THE APPLICATION ESSAY

The application essay is probably the most dreaded part of the application for the student. Most selective schools require at least one, and sometimes several, essays.

Imagine all of the parts of your application on a table before an admission officer: your application, your transcript, your test scores, your recommendations. Think of your essay as being that part of your application which transforms your file from a collection of bits of information into a real person. If one of the essay questions is, "Provide us with any other additional information which might be helpful in evaluating your application," then do just that. This is your chance to make your application come alive. Especially at smaller and medium sized schools, the student who presents himself or herself in a lively, honest, and self-motivated image is improving his or her chances for admission.

Above all else, admission offices are looking for honesty, openness, directness and sincerity in your essays. You should not feel that you have to come up with something unusual or tragic. You should not try to give the reader what you think he or she wants. You should not use language with which you are not usually comfortable.

What should you do when writing your essays? Make sure you understand the question you are answering and answer it. Do not give one school the answer to an essay for another school unless the questions are exactly the same. Give yourself ample time to write good essays. Write a first draft and then put it away for a couple of days. Take it out and revise it. Put it away again. Polish it and then have someone else read it, for both content and grammatical and spelling errors. A sloppily written essay is an easy death for any applicant. Remember your audience and be sure to show, not just tell. Remember that longer does not necessarily mean better. If you are asked to keep your response within a certain space, do not exceed that space. If you are asked to hand-write your essay, do not use a word processor.

Be careful about getting too much help on your essays. It will show and it will spell doom if the reader gets the impression that the work is not your own. Someone who reads hundreds (or thousands) of them will be able to tell. Write your own essays!