What Colleges Require Admission Essays? And Which Ones Require Supplemental Essays?

What Colleges Require Admission Essays? And Which Ones Require Supplemental Essays? Parents can become emotionally involved and/or try to influence the content of the essay, which is something you DON’T want. No matter who helps to edit and proof your work, it’s essential that your writing remain your own. Having someone else proofread an applicant’s essay is fineâ€"any writer can benefit from another set of eyes that might pick up a typo or a minor grammar mistake. College admissions officers see hundreds of essays every year, and you do yourself no favors if you adhere slavishly to a template that the officers have seen before. Depart from the sample essay for college admission whenever you feel that it would improve your essay. You won't score extra point with the admissions department for finishing your essay in an hour. With so many students applying even with good grades the competition is fierce. The single thing that will really set you apart from the pack and ensure you get your foot in the door is your admission essay and how you present it. Here are some college application essay dos and don’ts for students to keep in mind as they complete their applications this fall. Admission officers read plenty of application essays and know the difference between a student’s original story and a recycled academic essay, orâ€"worseâ€"a piece written by your mom or dad or even plagiarized. Take a notebook and write down whatever comes to your mind that would fit with that particular prompt. Make sure you include personal experiences with each one. When you have finished, go back and choose the ones that you are most excited to talk about and make a note of why they motivate you. It is a common belief that students who get good grades have a greater edge when it comes to getting accepted to the school of their choice but that is not always the case. While driving in my car, I’d let my mind wander to movies like Big Hero Six and contemplate if a zero-friction bike really was possible. I’d create ideas like an AI highway system that tells drivers exactly when to switch lanes based on timing and calculus to prevent braking from nearby cars. Or I’d blueprint a new classroom with interactive desks, allowing students to dive deep into historical events like a VR game. By assigning a word count, teachers get a more accurate length of essay than they would if they assigned homework by pages. You absolutely should have a second and even third set of eyes help you edit and proofread your essay. Be sure to pick readers who have strong skills in grammar and usage. If your parents fit the bill, there’s no reason they shouldn’t help you polish your essay, but students often find it easier to work with a teacher, counselor or other adult. Bring something new to the table, not just what you think they want to hear. Your college application essay needs to breathe life into your application. It should capture your genuine personality, explaining who you are beyond a series of grades, test scores, and after-school activities. But that’s not nearly as scary as it seems, because you get to choose what to share and how to share it. While building a community at school rebuilt my confidence, I still found I enjoyed being alone at times. I found outlining complex ideas like these sometimes provide insights into something I’m researching or could one day materialize into future projects. The reason that teachers don’t assign a number of pages anymore is because it’s too easy to manipulate pages. When students used to write on typewriters, it was common for teachers to assign essays in number of pages. With the adoption of computers in the classroom, teachers switched from pages to work count because it was too easy for the computers to manipulate the font size and page size. However, true editing starts to move into the substantive writing process and in the end the writer of the college essay should be the applicant. Too much assistanceâ€"even from parentsâ€" however well intentioned, serves to undermine the process and raise questions about the legitimacy and integrity of the whole application. Unless you've helped write the State of the Union, your admissions essay will likely be the most influential essay you've written so far, at least as it relates to your own life. Give yourself at least a week to compose your essay. Make sure you look through all of the prompts for the university you are applying to and contemplate each of them. Take your time, don’t rush as this will become the foundation of your essay.