example of college admission essay

example of college admission essay

The Importance of College Admission Essays

1. Introduction

The importance of the college essay has increased in the last several years. This is because the number of qualified students applying to competitive colleges has increased along with the rising number of foreign students who are also applying to the same college, but those students are required to demonstrate their English and abilities. The competition for certain scholarships can be intense. With many students having similar grades and test scores, the essay (along with letters of recommendation and extracurricular activities) often plays a large role in who wins a scholarship and who does not. Additionally, the college essay allows the student to demonstrate his writing abilities and to present the qualities about himself that set him apart from other applicants. An exceptional college admission essay will set a prospective student apart from his peers. Conversely, a college essay that is boring, cliche, or generic may hurt a student’s chances of getting accepted. This has created a competitive market for college essay writing. High school students who are applying to colleges must write many essays to ultimately choose one essay to submit. This can be quite a daunting task.

2. Showcasing Academic Achievements

Receiving a letter of acceptance from a top college or university is becoming increasingly competitive. In addition to previous high GPAs and SAT scores, colleges are looking for students who have achieved or excelled in other areas. A method to prove such achievement is to have an impressive academic resume. This can include previous participation in research projects, a high AIMS score, an internship within the desired field, or participation in an academic competition. It is important that these experiences are translated into the resume in a clear and concise manner. One common mistake is the use of too many pronouns and not enough specific information. The statement “worked on it for about six months” could be changed to: “dedicated over 500 hours to the project in a six-month time period.” The resume is a key part of the college application process. It is strongly urged that students seek assistance when constructing their resume. Teachers, counselors, and parents are usually good resources. Often the more eyes that review it, the better. Always keep a copy of the resume saved on the computer; this will be useful when completing applications for scholarships.

3. Demonstrating Personal Growth

Example: When you’re faced with the fact, you have done something wrong. This is difficult to admit. It takes a strong person to reflect on their foul judgment, accept the consequences, and learn from one’s mistake. A time in which I displayed this was my junior year in high school when I was benched on the varsity basketball team. Throughout my athletic career, I have always prided myself on self-discipline, hard work, and leadership. It was unnerving that I could not understand why I was benched until my coach explained his decision. He criticized that my conduct during practice was poor, I was always chatting with my teammates and friends rather than giving 100% effort and helping the team to improve. I felt embarrassed and angry with myself, but I knew that he was right. I decided to accept my punishment without argument and pledged to change my ways by proving to my coach and myself, and being an overall better athlete and person. This entire event was a turning point of self-realization that helped me grow during the rest of my junior year and even today. It made me aware that no matter what I do, or how good I am, I must always remain humble and open-minded to criticism. This is the only way that a person can seek self-improvement. At that time, I began taking school and basketball more seriously than ever, leading to me being selected as captain for the varsity basketball team in my senior year. Overall, it taught me that true success is not only about accomplishment, but the road you take to get there.

College admission essays are designed to show admissions officials something that cannot be found in data given to them. These people will as of now have a duplicate of your scholastic records, your transcript, and your standardized test scores.

4. Conveying Passion and Ambition

If you are depriving yourself a college education based on a belief that your work should fuel your desire for a luxury car, you should consider that there are easier ways to get a luxury car. Passion can pay surprising dividends and many successful people have taken routes to do what they love that were winding and unconventional. A luxury car is not the same thing as happiness and security from doing work that you are proud of. Many people have cost themselves lifetime earnings and marketability for a luxurious material lifestyle that never really delivers. For those without a clear calling, the college experience is an opportunity to explore passions and find oneself. The point of work is to do and achieve something good, this is next to impossible if you are not passionate about what you are doing. Passion is the energy that keeps you going, that keeps you filled with meaning, and happiness, and excitement, and anticipation. Passions are about so much more than just the work, a passion will change your outlook on life in general. A career or job is an exercise of that passion, that has specific goals and something you will find yourself working toward. A person with a passion is a person with direction and will stop at nothing to close the gap between where they are and where they want to be, this is the perfect sort of person to hire. A person who spends their days doing and achieving something that is in their heart of hearts, is one who describes their work as hardly work at all, but fulfilling. An employee who believes his work is done best with his right and not his left, work not for pay but of restitution, this is the employee that will be truly great at what he does. At the college level or above, these are the type of individuals and employees you will find, so it may be wise to hire an individual of the same sort to help plan a child’s educational future. In considering college education and career a planner must judge and weigh the value of the effort and determination of which a child will spend toward something that might have very little value itself in financial terms, such as art, or writing, or teaching. With the rapidly increasing requirements of certifications and degrees in the work world, it is much easier to do something you’ll love if it pays the bills, and holding higher expectation of a child can deter a child from ‘selling out’ just to get by. Dream jobs are called dream jobs for a reason, with careful planning they are much more attainable. A college education is the first step to translating a dream job into a reality. All the aforementioned solicits a call for passion to become the best of what it can become and to stop at nothing short of that, college education is the best method of preparing for this.

One of the most compelling reasons to prepare for the college admission process is that your college education is an investment in the future. Since you will prepare for your career through study at university, your college education represents a proven career development strategy. This is never a straight line, the connections are often mysterious and college is but an imperfect step, but a college education is the best ticket to work that you can cash. You can think of your college education as a training ground for your career. Earning a living doing what you love is self-actualization. You know you are there when work does not feel like work. That feeling comes from finding and practicing your passion. If you are fortunate enough to have a passion, preparation for your career is to seek the means to pursue your passion. This should involve discovering what you are best at and then finding the best match between your skills and market demand. This is where the college education and career development intersect.

5. Conclusion: The Power of a Compelling Essay

Another important point to consider is that an essay is often a good representation of a student’s aspirations, goals, and personality. While a transcript can show that a student was involved in volunteering, the essay can explain why and what was learned about the experience. The essay can also show critical thinking skills if it includes analysis of an issue or event. These points are what convince admission officers that a student has potential, and often potential is what is looked at more than past accomplishments. With proper potential seen in an essay, an admission decision may be to take a chance on a student with unimpressive previous work, with hopes that the student will provide what is expected of him given what was shown in the essay.

Given the essay’s subjective nature, it is not absolutely crucial for each and every student to write an essay. The student with a perfect GPA and excellent extracurricular involvement will likely still be admitted to college even if their essay is poorly written. It is in the average to below average students’ best interest to write an essay, though, for the chance at higher test scores and other criteria overriding the lackluster GPA and extracurriculars. This is because the essay is often what will set one student apart from another with similar numbers. A heartfelt essay written more eloquently and compelling than a rival student’s can make up for a grade or two difference in a tough class – something that can slip an application from the rejection pile to the acceptance pile.

Many students seem to still be under the impression that an essay is just words on a page – as long as it gets the point across, then it’s good enough. Whether it is good enough, however, is not the point. The point is that in today’s complex and competitive world, a college admission essay is an essential tool in giving students the best chance at being selected for entrance.