Tips for Writing a Successful College Application
Nearly every college is going to judge you based on how good your college application looks. Even if you have the highest scores on your record, you won’t be able to convince them without a college application that looks flawless. Hence you need to make sure your college essay stands out from the rest to secure your admission. After all, you have to give them a reason to choose you above thousands of other applicants.
Does all this sound like a difficult or even impossible task to you? If yes, you should leave your worries behind and simply read till the end of this blog. The experts at UCAS Personal Statements have gathered the best college application tips for you! These tips are easy to follow and will make your college application extraordinary. So let’s begin!
College Application Tips For Students
1. Reveal your character
Believe It or Not but the admissions officers actually want to know who you are. They don’t want applicants that sound like robots who happen to get good grades when they study. These people are actually interested in your character and personal qualities to take their final decision. In all, you will have three chances to show your character; the extracurricular activities, your interview, and your college essay. Out of all of these options, the college essay is your best chance at attracting the admissions committee with your character. So make sure to Showcase your character every chance you get in your college essay.
2. Be mindful of the tone
The overall tone of your college essay can make a huge difference in the decision they take. Your attitude might look remarkable but if it sounds negative you are already fighting a bad impression. Although adding a touch of humour does help, it can be hard to find the right balance. However, it has to be worth all the time you invest in this part to keep your essay professional and positive at the same time. Do not sound overly boastful or proud when talking about your achievement in your college essay. On the other hand, avoid sounding like a whiner when you address where you need improvement.
3. Work with drafts
If you want to achieve certain goals in your college essay make sure you don’t try to. For example, if you’re trying to follow other tips to incorporate them into your essay, start with a rough draft. This is easy as it gives your writing a smooth flow and you won’t get stuck anywhere. You can then work on improving the quality and achieving those certain targets in your college essay eventually. This is one of the best ways to remove any possible errors from your essay while improving the quality.
4. Use online tools
Let me talk about removing the shakes one of the best things to do is to use online tools for the job. It is pretty normal to make mistakes as a human however in this case it can cost you your admission. Many times student reread their college essays and still don’t find any error even though it is far from flawless. There’s always a chance that you might skip a mistake while rechecking your work, but the online tools will not fail you. Plus, removing mistakes using these online tools only takes a few seconds at most.
5. Don’t be completely honest
We understand that a little honesty is important to reveal your character. However, too much of it can make your college essay look unprofessional and even worthy of rejection. This not only applies to the part where you try to add a little bit of humour in your essay but also when talking about your achievements and personality. Let’s face it, we all have our setbacks but you cannot be highlighting them in your college essay. However, this does not mean that you completely ignore them, instead, talk about your weaknesses in a way that assures them that you can overcome them.
6. The recommendations
Normally, any college would require you to submit at least two to three recommendation letters from your professors or teachers. Firstly, you should try to get these recommendation letters from teachers who have a higher rank in your school. secondly, you should make sure that your teachers are writing really impressive stuff about you and highly recommend you. They should not only be talking about your performance as a student in your studies but also your character. If you have volunteered for any teacher, employer, camp counsellor or program leader, get them to recommend you as well.
7. Your social media presence
Students do not realize this but their presence on social media can make a difference in their college application. If your application looks amazing but your social media is a mess, that can create problems for you. Although not every college is going to go to your social media, you would not want to take that chance. Having a public profile on LinkedIn with all the achievements mentioned in your college essay would really help. Moreover, make sure that your social media profiles align with the character you show cave in your college essay.
8. Nail the entrance exam
Many, if not all colleges require you to submit entrance exam scores in your application. Without scores, your college application would be invalid and rejected. Hence you should spend enough time even before applying to colleges to spare enough time to take these entrance exams. More schools will ask you to submit scores from the same entrance exams. So even before your application process starts, go to the schools you are applying to check the requirements. Moreover, instead of aiming for the minimum scores, try to get good scores on these tests to stand out.
Conclusion:
The college admissions season can be a rough one for students. With the admission criteria and standards on the rise, it is getting harder for students to get into the college of their choice. If you are feeling worried about your admission, simply use these steps to elevate your chances of success. These tips are gathered by the best college admission experts at UCAS Personal Statements, so make sure to use them!