Tips for College Application Essays

Contributed by Joyce Mei, Hunter College HS (Class of 2015)

    We all aim to write the perfect common application essay that gets us into our dream college. Here are a couple tips from an insider, who reviews applications as a Director of Admissions:

• Tell a Story - College Admissions officers go through so many applications and so many essays that it’s easy to forget some. Make yours stand out by telling a narrative and express your own spirit and personality through the essay.Give the person reading your essay a reason not to forget what you wrote.
  
  
• Essays Count - These essays are not just used to determine if you get into that college, but also reviewed by college professors to put you in writing courses and looked over for scholarship potential.
  
  
• Catch the Reader’s Attention Immediately - Like anything we read, we want to be immediately drawn in from the first sentence. Do the same thing for your college essays and the admissions officer will not only remember this applicant, but also have a positive attitude towards that kid who could write or had a good sense of humor.
  
  
• Find a unique topic to write about. If the admissions officer has to read another essay about tearing your ACL or going on a mission trip, they probably won’t be very interested.
  
  

For more information and advice on writing college admissions essays, contact Lee Academia experts.