43 Phrases You Should Never Use In A College Admission Essay

43 Phrases You Should Never Use In A College Admission Essay What they are really looking for is the underlying truths they will find in these documents. Your academic resume, which should include your GPA, completed coursework, and SAT/ACT scores. You should also include some evidence that you are ready for college, a record of your extracurricular activities, work experience, and recommendations. he ending hook should deliver a strong message that will remain with the reader even after he or she has finished their essay. This is the point where you will create the opening sentences in your essay. Admissions officers don't expect you to be perfect, so don't make your essay unbelievable by trying to pretend that you are. Even if one prompt draws your attention, however, spend some time thinking about at least a few of the other choices. These will be the words that will draw your reader into the story. Your list will serve as your outline, and the expanded story you create will become the first draft. It won’t be perfect but all of the elements are already in place. Your goal is to make sure that you get all the details of the story in place and that you are following the prompt of the university. Look at the lists you’ve already made and choose one or two topics and boil them down to the bare bones. Remember, you won’t have a lot of time to impress your readers so your story must cut to the chase pretty quickly. Think of it like you are creating a preview to a new movie. You want to draw the reader in with the first words you say and keep them there until they finish your paper. Next you will compile a list of your personal life experiences. Don't exaggerate your own accomplishments to make yourself look better. You don't need to lay out a long list of all your shortcomings, but acknowledging weaknesses and misjudgments can demonstrate authenticity and give your legitimate accomplishments greater credibility. Sometimes, deeper reflection can help you find an even better subject to write about than your first impulse. Use outlines, word clouds or free association to help you come up with material for each of the different prompts. Using lofty language and complex sentence structure can make you sound sophisticated, but is that really how you speak? Don’t let your voice get lost in the pursuit to impress readers. Most universities are looking for two different packages when you submit your college application. Although you need to be creative while writing your essay, resist the urge to get creative with the facts. If you can’t think of anything particular, read the brochures they offer, go to events, or meet with a faculty member or student in the program. You don’t want to be completely straightforward in these cases and appear superficial, but skirting around them or lying can look even worse. For example, you may want to go to a program in a particular location because it is a place that you know very well and have ties to, or because there is a need in your field there. Again, doing research on the program may reveal ways to legitimate even your most superficial and selfish reasons for applying. Instead, write like you speak â€" keeping in mind that proper grammar and spelling is still important. CollegeXpress has everything you need to simplify your college search, get connected to schools, and find your perfect fit. This forces you to read each word individually and increases your chances of finding a typo. Reading aloud will also help you ensure your punctuation is correct, and it’s often easier to hear awkward sentences than see them. Don’t rely solely on the computer spelling and grammar check. If you do an online search of any university application requirements, this is pretty much the blanket list they will give you. But these are only surface materials that anyone can give.