college essay assistance

college essay assistance

Effective Strategies for College Essay Assistance

1. Introduction to College Essays

Each high school student applying to college faces a process that may seem daunting. Each application represents a student whose written responses correlate with his or her GPA and SAT or ACT standardized test scores. Dividing attention between the various questions on multiple college applications without repeating a similar response is just one common concern. Clarifying upfront which topic corresponds with which college essays will allow a student to concentrate on the specific aspects of the college-bound process and write different non-repetitive essays.

To successfully apply to college and continue with a higher education, your high school student must correctly implement a variety of tasks during his or her 9th, 10th, 11th, and 12th grade. Perhaps along the way, you will stop and wonder: What is the point of making my son or daughter struggle with the essay portion of college applications? A better question is: Why not put the essay in the hands of experts? The answer you are looking for is this: You should definitely entrust college essay assistance to professionals who understand the process and who can accurately determine the type of content that is expected from a high-quality college essay.

2. Understanding the Purpose of College Essays

Most experts on the college admissions process agree that students from low-income families and students from underrepresented minority groups should not be initially eliminated from the admissions pool solely on the basis of statistics. For a variety of reasons that have nothing to do with lack of academic or intellectual preparation, students from these groups do not score as high as others on standardized tests. When elite colleges consider two applicants with virtually identical academic transcripts and extracurricular activities, another component of the application often becomes the tiebreaker – the personal essay.

Purpose of college essays Before we begin considering recommendations for college essay help, it is important to first discuss the purpose of the essays. Essays are an important way for college admissions committees to get to know the individual student. After examining transcripts, test scores, and lists of club memberships and awards, the personal essay is an important tool to help differentiate a highly qualified applicant from others with similar qualifications.

3. Key Elements of a Strong College Essay

After creating an outstanding college essay, the student should prepare to submit it. One major pitfall is the failure to follow instructions. The students will do themselves a favor by creating a list of every component of the college program application and its submission deadline such as the essay, copies, mailing, and check. The student should double-check that the college application form has been thoroughly and accurately completed and double-check that everything submitted has been proofread. It is wise also to make photocopies of the completed application forms for personal records. Colleges may receive thousands of applications and the largest colleges have to assess them in a very short time. College administrators have difficult and time-consuming jobs, so they appreciate students who follow their instructions and make their work simpler and faster. The college environment is ripe for students’ desire for the chance to attend.

The most important elements of an outstanding college essay are originality and insight. The student should address something concrete and specific about his or her life experience. Another key element is passion. From the essay, the reader should be able to see that this student is uniquely qualified to benefit from and contribute to the programs of the colleges that interest him or her. While high school transcripts add objective measures of intellect and motivation, the essay enhances the applicant’s individuality and personality. Other important elements are creativity and enthusiasm. Ideally, the student’s college essay will be the only one of its kind written for the thousands of college programs the student is considering. Finally, an effective college essay is grammatically and technically perfect. It should always be proofread several times and perhaps reviewed by a professional, such as a college essay consultant.

4. Strategies for Brainstorming and Outlining

By the end of the brainstorming process, the goal is to have many different ideas of what you might write about. This way, your focus is narrowed a bit, but you still effectively have two or more pages of ideas. Therefore, you should sit back and let your ideas come to you. Not all of them will be good, but chances are that one will emerge as the true diamond in the rough. Writing down as much as possible is also very crucial, whether it is a whole sentence, a question about something you’re thinking about, or a keyword. After you have felt that you have written several pages of ideas, circle the three topics that stand out to you as the most unique and interesting.

Brainstorming and outlining are crucial steps needed to match the right idea with the right prompt in order to fully cover the prompt’s underlying questions. Oftentimes, students conceive of an idea and immediately start writing their essays without taking the proper amount of time to brainstorm and outline. This step is crucial and should not be skipped, even if you believe that you have a rock-solid idea. If you do not spend time brainstorming and outlining, you are more likely to stray from the underlying question/essay prompt and leave the important and direct question unanswered. Your essay may sound great, but if it does not fully answer the prompt, you may receive a lower grade.

5. Tips for Revising and Editing

You should look for two kinds of issues in proofreading: the big and the small. Always do the big ones first. When the big problems are solved, things that need to be done are: adding, rewording to avoid awkwardness or confusion, punctuation, spelling, capitalization, and other necessary revisions. Watch and then check again for posting of your final project.

* Organization – Is a clear sense of order maintained, or is there a level of the first paragraph remaining present.

* Due Date – Are there strategies for checking problems that take a lot of time?

* Content – Which parts should be expanded, condensed, or left out?

You should look for three kinds of problems when revising:

Revise and Edit

You have written your first draft, and you are ready to revise and edit. In order to become a better and more confident writer, you should keep practicing your skills and look for constructive feedback. Good books on writing, usually found in the call number area 808, can help.