How To Write A 500 Word Essay In An Hour

How To Write A 500 Word Essay In An Hour School-based counselors have a lot of students to advise and are very busy, so seek guidance early and often. The personal statement is your opportunity to reveal something about yourself that can’t be found anywhere else in your application â€" use it! Many students use this essay to expound upon activities or interests that are already heavily demonstrated in their application through courses, the activity list, and more. Instead of reinforcing a top activity or interest, instead, write about something that reveals another dimension of your life or personality. If your top activity is swimming, don’t write about the big championship meet. Unlike the rest of your application, which consists largely of objective facts like grades and test scores, your application essay allows you to truly showcase what makes you unique as a student and a person. Use your own voice and your own stories to illustrate why you would be an asset to the school. Don't fall into the trap of sanitizing your speech and your opinions for risk of offending an admissions officer. Although you do need to use proper spelling and grammar, your college essay is a perfect place for creative metaphors, witty turns of phrase and humor. Your college counselors are there to help, but they can’t if you don’t ask or wait until the last minute to seek guidance and feedback. And then they are pleasantly surprised when admissions officers write acceptance letters with personal notes about their child’s fabulous essays. I have seen too many essays where parents “helped” and as result, the essay lost the student’s voice. Too many words had been added that just did not reflect the student’s vocabulary or mode of writing. College admissions readers are bright and intuitive and can tell when an essay has been “helped” too much. I see no problem with parents doing a grammar/spelling check as well as offering suggestions on how an essay could be improved. Aside from mistakes on the essays, college admissions counselors discuss in “The Daily Beast” how one student sent pies, claiming she wasn’t a good athlete but she was a good baker. The admissions counselors thought the pies were quite tasty but this did not lead to an acceptance. Another student sent a life-size blowup of herself attached to balloons. It was supposed to fly…but alas the balloons didn’t work. And yet another student staged a sit-in in an admissions office lobby, refusing to leave until she was able to speak to a few admissions people. Nothing is worse than trying to match an application essay with no name (or, worse, an email address such as ) to a file. 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. Through her writing, Callie allows the admissions committee to better understand her approach to learning new perspectives. This essay highlights her personality and values and helps us imagine how she will collaborate with others throughout different spaces on campus in a diverse student body. By broadening her initial anecdote and having the majority of the essay focus on her reflections and takeaways, we were able to spend even more time learning about Callie. Below you’ll find selected examples of essays that “worked,” as nominated by our admissions committee. Needless to say, this tactic proved as ineffective as the pies and the blow-up person attached to balloons. Similarly, one topic you should never write about in your college essay is romantic relationships. It’s hard not to be cliché when writing about young love, and a relationship shouldn’t be the main aspect of your life that you want to showcase for college admissions officers. Few things are as eternal as the search for the great college essay. Make a plan to meet with your college counselor and go over your college list and essays, and ask for feedback on your writing. Your college counselor can provide valuable insight into how to improve your college application essays, so seek feedback on your drafts as soon as possible. Find something else that reveals something new and that shows you put a lot of thought into your essay. If your study of AP biology conflicts with your religious views, write about that and how you reconciled the two. Writing the college essay takes time and effort, and you should feel accomplished. When you submit your essay, remember to include your name, contact information, and ID number if your college provided one, especially if you send it to a general admission email account. In each of these essays, students were able to share stories from their everyday lives to reveal something about their character, values, and life that aligned with the culture and values at Hopkins. Parents can help their child brainstorm topics, encourage them to write multiple drafts, and help him or her meet deadlines. Some parents should not even read their kid’s essays as they want to change too many elements that make the essays lose their unique adolescent voice. I know this is the touchiest of topics, but I always beg parents to believe in their child. Just be sure that it still reads like it was written by a 17 year old and it shares the story that is important to them and not just an important sounding topic that a parent thinks would be more impressive . Coming up with a good topic for your college admission essays can feel like the ultimate form of writer’s block. After all, what could you possibly write about that will represent you in 500 words or fewer? The creative process definitely isn’t easy, but these tips and tricks from students who have been through the process should help you get your thoughts flowing and ideas moving. Check out these five tips for choosing an essay topic to help get you started.