College 101

College 101 You could describe a situation from your unique point of view , mention it in passing, or tell a specific story about a situation in which your disability affected the outcome. Your goal in a college application is to stand out. Use your uniqueness to your advantage, not as a hindrance. Colleges and universities have their own personalities and priorities. You should find out more about the college or university of your interest and write an essay specific to that audience. Getting started can be the hardest part of writing. There is information to share and college admissions officers like to read a good essay. However, once you get started, writing becomes easier. Remember that the college application is important, but not as important as your grades. Your essay may be your own ideas, words, and writing. Ask people to read your drafts to provide you corrections and advice on your essay. Follow these simple tips to get a strong start on your essay. Remember, your disability is part of who you are but not all of who you are. When it comes to college essays, you want to maximize the opportunity to delight, intrigue or amuse your reader….immediately. Keep reading to learn even more about the things that you should not write about in your college admissions essay. I hope that after reading this post you feel a bit more confident in your ability to write your college admissions essay. It may feel scary and impossible, but with right approach , you can write an essay that showcases your unique personality and impresses admissions officers. Vagueness isn’t a problem unique to admissions essays. Ah, college application essays â€" the necessary evil of college-bound high school seniors everywhere. If you’ve just finished your junior year of high school, then these may very well be in your near future. Writing your college essay can be a daunting task. These 650 words or less â€" your personal statement to colleges â€" will be one of the most important pieces of writing you’ve done in your life up until this point. It’s something all writers struggle with â€" including myself; I struggled with it while writing this very article. It’s impossible to write an article covering every possible essay prompt you could encounter in the college application process. Use this module as an opportunity to develop your essay step by step. Always ask for help and stay focused on your topic. Do not fall into the trap of describing your disability in great detail. Do not write a textbook explanation of your disability. Disclosing your disability may be important, but explaining every aspect of it and how it affects your life might be more than what the college admissions expect from you. Your teachers, family, friends, school counselors, and community members are all people you might ask to help you create your essay. There are several tutoring services available across the nation; with a little research you should be able to locate an agency near you that may be able to assist you with writing. You should also feel free to use any assistive technology that you are using in school to help write your essay. Good writers always keep their audience in mind and a college essay is no exception. The team at Marks Education was very helpful to my college application process. The planning of my high school class selection, provided by Nina Marks and Ian Perez was especially helpful. My essay advisor, Hugh McIntosh, worked with me to refine broad ideas to concise, strong personal statements and supplemental questions.