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Clueless Copy-Pasters
Gimmicks vs. Your Genuine Self
Gimmicks are 鈥減revalent but hard to explain,鈥� said an admissions officer at a women鈥檚 college. You want to showcase your strengths, she said, not try your hand at something new on your application. Your college application essay is not the time to dabble in writing a sonnet if you鈥檝e never written one before.
The Mistake of Modesty
Spell-Check鈥� Then Proofread
BOTH need to be a top priority. Spelling and grammar check is useful for catching those typos you鈥檙e making at 2 a.m. when you鈥檙e sprinting to the finish line, but proofreading is a horse of a different color.
Buttrey, the Carleton College admissions representative, points out that students 鈥渒now to do that for their English essays that they hand in at school, so why can鈥檛 they do it for a college application essay?鈥�
Beyond spell-check, proofreading was mentioned across the board as a non-negotiable. 鈥�We have read essays where students talk about 鈥榩easant hunting鈥� as a favorite pastime,鈥� an admissions representative from an elite all-women鈥檚 college told me. (The applicant clearly enjoys 鈥榩heasant hunting鈥�).
Spell-check isn鈥檛 going to pick up on that error, because 鈥榩easant鈥� is spelled correctly. So be sure to proofread your writing more than once, because you don鈥檛 want your future college to think you enjoy hunting humans for sport.
Creative Writing Aside, Don鈥檛 Forget to Answer the Question!
The questions are designed the way they are for a reason. So answer what they are asking. The Common Application has five pre-determined topics an applicant can pick from, in writing his or her college essay. Once you pick one, stick to it. 鈥淔or example, if an essay question is asking you to describe a moment you鈥檝e experienced failure and what you learned from it, don鈥檛 talk about how much you love your family鈥檚 yearly camping trip,鈥� one admissions representative recalled.
鈥淟et鈥檚 say the question asks you to describe a time where you chose the path less taken, or did something separately from the pack. Actually answer that question,鈥� the representative continued. 鈥淒on鈥檛 make the mistake of defiantly proclaiming that you are not answering the question, and that THIS is the path less taken. One, you鈥檙e missing out on an opportunity to highlight you, and two, it鈥檚 not nearly as rebellious as you think it is. It鈥檚 been done before, and just doesn鈥檛 look good.鈥�
Some applicants see these predefined topics as obstacles to navigate around, in writing about what they want to write about. But the experts agree: These topics, and questions, matter. And not answering the question stands out in a very bad way, regardless of how well your essay is written.
BONUS TIP:
Leave the texting lingo behind when communicating with admissions offices at the schools to which you are applying. Kthx. 鈥淲hen communicating with admissions officers, always be respectful and professional,鈥� wrote one admissions representative. 鈥淚t is not appropriate to use texting language in emails to admissions officers. Beginning an email with 鈥楬ey Mary鈥� or 鈥楬ey Ms. Smith鈥� is not professional.鈥�
