Are you planning to write a college application essay? Have you started reading other essays online to understand better how to draft yours? Well, reading samples makes this writing task look less stressful. But it is one of the highly demanding writing tasks you will ever experience before getting into college. Are you planning to write a college application essay? Have you started reading other essays online to understand better how to draft yours? Well, reading samples makes this writing task look less stressful. But it is one of the highly demanding writing tasks you will ever experience before getting into college. 

But then, admission essays don’t have to be complicated. If you apply the right tips and understand what the admissions officer is looking for, you won’t have problems writing a perfect college application. So, below are tips you need to consider when drafting a captivating application essay.

1. Understand The Reason You Are Writing

It’s easier to write a captivating essay or answer a question right when you know what the grader wants. So, you need to understand the purpose of writing your application essay before putting pen to paper. Understand that your application essay isn’t about your extracurriculars or grades in high school. It isn’t about your CAT or SAT either. 

Now, what it is about? What are admissions officers looking for? They want to know who you are. And your application essay will give them that clue they need. So, it’s more like you talking about yourself, not your grade or someone else. 

Hence, you need to express yourself in a captivating way and ensure you don’t lie about who you are because providing false information will give them a compelling reason to reject the application.

2. Learn About Your Proposed School

It’s easier to befriend someone you know too well, right? That’s the same strategy you need to apply when drafting your college application essay. How well do you know the school you are applying to? That’s the question you need to ask yourself. 

You may have visited their official website and read their campus newspaper regularly, which isn’t a bad idea. But you need to go beyond that. You need to check other channels to get in-depth information and understanding of the school.

You can visit the school’s forum and blogs. You will find a couple of them organized for students in your proposed school. Be a part of the online community. Get a sense of what the student community pays utmost attention to and the culture of the school. 

You can even ask questions if you like and make friends too. You never can tell how much help you can get from students who have already secured admission there. Their ideas can help you hit the nail on the head when writing your application essay, you know. 

3. Accept Your Difference And Flaws

Everyone is different in their little way. We all also have flaws that stir us in the face. But here is one thing you should never forget when drafting a college application essay; be yourself. If your name is John, be John. Don’t try to be John and Peter. Your admissions officer won’t take it lightly once spotted. 

Being yourself implies showcasing why you are unique. You need to give the admissions officer clues that you are qualified for the course you wish to study and fit into the school’s settings. So, don’t try to become who you think the admissions officer would like you to be. Do not try to copy someone else’s work because you believe their essay seems ideal for the school and course you wish to study. 

Note down your uniqueness. Of course, you are unique, and you have values, passions, views, and interests that differentiate you from other people. Think deeper and create a bullet list of all of them if you can. With this, it will be easier to choose the most captivating things about you to include in your paper.

4. Be More Organized

You will never know how important being organized is until you start writing an application essay. You will undoubtedly receive instructions, and your proposed school expects you to follow each of them carefully. Of course, failure to do so portrays you in a negative light, which is never a good thing. 

For instance, you will have a specific word limit, which you must follow. So, it isn’t a bad idea to spend at least 30 minutes organizing your thoughts to be able to draft a more organized and captivating application essay. 

You can write down the talking points you wish to include in your paper and make a rough sketch of how many words each would require. You may not have a perfect idea of the estimated words. But doing this will help you include the most captivating points in your admissions essay and ensure you don’t exceed the word count.

5. Proofread, Proofread, Proofread

Never turn in your admissions essay without proofreading it properly. A minor mistake, as you might view it, might ruin everything. So make sure you proofread thoroughly. Ensure there is no spelling mistake, grammar, and other forms of errors.

However, one easy way to proofread an article is never to start editing immediately after writing. Give your tired eyes some couple of minutes or hours to rest. You can also ask friends or relations to proofread your paper. Or you can use Grammarly or other proofreading software to get the job done. 

Conclusion

You can write a perfect admissions essay and secure your dream admission. It’s simple, but you have to apply the right strategy to get it done. This post contains tips you need to consider when drafting your admissions essay. Follow them and include yours, if you have any, to make your application essay a success.