6 Rules to Nail Your College Application Essay

It’s easy to lose your way writing a college application essay. Many think that it must be unique and out of the ordinary. In reality, your main objective should be to present your sensory experience in such a way that the reader will be able to experience the same emotions as you did. That’s why the worst possible approach is to read someone else’s successful essay and try to sell a rewritten variant as your own.

 Here are six rules that will make your essay successful.

1. Use Creativity. Unlike a SAT essay, college essay doesn’t have rigid requirements that are compulsory to meet. Here you can unleash your creativity and write in any style you find appealing. You can include dialogues, sentences consisting of a sole word, repetitions, and whatever that helps you express your point in the best way possible.
2. Stay Vague in Describing Yourself. If you have a sentence where you enumerate your positive qualities, that’s not a good essay. The key is to describe your life experience in a way that will give the reared a clear idea of what kind of person you are. Obviously, the impression should be positive so reflect on a life episode that has made you a better person.
3. Write Clearly. Although we’ve said that your essay should give a positive impression, it’s impossible to completely predict what emotions it will evoke in an examiner. The thing that you have control over is your writing style. Even when they don’t find your essay particularly successful, you might get additional points for writing unambiguously and having clear thoughts.
4. Get Feedback. However, don’t ask someone to judge your writing skills. Remember that your essay is a representation of you and it shouldn’t be altered by someone else’s visions. Instead, ask them whether they find your writing thought-provoking and if it would make them want to get to know you better.
5. Keep Writing. Leave editing for later and just put down everything that comes to your mind. Don’t look at a number of words, you’ll be able to shorten it later. It’s hard to distance yourself from your own writing so leave it for a few days and re-read afterwards. It’ll give you a chance to edit it and add necessary information.
6. Be Careful with Humor. Obviously, you can use it in your college essay but be cautious. When appropriately executed, it’s a powerful tool but once you misuse it, it gets offensive and irrational. You might have a great sense of humor but won’t be able to transfer it into writing. So think carefully whether you should take the risk.

Once your essay is written and edited, let it go. You probably won’t be completely satisfied with it, but that’s what we all experience. You’ve done your best, and that’s the main thing.