Format of your college admissions essay

I recently wrote about college essay writing tips, but today I am going to talk about what format your essay should be in.

Since writing the perfect college admissions essay is very important as to whether or not you will get accepted to any particular college or university, it is important to make sure that you send the essay which is as good as you are personally capable of. However, before you begin writing your essay, it is important to know more about what the format of the college admissions essay should be like.

For starters, it is important to make sure that you send your college admissions essay on white, 8 x 11 paper. A college admissions essay should never be handwritten, but should instead be typed using a computer program such as Microsoft Word. It should be in Times New Roman 12 pt font with 1" margins. The reason that you should use a program such as this one is because it has a built in spell checker, and because everyone else will be typing their essays. Make sure you use the spell checker.

Now that you know this much, it is okay to begin writing. The main thing that you should be sure to keep in mind is that you shouldn't just write whatever wherever you feel like it. Instead, you should have a good structural idea for your college admissions essay. Typically, choosing the five paragraph format is often the most preferable.

In the first paragraph, it is important to include a very direct, to the point thesis. You should realize that your thesis can either make or break your college admissions essay. Without the perfect thesis, the person who is reading your college admissions essay might not even feel like they should go on reading the rest of it.

The second, third and fourth paragraphs should flow from the thesis. If you are using the story telling method, chances are that these paragraphs are where you would find majority of the story in your essay. If you are discussing something else, it is important to make sure that each paragraph is filled with direct evidence that supports whatever your thesis is. Including personal feelings, thoughts and descriptions throughout these paragraphs are very important. Otherwise, your college admissions essay may not hold your reader's attention.

The fifth paragraph of your college admissions essay is the most important one. Your last sentence, especially, should really grab your reader's attention. It should be a sentence that will leave them remembering your college admissions essay long after they have read it. Most people find that playing with a twist on the thesis is one of the best ways to do this.

If you are sure to follow this structure, chances are that you will have the most success with your college admissions essay. The main key is to add as much personalization as possible, and to ensure that your essay does not seem boring. If you think it is, chances are that the admissions reviewer will also find it to be.

Tips to Writing Your College Essay

One of the most critical determining factors of whether or not you will get into the college which you have always dreamed of is the college essay that you write. While some colleges may not even care if you send a college essay, there are some colleges which mainly look at your college essay. Here, we will take a closer look at five things that you can do in order to write the best college essay.

1. Use your own style of writing. Your college essay is supposed to come from within your heart. Changing your own style of writing to another style of writing is not something which is going to look good. Chances are that it will probably sound really fake if you are trying to write in a style of writing that is not your own. One of the best ways to find out whether or not the style that you are writing in is your own is by reading your essay to yourself out loud once you have finished it. If something does not sound like it is the way that you would normally say it, then change it. Using your own writing style is one of the main keys to the most successful college essay.

2. Personalize your essay as much as possible. Share any experiences or feelings that you have which are related to the college essay that you are writing. You will want to make sure that your college essay stands out as your own. If there is another person who has the same exact qualifications that you do, you will want to make sure that your essay stands out more than his or hers. You want to make sure that it will grab the attention of the person reviewing your essay, and leave them with the memory of it even after they have read it. Personalizing your college essay, in order to make it your own, is one of the most important things that needs to be done to ensure that the college essay which you are writing is personal enough.

3. Stay focused on the topic your essay is about. Do not jump from topic to topic. You would not do it in an essay for a high school class, so you shouldn't do it for your college essay either. Staying on topic is often one of the pieces of criteria which is used in order to judge whether or not your college essay is good enough for you to even be considered for acceptance.

4. Get descriptive as possible. Once again, one of the most important things is to make sure that your college essay stands out from all of the other applicants'. One of the best ways to do this is through the use of descriptive language, especially in order to tell about the way that you felt. Being as descriptive throughout your entire college essay will make it stand out more than essays other applicants have written.

5. Do not provide too much useless information. Although it may be nice to add a little bit of background information here and there, your college essay is supposed to be an essay. This means that it should be personal, and not completely based on factual information. It is more important for you to put personal thoughts and feelings into your essay, rather than facts and statistics.

Sat Test Prep Timeline, when is it offered, when should you study

Sat Test Prep Timeline

One of the most important factors as to whether or not you will get accepted into the college or university of your dreams is what you score on the SAT test. Here, we will take a closer look at some of the things that you will probably want to think about when it comes to taking this very important test that may determine your future.

The SAT test is offered seven times every year throughout the United States. The months that it is offered in include October, November, December, January, March/April, May, and June. Generally, you can expect it to take place on the first Saturday of each month. It is important to find out when the SAT test will be held at your school, or a neighboring school in order to ensure that you will be able to clear your schedule for that day in order to take it. Most people tend to find it preferable to take it twice, in case you do not do very well the first time. Once you know what to expect, you may be able to improve the score that you receive on your SAT test. Most people find it most preferable to take their SAT test during May or June of their junior year in high school and then once again in October of their senior year. Since most college application deadlines tend to range between January and April, it is important to take it as early during your senior year as possible. The college that you are applying to will look at your highest score.

There are a number of different things that you can do in order to prepare yourself for taking the SAT test. You should not expect the best possible score if you do not study whatsoever for the SAT's. There are various different books and computer programs out there, which will provide you with study techniques for this test, as well as example questions that will give you a good idea of what you should be sure to expect to see on the SAT's. You will probably find that the amount of money which you spend on these tools will be well worth it. Your high school may even offer you an SAT preparation course, which will also help you prepare for the SAT's. Anything that you can do in order to prep yourself will be beneficial to you in the long run.

One of the most important things that you need to take into consideration is that you cannot begin to study for the SAT test the night before you take it. In fact, if anything, you should probably spend time relaxing the night before you take it. Studying in gradual amounts for months before you plan on taking the SAT test will probably work the most effectively for you. One of the reasons is because you will be able to consistently practice, rather than just learning everything at once and hoping that you remember it.

Overall, since the SAT test is such a crucial part of the college admissions process, it is important to make sure that you earn the score of your fullest potential. Studying well in advance and retaking the test are both excellent ways to improve your score.

What Schools Should I Apply To? How Many?

You should probably apply to at least 5-7 schools, but the more you can find the time, money, and effort to apply to, the better.

Some College Application Tips:

• Try to apply only to schools that you might actually want to attend as you will probably be attending at least one of them.
• Break your applications into three tiers: Reach Schools, Strong Applicant Schools, and Sure Things.
  
• Apply to two or three reach schools, three or four schools in which your GPA and SAT are within the middle 25th to 75th percentiles, and at least two sure things. This strategy will ensure that you get into at least one school even if you have a bad admissions cycle, after all, if you are reading this blog then you probably aren't considering taking the year off.
• Research schools you are interested in thoroughly. Visits are strongly recommended. When I was applying to schools, I remember disliking (a certain state school) the moment I stepped foot on the campus. The feel of the campus will tell you more about the school than the GPA and SAT of its student body. Remember, you are going to be living there for four years. Make sure you can tolerate it.
• Ask yourself: Do I want to live in a big city, small city, a college town, or what? I personally know that I don't enjoy living in the city, and that personal preference made a big difference in my eventual choice.

So what school should you apply to? I don't know... it all depends. See above :)

What Are The Hardest Schools To Get Into?

There is no doubt that college is not necessarily easy to get into. Even if you have good grades, test scores, and extra curricular activities, you may find that you will not get accepted into your dream school.. Top schools are incredibly competitive and often accept less than 10% of those who apply. Even if you meet the criteria required in order to get into a particular college or university, you must strive to set yourself apart from the competition. Show the admissions officers that you stick with whatever hobby or activity it is that you enjoy and that you do it well.

The hardest colleges from which to gain acceptance tend to be ivy league schools. Some say this is in order to filter out the people who they expect to succeed from the people who will not succeed at their school. Difficult coursework means they need to set much higher standards and expectations than other colleges do. Others realize that personal and family politics often play a role when these colleges are determining whom to admit. Legacy applicants, those lucky enough to have alumni in their families, are often accepted when they otherwise would not have been. Others are accepted because their parents are incredibly rich. Ivy league schools like Yale, Harvard, University of Pennsylvania, and Cornell are always looking for more money to add to their endowments. Luke Weil, heir to the Autotote gaming fortune, once remarked that despite attended less than 8 class periods during his freshmen year at Brown University, the school would not kick him out. Instead they sent him a letter voicing their confidence in the future of his academic career.

Of course, Ivy League schools are not the only hard colleges to get into. Other public and private institutions have stringent standards for admission and are also very demanding of their students. In order to determine which schools you should apply to you must ask yourself what it is you intend to accomplish by attending. Ivy league schools tend to have a liberal arts focus and less majors to choose from where state schools tend to have a greater variety of choices and more practical programs. The University of Virginia, University of Michigan, and UC Berkeley are all very respected and competitive state schools. Caltech, MIT, and Carnegie Melon are as hard if not harder to get into than many Ivy League schools, however, one would only attend these schools if they were interested in the physical sciences. Engineering tends to be a popular major.

All of the schools mentioned in this article are incredibly difficult to get into. Even applicants with perfect grades and SAT scores will often be rejected as there just aren't enough spots in the freshmen class to accommodate every qualified candidate. Some say an applicant either has the stats to get in or they don't. If they do then they still might only have a 50/50 shot at admission so spread a wide net and apply to as many schools as possible.

College Acceptance for Sale

Unfortunately life isn't fair and neither are college admissions. Despite the veneer of a level playing field based on grades, extracurriculars, test scores, and accomplishments, many of the finest schools base their decisions on financial considerations instead. They often chose financial development admits over top students with top test scores because the schools want to grow their endowments.



Tell me what you think. Leave a comment.

My College Admissions Story

I had always gotten good grades, tested well, and been on the honors/ap track in high school, however, I did not research college as well as I should have. I applied to only two schools, and both of them could be categorized as safety schools. Both schools accepted me and I chose the one that had the best reputation as a party school. This is not the way you should approach college admissions.

As a result, I tend to be bored in class and I wont make as much money when I graduate as I would have had I gone to a better school. Also, there are some doors that are open only to graduates of top tier schools that I wont be walking through anytime soon.

You should apply to some schools that are reach schools(higher average SAT and GPA than you), some where your scores would be the average, and some safety schools where you are just about certain to get in. Your goal should be to go to the best school you can get into with respect to what you have to pay to attend.

Also, if you already know what you want to study in college then learn about what programs each school offers. Choose a school that fits your educational needs. For example, lets pretend you want to study electrical engineering. Harvard and MIT are both very good schools, but MIT is much better for those who want to study engineering than Harvard is so assuming you were accepted at both (riiiiiight) you should attend MIT.

I wish all of you the best of luck, but please please please take it seriously. It will set you on a path that will determine the rest of your life.