make them look great! In order to help you along with this task, I have put together some tips to help all students along with their university admissions essays.

First thing I wanted to point out is that focusing and staying on a topic that you know about very well is key. This will show, through your writing, that you are very sincere and do not appear to be misleading anyone. Write what you now about.

Put a little bit of humor in your writing. Of course, the college application essay is not a stand up comedy routing, but a little humor helps show a more modest side to your self. Remember to stay on topic while modestly making light humor out of some of the subject matter in your college admissions essay topic.

In reference to the last tip, remember that you don’t need to impress the reader with something you don’t really have. Try to avoid using really big words that you normally would never ever use in real life. This will only come across as inflated and a little odd to them. But don’t worry, they read enough of this type of thins in many college admissions essays all the time from others. Be original.

Even though there may be an option to hand write your college application essay, try to type your essay out completely. If you cannot gain access to a computer or simply must write your essay out, then be sure to write as legibly as you can. A messy-looking essay may not show your writing in its best light and may even potentially hurt the reader’s impression of your writing skills overall. So it is just safer to type the essay when applying for college.

Start out with a rough draft of your essay and make improvements as you go along rather than simply writing from the heart and letting destiny do the rest. This will give you an opportunity to look over your grammar and be sure that it is clear, concise and legible (if writing by hand). You are trying to make the best impression possible for this admissions essay so make this shot count.

After you have written the essay and have made corrections on it, have family and friends look at it with a critical eye. Ask friends or family members who have already written a college application essay to take a look at it to see if it does any justice based on their past essay experience.

As I mentioned earlier, different colleges have different requirements for their admissions essays and it would be very wise to read over all of the guidelines the college or university sets forth in regards to your college admissions essay. It is very important to follow directions, especially when you want them to educate you. So be sure that the essay is no longer or shorter than what they require.

These tips and referring to other essay-writing resources can help you, as a student, to really achieve your college goals and getting into that college you really wanted to attend. In many cases, seemingly smaller things such as the college essay for admissions makes such a big difference as it is the only real statement you are able to make in reference to the consideration of your admission to the college. So give it your best shot and show those essay readers the best side of you.

S. Michael Windsor is currently publisher and a writer for BackToSchoolNetwork.com The BSN Online Back To School Guide is a premier college back-to-school information platform that provides individuals with a quality in-depth look at these topics as well as the associated products, services and information available today. Visit us today at http://www.BackToSchoolNetwork.com and get your free subscription our member services.

Author: S. Michael Windsor
Article Source: EzineArticles.com
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The College Admissions Process – Everything You Need to Know

Do you have a son or daughter that’s getting ready to think about life after high school? They probably think the rest of their life hinges on their upcoming quest to find a college, and in a way, it does. But, it doesn’t have to be overwhelming. Here is what you need to know to help them make the right decisions along the way.

First things first, you need to get your son or daughter signed up to take the SATs, ACTs, or possibly both. Look at the required testing for admission consideration for each school. Remember, it is better to over-test than under-test. If their chosen schools want to see either the ACT or the SAT, it may be a good idea to take both tests.

In fact, your son or daughter may want to take the tests more than once, since schools accept your highest scores. If your son or daughter scores higher on the math section and lower on the writing section, they can take the test again and use the highest score on each section to calculate their cumulative score. Since the tests are offered multiple times each year, it’s best to start early and test often to get the best test scores you can. SAT and ACT prep classes are also available, and many helpful hints can be found online.

Your son or daughter should also start considering what their high school transcripts are going to do for their odds of acceptance during the admissions process. Adding an honors or advanced placement class, just so long as it won’t damage their overall GPA if the class is too difficult for them, is a great idea. Encourage your child to get involved in student government or other extracurricular activities. Admissions departments love well-rounded applicants. Community service, hobbies and jobs can also count in your child’s favor when it comes to extracurricular activities. However, make sure their grades stay top-notch while they are diversifying their interests.

The last variable in the college admissions process is in the admissions essay. This is the part of your son or daughter’s application that lets admissions officers get to know them better as a person. It is critical that the essay has no grammar or punctuation mistakes. A great essay lets you hear the writer’s voice clearly. It is best to have the essay proofread by a few different people, if possible. An English teacher and a guidance counselor would be ideal as proofreaders.

It is also important to remember one last vital element to the college admissions process: your emotional support as a parent. High school students have a lot of social pressure on their shoulders to begin with, and the college admissions process is a huge step in their lives. Make sure your son or daughter knows that they can turn to you for support, regardless of whether they’re going to an Ivy League school or a community college. Your support will help them make the most out of their potential.

Michael Fleischner is the Managing Director for EssayEdge.com and a marketing expert with more than 12 years of professional marketing experience. He has appeared on The TODAY Show, Bloomberg Radio, and other major media. For additional help with your college admission essay or personal statement visit http://www.essayedge.com

Author: Michael Fleischner
Article Source: EzineArticles.com
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Why Is The College Admissions Process So Hard?

Let me fill you in on an ongoing story about a kid named Gary. Gary is just your average high school senior. He enjoys playing sports and taking long walks on the beach. For that reason, he doesn’t usually spend a great amount of time on his school work, but he still has pretty average grades. Knowing that he is just an average student, with an average SAT score, he is a little worried about what college he can be accepted to, and what college he will enjoy studying at. He wants to find a college that will allow him to fulfill his career choice, but really wants to find information on each college in order to make a good choice. Knowing that on the internet he can find pretty much anything, he starts out there.

After some thinking on what kind of career he wants to pursue, he decides that he will just worry about getting his associates degree and then decide on a career. He finds a lot of suburban areas across the nation and happily realizes that there are prestigious colleges in each of them. He spends a good deal of time trying to find each college admissions application and prints off a few of them. He has thirteen colleges just to be safe, since he is after all, just average. He begins to fill one out. After about an hour of tedious work, he finally finishes filling just one out and puts it in an envelope, ready to be sent.

After finishing his first college application he starts to work on his second one. Gary gets bored with tedious work, so after finishing that one, he crashes on his couch and takes a nap. While asleep he is haunted with a nightmare where he receives both of his applications back with rejection letters and realizes that he only sent applications to two schools. He wakes up breathing hard and begins to panic until he realizes that he still has time to finish working on the rest of the applications.

He assumes that there is some kind of program that would make the process easier. He decides to keep looking for some type of help on the internet.

He returns to the college webpages and realizes that he can just type in all of his personal info right on the site. This way isn’t much easier for him. His tabbing skills aren’t all they are cracked up to be. He wishes there was just one site where he could submit all of his information once, and send that to all of the college admissions officers around the nation.

He thinks he’ll try his luck and do a search for something like that. He puts in college admissions and some other phrases. He looks through some of the sites, but nothing is to his liking. To be less general he types in Dartmouth College Admissions and Yale Admissions since his friends both applied there. He wants something more. He wonders why he can’t find some kind of tool or something that will allow him to apply to any college he wants with a few clicks of the mouse.

“Where could I do that?” he thinks. “What would I have to type in to get search results that show me how to apply to more than just one school?”

He is ready to give up. Even though he knows exactly what he needs, looking for it has become a waste of time. He has been spending many hours trying to find any information and is completely discouraged and distraught. Because of the whole ordeal. Relying only on the two applications he filled out earlier by hand, Gary gives up on the entire online application process. He sends in his two applications and hopes for the best. He is confident that at least one of those places will accept him, if not for his grades, then for his awesome personality that he hopes shows through the way he filled out the application.

Two weeks go by and he has not heard from either college. A month. Two months. He is graduating tomorrow and that day gets the letters he has been waiting for. He can not wait to find out which one he got into. He opens the letter from a state university first and reads that they regret to inform him that with his information, he has not been accepted. He shrugs it off and opens the one from his 1st choice in colleges. He is shocked to read that he has not been accepted to this one either.

That night he graduates. His mom kicks him out of the house. He becomes a skilled burger flipper at the local drive-in. Perhaps if the whole college admissions process wasn’t so hard, he could have applied to many more schools where they could have seen his good personality before he was forced into working at the drive-in.

Don’t be like Gary! Start the college admissions process early with Zinch.com. Create an online portfolio and showcase it to Yale admissions officers and Dartmouth admissions officers.

Author: Jason Luke
Article Source: EzineArticles.com
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The College Admissions Myth: The Keys to Gaining Admission

Ive worked in college admissions for a number of years and understand the politics of admission to college.

Each year thousands of eager and ambitious college students send out their applications to colleges and universities across America.

Unfortunately, many students will never be admitted to their college of choice because of poor decision-making, lack of knowledge, lack of awareness and lack of resources.

Most families waste time and effort during the college search process. Spend hundreds and even thousands of dollars on testing, study guides, books and other useless resource.

How are students truly admitted to college?

1.	By location 2.	By gender 3.	By high school status 4.	By athletics 5.	By special talents and gifts 6.	By leadership 7.	Overcoming adversity 8.	Arranging meetings with an admissions representation 9.	Grades, course work and test scores. 10.	The ability to write a good essay and the personal interview.

However, these are all common. What is uncommon is the hidden admissions process.

These true keys to successful admission are:

1. Securing a recommendation letter from a respected-member of the community (city council member, mayor, governor, business executive and other well-informed people.

2. Volunteer work: Habit for Humanity; home building projects, community service or even starting your own project).

3. Attending fee trainings: seminars and workshops held at the YMCA/YWCA, local community colleges and universities or community agencies.

4. Unique characteristics: language training; the ability to play an instrument or other performing arts (special talents).

5. Choosing the right major: find something that very little people are doing and add is as your initial choice of major. You can change it later!

6. The diversity factor: look for fields where men, minorities and women are underrepresented. Secure and internship in this area and make sure you get a letter of recommendation.

Author: RJ Braxton
Article Source: EzineArticles.com
Provided by: Digital Camera Times

Slowing the College Admissions Merry-Go-Round

Stop the merry-go-round. I want to get off!

There is a vicious cycle in college admissions right now. Schools are rejecting more students. This makes students nervous so students apply to more schools. More applications means more rejections which means students get even more nervous.

The good news is that people are taking steps to break this cycle .But most students know little about the dizzying college application process until they are in the middle of everything. Each fall, more than three million students become part of a self-perpetuating admissions cycle that is fueled by larger-than-ever application pools.

In spite of rising application volume, most schools still encourage as many students to apply as possible. While having a high number of applicants is good news for schools in terms of revenue, it also means more students will be denied. This often gives a college a reputation for being competitive, which attracts even more applicants.

Also contributing to large application pools is the Common Application, which lets students apply to multiple colleges with just one application. This is a time saver for students, but it also adds to the merry-go-round effect. Uncertain about which schools will accept them, and encouraged by the ease of the application process, students are compelled to apply to more and more colleges. With so many applicants, colleges must deny qualified students. As a result, denied students are frustrated and apply to even more colleges.

A college admissions merry-go-round benefits few, if any. While it may help sell more test-prep services, it does not help students get into the right college. Students and parents buy into the name recognition trap without ever exploring the many high-quality, lesser-known schools that may actually be a great option for them. Competitive colleges are competitive because they have good marketing, not necessarily because they have good programs.

However, there is light at the end of the tunnel. Current trends indicate that admissions professionals recognize the importance of breaking the admissions cycle. Colleges are increasingly becoming test-optional. Instead, they are conducting a more holistic evaluation of applicants, which helps increase diversity and keeps the college admissions process flexible.

While the college admissions process may seem like a merry-go-round, students and parents can do their part to slow it down by closely examining schools and the needs and preferences of the future student.

I want to make sure that everyone has the opportunity to go to college. This means getting in, finding the right college fit and paying for school. I love to share what I’ve learned and I hope you can find some useful information useful in your college search.

Author: Phillip Walters
Article Source: EzineArticles.com
Provided by: Hybrid and Electric Cars

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