19 Best Admissions Essay Images

19 Best Admissions Essay Images You absolutely should have a second and even third set of eyes help you edit and proofread your essay. Be sure to pick readers who have strong skills in grammar and usage. If your parents fit the bill, there’s no reason they shouldn’t help you polish your essay, but students often find it easier to work with a teacher, counselor or other adult. Parents can become emotionally involved and/or try to influence the content of the essay, which is something you DON’T want. Use the sample college admission essay template as a scaffolding to build the rest of your essay around, rather than a fence to keep your thoughts contained. College admissions officers see hundreds of essays every year, and you do yourself no favors if you adhere slavishly to a template that the officers have seen before. It is a common belief that students who get good grades have a greater edge when it comes to getting accepted to the school of their choice but that is not always the case. With so many students applying even with good grades the competition is fierce. The single thing that will really set you apart from the pack and ensure you get your foot in the door is your admission essay and how you present it. Admission officers read plenty of application essays and know the difference between a student’s original story and a recycled academic essay, orâ€"worseâ€"a piece written by your mom or dad or even plagiarized. Parents and teachers are good candidates for this task, but you can also make use of a college consultant for an experienced proofreader with specialized knowledge of the admissions process. Your college essay should reflect your authentic speaking voice, but that doesn't mean that you can write it like a lengthy text message. There's simply no excuse for any major grammatical or spelling errors on your essay. After you've completed your essay, go over it with a fine-toothed comb to look for any technical errors. No matter who helps to edit and proof your work, it’s essential that your writing remain your own. Having someone else proofread an applicant’s essay is fineâ€"any writer can benefit from another set of eyes that might pick up a typo or a minor grammar mistake. However, true editing starts to move into the substantive writing process and in the end the writer of the college essay should be the applicant. Too much assistanceâ€"even from parentsâ€" however well intentioned, serves to undermine the process and raise questions about the legitimacy and integrity of the whole application. Yes, the stakes can seem high, but it is ultimately the applicant’s record and work that is being evaluated and it should be theirs that is submitted as well. I do not believe that parents make good essay editors because they are not admissions officers. They do not know what admissions officers are looking for. Depart from the sample essay for college admission whenever you feel that it would improve your essay. You won't score extra point with the admissions department for finishing your essay in an hour. Unless you've helped write the State of the Union, your admissions essay will likely be the most influential essay you've written so far, at least as it relates to your own life. Give yourself at least a week to compose your essay. Here are some college application essay dos and don’ts for students to keep in mind as they complete their applications this fall. A second pair of eyes can be essential; sometimes, writers are blind to their own mistakes. If you and your helper can't agree on the proper grammar for a particular phrase, rewrite the phrase to avoid the thorny issue. Also take the time to read your essay aloud; certain phrases may sound fine in your head, but hearing them spoken can highlight awkward phrasing or unclear wording. The template is there as an aid to your creativity, not a restriction. For the same reason, I do not think English teachers make great admissions essay readers. Your English teacher reads your essay as 1 out of 30. The admissions officers reads as 1 out of 1000’s and possibly even 10,000 or more. Your English teacher reads your essay to assign one grade out of many. The admissions officer reads to determine if they should offer you one spot out of probably relatively very few. Bring something new to the table, not just what you think they want to hear. The reason that teachers don’t assign a number of pages anymore is because it’s too easy to manipulate pages. When students used to write on typewriters, it was common for teachers to assign essays in number of pages. With the adoption of computers in the classroom, teachers switched from pages to work count because it was too easy for the computers to manipulate the font size and page size. By assigning a word count, teachers get a more accurate length of essay than they would if they assigned homework by pages.