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How To Write The Perfect College Essay

Updated: Oct 22, 2021

How do I write an eye catching college essay?


What do I need to put in my college essay so I can stand out from other students?


How do I show the best side of myself in my college essay?


These the type of questions we've been receiving in the last couple weeks from parents of seniors and seniors themselves who are approaching this critical time of writing and submitting their college essays to their first round of schools in the fall. Many parents, and students alike, are unsure about what to include, what to leave out, and what to highlight in what might be the most important essays a student may write in their entire lives. So, we've decided to break down general tips and tricks students and parents can use to put them in the best position possible to succeed.


How To Write The Perfect College Essay


There are three key things each students needs to keep in mind when writing their college essay:

  1. The purpose of the essay is for a student to communicate who they are as a person beyond their resume.

  2. A college essay is one of the few moments where you will have the undivided attention of an admissions officer.

  3. With all else being about equal, the college essays are what decides whether a student makes it into a particular school or not.


We're going to keep these in mind as we share the top three tricks students can use to take their college essays to the next level.


With all that being said, let's go into tip number 1.


#1) Personalize Your Essay


This is something most students get right when they write their college application essays. Most student do a good attempt at personalizing their college essays. However, what they do instead, is create an essay just like everyone else's. Many write very similar essays to their peers and none of them end up standing out.


What a student should do is write a story that only they can one. One which is unique to only themselves and captures a key and unique part of their personality. This is the best way to truly personalize a college essay to make it stand out from the tens of thousands that admissions officers see during this time.


If you'd like more information about this, join our insider's club and see our College Application Bootcamp to get the best tips, tricks, and secrets to give you the best edge for getting into the schools of your dream.


Click below to learn more.



#2) Make The Essay An Eye Catching Story


A college essay is one of the few moments in the application process when a student has the complete and undivided attention of an admission officer. It is very important that they use this to make an impact on the admissions officer so that they have a better chance of being chosen to go to that school. The best way for them to do this is through an eye catching, captivating story.


Stories are fantastic ways of directing an admission's officer's attention to your particular application and making an impact on them so that they are much more likely to come back to your application and give it a second over later in the selection process.


By writing an incredible story, you'll immediately stand out from other students; and by writing a story that is captivating and memorable you'll create a bond with an admission officer in a way other student's won't. Instead of seeing your application as a series of papers and a resume, they'll see you as a person. Someone they'd like to get to know better and are much more likely to give you a good word as your application moves further along in the selection process.


If you'd like more information about this, join our insider's club and see our College Application Bootcamp to get the best tips, tricks, and secrets to give you the best edge for getting into the schools of your dream.


Click below to learn more.



#3) Take The Essays Seriously


Finally, the last bit of advice we have when it comes to writing any college essay is to take it seriously. Some students believe that because they have good grades, and participate in a number of extracurriculars, they don't need a particularly strong essay. While it is true that with exceptional grades, and exceptional extracurriculars a student does not need to focus as much on their college essay, the college essay is still a very large component of a studen't's application to a given college or university. So much so that most times, the essay alone is what decides who is accepted and who is ultimately rejected from top level universities.


As we spelled out in this post, the essay portion of an application is critical, making up nearly 15% of the weight of the total application. While not as large a part as the extracurriculars and academic portions of the application, it plays a substantial role in being the last and final "barrier" and student needs to overcome before they are accepted into their dream school.


As a result of many students not believing this part of the application to be important, they devote almost no time to it and turn in sub-par essays. When faced with student who may not have the credentials as a more decorated student, but instead had a phenomenal essay, the student with the better essay 9/10 times will be the one who will be chosen to go to the school of their dreams.


If you want to know some disasters other student's made that you need to avoid, click below to learn more.



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If you'd like to learn more about this topic or see some of the more exclusive tips, tricks, and secrets we share with some of our premium members, you can click the arrow below to learn more about our insider's club and get started with that right away.



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