College Application Essay Coaching

College Application Essay Coaching Students should make sure to choose a company that’s reputable and employs highly qualified editors. Every selective school receives countless applications from highly qualified students. With the current de-prioritization of transcripts, test scores, and extracurriculars, even more applicants meet the basic criteria for consideration. How can students stand out from the thousands of other applicants? One time-tested method is writing a strong admissions essay. It’s just that admissions officers learn nothing new about you when you write something that anyone could claim. A lot of students feel anxious about this because they don’t feel like anything unique has happened to them. But everyone has a different perception of their experiences, and the more you can share that, the more you’ll stand out in that stack of applications. Nothing has more impact than just being yourself. I worked with a student last year who had played in the marching band all of high school, which is something thousands of students can claim. One of the things that helps students feel in control of this process is having options. Being able to consciously choose to take a gap year feels a lot better than having to take one by default. Some schools will allow you to defer enrollment for a year, and if you reapply after taking a gap year, you’ll have new experiences and stories to share in your application. Talking about how being in marching band taught you the value of hard work isn’t your story; that could be anyone’s story. Talking about how helping people feel good isn’t original; everyone experiences that. This month, we’re giving you another nudge â€" and a slightly different perspective from yet another expert. Contrary to popular belief, students should not write about a horrible life event that changed their life forever. Taking a semester or a year before diving into college life can help students go into their freshman year with confidence, maturity, and some real-world perspective. For students thinking about taking a gap year, I would encourage them to apply to colleges during their senior year. Teenagers change a lot from August to May, and while you might feel sure in the fall that you want to take time off, seeing all your friends making college plans might make you feel differently in the spring. The fact is that most of us have not had such a life changing situation before the age of 18 (so don’t make one up either!). Even if you have had such an experience, don’t write about it. These types of pieces can come off negatively, and sometimes a teenager’s perception of a life changing event is much different than that of a college admissions reader. I once had a student who wrote about how he observed a water droplet while on vacation. This seemingly insignificant event caused him to think about why he loved art and philosophy over science and math. For most students, it takes about 10 hours to write a good college essay. If you’re applying to schools that request supplemental essays or do not accept the Common Application, you may have several different essays to write. A guide to writing a powerful personal statement for college admission. Includes writing exercises, grammar shortcuts and essay prompts to give students the tools they need to write their best college essays. For these students, an online admissions essay editing service is one solution. Most essay editing companies employ professional admissions editors who are well qualified to edit admissions essays. Such services are surprisingly affordable and can take an essay to the next level. Even if I happened to read another essay about being a drummer in the marching band, there’s no way I could confuse it with this one. These details belong only to this student, and they show us her leadership qualities rather than just telling us. With a January 1 application deadline racing toward us, now is a great time to be brainstorming, creating, polishing and revising those essays. In September we published a blog post that provided a basic framework for how to write a killer college essay â€" and offered tips on how to incorporate the Outward Bound experience into the application. Starting the essay draft early is crucial, not only because of the time needed to outline and draft the essay, but also because authors need plenty of time to make revisions. Admissions officers recommend that students give their essay drafts to several people to read, edit, and offer input on their writing. However, many ESL authors may not personally know a native English speaker, while many others simply wish to elevate their essay and make it as strong as possible.