Many colleges require students to write an essay as part of the application for admission. This essay will often be a factor in the admissions decision along with your transcript, standardized test scores, letters of recommendation, interview, and anything else you submit as part of your application packet. MEFA would like to offer the following tips for you to consider when planning and writing your essay.
Focus the essay on you, not on someone else. The college wants to use it to help learn more about you, not one of your friends or one of your relatives. You’re the one applying for admissions. Use the essay to tell them something about the person behind the grades and test scores.
Content is as important as composition. Make it interesting and informative. Every year many very well written, excruciatingly boring essays are submitted.
Don’t be afraid to avoid the obvious approach to a suggested essay topic. Independent thinkers are often appreciated by the admissions reader.
Don’t waste the essay writing about information available to admissions in other parts of the applicant packet. They’ll have your grades and activities list. Write about something they don’t obviously know about you.
Stay within the required length. A college admissions officer probably has hundreds of essays to read from applicants. Respect their time they’ve allotted to you and get the point of your essay across within the guidelines.
If you think about it, the essay is the only part of the application process where you exert full control. Even if the topic is assigned by the college, you have full reign on how you wish to approach it. Contemplate your approach in-depth before beginning to write.
Don’t use twenty words when five will suffice to make your point.
The key to an effective essay is to focus on the MESSAGE you wish to tell the reader, not on the STORY. Frequently students get so involved telling a detailed story that the important message gets buried.
Don’t make generic or cliché statements that most other students could have also used. Make the statements personal and specific about you.
Make sure the essay is YOUR work. Feel free to get feedback from parents, friends, teachers, and counselors, but make it your essay. When you have finished with it, you should be the one who is most proud of it.
MEFA is a state-created non-profit that works to make higher education more accessible and affordable for students and families in Massachusetts. MEFA provides community education programs, college savings plans, and low-cost financing options. In its 25-year history, MEFA has issued more than $2.3 billion in bonds and has assisted hundreds of thousands of families in financing a college education. Visit MEFA online at www.mefa.org