College Essay Preparation
16 December 2006
Submitting a good college essay is another aspect that has to be considered by the high school student who wishes to attend a competitive school. This essay, together with the SAT (see my article on SAT Test Preparation), are two key aspects that must be satisfactorily completed by the college-bound student. Sometimes the college essay is what makes or breaks a student’s chances of getting into the school of his or her choice.
The college essay gives the admissions board a chance to sneak a peek inside the head of the prospective enrollee. Given comparable grades and other “good” qualities, the student with the better essaythe one which is coherent, well thought out, and captivatingwill almost certainly get the nod. Why so? Because the ability to write a good essay shows the admissions board that these students have a number of desirable qualities: that they can communicate effectively in written form; that they can express their thoughts clearly and capture an audience; and that they can infuse their personalities into a written vehicle which becomes an extension of themselves.
Most people know that writing is not an easy thing to do. Most high school studentsindeed most college graduateswould be hard-pressed to write an effective essay on whatever topic. For this reason, students who can generate a well written original college essay will certainly stand out amongst their peers. Writing such an essay, however, is not such an easy task. Even students who have good writing skills would be well served to have some expert assistance. This assistance can be the difference between a ho-hum essay, and a home run.
Someone skilled in college essay preparation can spot banal areas inside the body of the student’s writing, injecting life and color where only gray shades of hazy color abide. Moreover, an appropriate essay mentor will be able to spot and correct faulty non sequiturs, thus smoothing out the overall texture of the essay so that the reader is segued down a winding, colorful valley of enticing scents and sights. This accomplished, the essay is sure to get notice. And why not? The admissions board will certainly see few that fit such stringent criteria of good expressive writing.
Keep such thoughts in mind as your son or daughter engages this terrain. Remember. Given two students of seemingly equal caliber, the essay can make or break the camel’s back of college admission. See here for more information on this topic and my philosophy regarding the college essay College Essay Preparation.
Joe propagates his teaching philosophy through his articles and books and is dedicated to helping educate children living in impoverished countries. Toward this end, he donates a portion of the proceeds from the sale of every ebook. For more information go to http://www.mathbyjoe.com
Tags: college, college essay preparation, college essay writing, essay, essay writing, how to write a coll
No comments yet