College Application Tips and Tricks

Things to Keep in Mind When Applying for College

College applications can be a stressful part of any senior year of high school. However, there are some things to keep in mind to make an application stand out.

College applications can be tricky for any student applying for higher education. With essay writers, applications, resumes, recommendations and possibly interviews comprising the admissions process, it helps to keep a couple of things in mind before starting the process.

Preparing to Apply to College

Little things can say a lot about an applicant before any college or university staff ever meets a potential student. With that in mind, applicants should be aware of how they appear online and through correspondence.

It is a good idea for applicants to check Facebook and all social media that they may have to make sure it is the best representation they can have on the Internet. If not, remove any pictures or comments that could compromise the applicant’s chance of getting into his or her desired school.

An applicant’s email address can also stir some unease in an admissions office. Students should create a professional email address, which can be easily done by using a student’s first and last initials or names on a host such as Google’s G-Mail, so that an applicant’s email address does not change in the even that their Internet service provider does. Make sure that this is the email address that is used on all official and unofficial documents, as well as posted on all social media websites.

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When looking at prospective schools, check on the school’s requirements for admission, especially if an applicant is apply to out-of-state colleges or universities. This should be done before students schedule classes for their last year of high school, so that any needed classes can be taken to satisfy admissions requirements.

Deadlines are also vitally important to the admission process. Sending in materials too early may cause the loss of parts of an applicant’s file and could jeopardize being accepted. Sending in materials too close or past deadlines, however, could also count against a student.

Be aware of how deadlines are presented as well. If materials must be postmarked by a certain date, then they must be received by the post office before it closes on that date. Some schools have an “in office” deadline, meaning that documents must be on the campus by that date. If this is the case, leave at least a week to account for post office delays, especially if mailing materials to out-of-state institutions. Most schools will allow a grace period to account for the postal system or weekends, but applicants should not wait until the last minute.

Admission Essay

Just as with any essay, applicants should set aside plenty of time to write and revise the application essay. Grammar, punctuation, spelling, and presentation are important when admissions counselors are reading thousands of applications in a short amount of time, and basic errors can make a student stand out for the wrong reasons. Paying attention to length requirements is also important. While writing an essay longer than the minimum is always recommended, keep the length under the maximum amount of words

Writing Essays for College Applications

Those who have applied to college in the past know that the admissions essay is a large part of the application process. Admissions counselors and committees often use the essay to get to know an applicant’s personality, but to also try to understand how the person thinks and presents themselves on paper.

Before Writing a College Admissions Essay

The most important thing to do before writing a college admissions essay is to choose a focused, yet personal, topic. College admissions counselors use essays to uncover an applicant’s personality, thought processes, and strength in the English language. Admissions staff members want to know how a student thinks, and that is what should be revealed in the admissions essay.

A student’s topic should be personal, such as a summer spent abroad, a job, or family event, but focused enough that the applicant’s thought processes follow logically. For example, a student writing about a summer spent in France should write about a particular moment while overseas and not try to cram the entire experience into one admissions essay.

Writing a College Admissions Essay

Before sitting down to write, those who have trouble with organizing thoughts should sit down and create an outline, list of ideas, or a cheap essay writing service to help structure the essay when it is time to write. All students should take time to reflect on the experience or topic on which they are writing and make sure they know what they want to say in the essay.

Keeping the topic focused and making connections throughout is the key to a good admissions essay. Not only does this make the piece easier to read, but it also helps to demonstrate a student’s thought processes and reveals how a student reacts to these memorable experiences, which is something that admissions counselors use to assess an applicant’s personality.

After Drafting a College Admissions Essay

It is important to remember that an essay is not done after a student types in the last period. Make sure that the essay is written in enough time to allow it to sit and simmer for a day before revisiting the piece.

After allowing the piece to simmer, applicants should revisit the piece and edit for coherence and to make sure that any lose ends are tied up in the thought process. A good admissions essay is streamlined and as in-depth as possible for a piece that is roughly 500 words.

Finally, a student should go through and proofread the essay for grammatical and stylistic issues. Something as small as a misplaced comma or a simple typographical error could cause a student’s application to be tossed in the rejected stack, so it is extremely important that all errors are corrected.

College admissions essays can be intimidating, especially for students who do not like to write or do not think it is one of their strong points. However, some careful planning and thought can help students of all writing abilities ace the admissions essay for the college or university of their choice.