The short answer is, yes, it is permissible to have others read and edit your college admission essay for you.  With that being said, the ideas must be your own, and the voice must remain unmistakably yours.  While admissions officers differ on whether or not they are able to determine if a student has actually written the essay, there is no question that a 30 or 40 year old writes with a much different voice than a 17 or 18 year old writes with.

That being said, a college admissions essay should represent a students best work.  The best writers are those who rewrite and carefully hone their message.  The essay cannot possibly be the best work of a student unless it has moved through a few drafts with steady improvement.  Often times, when we write something we become too connected to the writing to be able to objectively edit.  Unfortunately, I see this in my own writing, where I will edit a letter and send it out only to realize later that it still had a mistake.  However, when I pick up writing for one of my coworkers, I can easily identify the mistakes.  Having someone who has no emotional connection to the writing helps to eliminate some common mistakes such as having a word spelled correctly, but it not being the right word and sending the wrong essay to a college (think of an essay finishing with, “…and that is why I want to go to your biggest competitor.).

It is important that you have two different types of people edit your essay: those who know you well and those who don’t know you well.  Why is that important?  You want someone who knows you to read your essay and finish it and think that the essay accurately portrays you.  Further, you want someone who doesn’t know you to finish reading the essay and get the feeling that they do know you.  This means you need to start your essay early enough to allow time to have people review your essay for you.

AdmissionHook.com Advice on How To Write The Best College Admission Essay

In this video James Maroney and Guy Milone discuss what makes a good college admission essay. Guy gives tips on telling the story and some examples of essays he has read in the past that truly resonated with him.

In addition to the short answer, many colleges have supplements with additional essays. A number of colleges have some variation of the question “Why us?” on their supplement. Make sure you take the time to research the school and show appropriate interest. Do not just submit a generic response that you use for all the colleges to which you are applying. Many schools use demonstrated interest in their admission decision, so you may want to mention how the school felt right on a campus visit, if you were actually on campus. You may also want to mention specific programs or clubs you research on the school’s website.

On their supplement, schools might also ask a number of different questions. In fact, it has become more popular for schools to ask a series of short response questions, which almost seem like tweets, as many are limited to less than 200 characters. Wake Forest is one college who asks these questions as a way to better learn about a student’s personality to determine if the student is a fit for their culture. Here are some of their sample questions:

· What outrages you? What are you doing about it?
· This year our Wake Forest Student Union invited expert students to become teachers of non-credit classes in the Wake Forest Experimental college. Provide us with the title of a course that you could teach your peers.
· Make a rational argument for a position you do not personally support. For clarity, please state your true opinion first and then argue the opposite position.
· You may invite any three individuals from history to join you for a cup of coffee at our university coffee house, Campus Grounds. Whom would you invite? What is your icebreaker question to start conversation? and where might the conversation go from there?
· Give us your top ten list.

Just like with the main essay, it is critical to give yourself enough time to respond to the additional writing samples. Brevity is critical, as the character limit is strictly enforced by the online applications. This is a test of getting your point across in a concise manner, which can prove to be difficult. However, if you do take your time to plan out your responses, you should be able to use these short writing samples to your advantage.

In this video, James Maroney of AdmissionHook.com interviews Matt Beirne, Director of Admission at the College of St. Benedict and St. John’s University, about the college admission essay.  The cover tips on how to write the essay as well as some examples of Matt’s favorite essays over the past couple of years.

]]> http://www.admissionhook.com/Blog/63/spotlight-essay-advice-with-matt-beirne-of-the-college-of-st-benedict-and-st-johns-university/feed/ 0 http://www.admissionhook.com/Blog/60/choosing-an-essay-topic/ http://www.admissionhook.com/Blog/60/choosing-an-essay-topic/#comments Fri, 09 Jul 2010 17:08:17 +0000 admin http://www.admissionhook.com/Blog/?p=60

10 percent of Nichols College graduates are either the CEO or President of a business or owns their own business. Win a $1,000 bonus scholarship to Nichols College from CollegeTreasure.com.

You have everything that you need: clean notepads, pencils, pens, and your computer. You’re ready to write yourcollege application essay. Just open Microsoft Word and let your ideas flow.

It’s too bad that writing a college application essay isn’t actually that easy. However, with a few tips, you’ll be able to pick a good topic and smooth-out the process.

Have you ever felt egocentric? If not, you soon will. Your college admission essay should focus on only one person:  you. It can, and probably should, include other characters, but the core of the essay must describe you – your feelings, what you’ve learned, how you view yourself, how you see yourself fitting in the world. Three primary sorts of you-based topics exist: events, routines, and descriptions. Events constitute life-altering experiences. When listing events, don’t think of things that happened during your life; think of those that happened in your life. They should be things that affected you and your future. Routines and descriptions are a bit more complicated. In a routine-type essay, the author writes about a routine or aspect thereof in the same way as he or she would write about an event, describing his or her qualities and values in the process. In a description-type essay, the writer describes an important person or object and uses metaphor to relate it to him or her self.

After you’ve thought about the significant events, relevant routines, and important figures in your life, you can begin to narrow your list of potential topics. First, think about your best qualities, the ones that you want to feature in your application, and select the topics that would best feature them. Next, consider the uniqueness of your topics. Each college admissions officer will read hundreds of essays throughout the spring and will only be able to remember the most interesting few (if you think that it’s easy to remember essays, try to read every entry on this page then summarize them, in order, without peeking). Make especially sure to avoid cliché topics and those conducive to platitudes. Of course, you should stay away from potentially controversial issues unless they truly intersect with your core values. Finally, remember that colleges don’t admit students retroactively. That is, they don’t really want to read about your past unless it has some bearing on the present or future.

If you still have a long list of potential topics, simply begin to write. Finish a few rough drafts, read through them, and figure out which one best represents your qualities and values. Sometimes you just can’t determine how good a topic is until you actually write a draft of the essay.

Wading through the plethora of potential essay topics may seem impossible; however, with a few pointers, anyone can pick a good one.

This article was contributed by Dakota Meyers, who just completed his freshman year at Yale University and is a regular contributor to the CollegeTreasure.comandAdmissionHook.com blogs. He is a 2009 graduate of Hoisington High School in Hoisington, KS. At Hoisington High, he won varsity letters in debate, speech, scholars’ bowl, and band. He won the 2009 3A Kansas State Championship in extemporaneous speech.

At Yale, Dakota intends to major in Economics and Mathematics. He writes for the campus publication Business Sphere and is an active member of the Yale chapter of Nourish International. He also participates in the Yale Political Union as a member of the Independent Party.

As a current college student, Dakota has recent first-hand experience with the college admission process.

Five Important Tips for Writing Your College Essay

1. Give Them What They’re Asking For – Be sure to answer the essay question given. It’s pretty basic but stick to the topic, develop it, and support it. In addition, be sure to write your essay specifically for that school. Don’t recycle your essays.
2. Be Original – Imagine reading essay after essay. It’s no different from employers scouring resume after resume. Think about what is really significant and powerful to you and about you. If you write from the heart it will immediately draw in your audience. Use your natural style; don’t be overly formal and stilted. The essay reader wants to know what kind of person you are. Take a stand and support your information. A fearful, “trying-to-hard-to-say-what-you-want-to-hear” essay isn’t going to fool anyone. Remember, they read these en masse every year.
3. Make it Easy to Read – Your content doesn’t have to be simplistic, but all readers desire content to be easy to read. No one wants to struggle through your essay. If your structure is poorly planned and executed, your reader may not even make it through to the end. Organization is very important. Always have a thesis and don’t stray from your topic. Support your thesis with interesting and solid information. Again, stick to the topic and don’t run-on, ramble, or take on an idea too wide to cover. Transition smoothly between supporting points and use a pleasing, neat format. Appearances are the first thing that will invite or turn-off your reader.
4. Focus on the Future – Often you’ll have to provide background, like what you’ve learned and where you’ve come from in your essay. It’s all part of who you are. Yet, students often make the mistake of focusing too much on the past. Show that you are a forward-thinker. Discuss your intentions if possible – what you strive to accomplish and why. Admissions really needs to have more confidence about where you are going than where you have been.
5. Prove Your Value – The role of a college’s admissions staff is to select the best from its pool of applicants. You must give your readers a reason to feel you’ll be an asset to the college. Your accomplishments, challenges, and attitudes will all show what kind of potential you have as a student and member of the campus, not to mention what kind of alumnus you will be. The college’s reputation is affected by the students they turn out and the successes they have. The value you bring has a lot to do with the value of the college itself. Don’t leave information up to interpretation, answer your essay with specific information that proves something (or many things) that are positive about you.

Successfully implementing these five steps in your college essay will make your essay one that stands out among the rest. Your original, future-focused, easy-to-read, specific, value-proving essay will need only one more thing – proofreading! After all this hard work, don’t let careless errors ruin your well-crafted essay!

Lynn Mattoon is a Content Editor & Career Writer for CollegeJobBank.com and SalesHeads.com, Beyond.com career communities. You can follow her on Twitter at BeyondCareers.

Choosing the Right College

College Life

While most students are focused on what they hope to do in the new semester, Brett J Callahan presents Five Back-to-School Do NOT’s posted at 2East: The College Living Blog.  Also, back on campus many students are feeling a financial pinch and might be tempted to look for credit cards.  For these students, Jim presents Best Student Credit Cards posted at Blueprint for Financial Prosperity.  In order to save money, many students are considering moving off campus.  Across the country, many new students are just tussling with their first college exams and term papers.  Don’t worry freshman,Carolyn Friedman gives you useful web tools that will help you earn the grades your parent’s will be proud of while you are secretly having the time of your life as a freshman at 75 + Useful Web Tools for Your First Year of College posted at Online Christian Colleges, Tom Tessin gives tips you can use if you’re looking to find an apartment around the college campus in Apartments for College Students ? Finding One posted at FCC Student Blog.  With the recession, many non-traditional students are heading back to school as well.  Read about going back to school at age 40 when softmelon presents Back to School posted at The Den of Psychosis.

Financial Aid

Need-based financial aid deadlines are just around the corner, but there is no time like the present to start researching scholarships.  Chris presents All About the Tylenol Scholarship posted at MJJ Party.  One of the keys to financing a college education is to start saving early.   Patrick @ Cash Money Life presents Open New Ohio 529 Account to Get $200 in Bonuses posted at Cash Money Life, saying, “The Ohio 529 College Savings Plan, CollegeAdvantage, is offering a generous sign up bonus for new accounts. You can easily earn a couple hundred dollars to go toward your college savings.”

Getting Admitted

To ED or not to ED, that is the question.  Mark Montgomery tackles this question in his post Early Decision or Regular Decision in College Admission–Which is Better? posted at Great College Advice, saying, “Students and parents are often confused about whether to use early decision as a strategy for admission. This post clears up that confusion.”  There is a lot of talk about the growing gender gap at America’s college campuses.  Andrew Syrios tackles this issue in Lies, Damned Lies and Statistics: The Female-Male College Gap | SwiftEconomics.com posted at SwiftEconomics.com.

Graduate SchoolsUnfortunately, not every application has a happy ending.  Adam Markus presents A Happy Story of HBS Rejection posted at Adam Markus: Graduate Admissions Guru, saying, “A MBA admissions consultant reflects on The Snowball by Alice Schroeder”

Other Cool StuffCandice Arnold presents AIESEC Internships Foster Understanding and Improve Students’ Marketability : CollegeRecruiter.com Insights by Internship Experts Blog posted at CollegeRecruiter.com.  Lynn Mattoon presents Gearing Up for the Careers of Tomorrow posted at My College Admissions Blog – MyCollegeCalendar.org, saying, “Today’s college students may be preparing for jobs that don’t exist yet!”

Diane Steward presents 25 Excellent “Dot Gov” Tools to Research Any Online School posted at Online University Data, saying, “From search tools to financial aid resources and more, these 25 Web resources from the government will help you in your quest to earn any degree.” Kathy Wilson presents 10 U.S. Presidents Who Got Their Start in Teaching posted at Online Schools.

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carnival of college admission, blog carnival. ]]> http://www.admissionhook.com/Blog/35/october-14-2009-edition-of-carnival-of-college-admission/feed/ 3 http://www.admissionhook.com/Blog/29/getting-started-on-your-college-essay/ http://www.admissionhook.com/Blog/29/getting-started-on-your-college-essay/#comments Thu, 02 Jul 2009 19:24:14 +0000 admin http://www.admissionhook.com/Blog/?p=29 It seems like summer has just started, and you may be tempted to just spend your time by the pool or at the beach. However, this is a great time to get a jump start on your college application. In fact, the Common Application is now available. I recommend you start your application, and start working on your essay. The Common Application has a short answer, approximately 150 words elaborating on an activity (it used to read what is your most meaningful activity and why, in now reads “Please briefly elaborate on one of your activities.”) and the longer essay or personal statement. This is very broad, and the sixth option is a “topic of your choice.” Since the best writers are those who re-write, make certain to give yourself enough time.

I realize that it is a very intimidating task to sit down and try to wrap up your life in a nice little bow and between 250 and 500 words. Don’t worry, they aren’t expecting you too. However, you do need to give them a reason to accept you, and just as importantly, do not give them any reasons to reject you. Recently, there was a great guest post on The Choice, a college admissions Blog. I highly recommend reading it. Martha Merrill, Dean of Admission and Financial Aid at Connecticut College wrote about what she was looking for in an essay and gave some general tips. One of the most important tips she gave was that there is no formula for a good essay. In fact, since it needs to be your voice coming through, it should be an essay that only you could have written. Another piece of good advice she gave was to pick a mundane topic and bring it to life. Read the full text of her post here.

If you are having trouble getting started, view some of our previous articles on brainstorming the essay and our big list of questions. You will also want to view advice from a former director of admissions and possibly read some sample essays and his comments. Remember, when you are reading the sample essays you are just trying to learn how an admission officer views those essays and not use them as a template for your own essay, since the best essays are intensely personal and you could not just copy the form of another essay. Most importantly, just get started. You need to write something, and then you can revise it and make it in to a good essay. Your first attempt should not be your final attempt. You may want to write a few different essays, and then pick the one that you like the best. Most likely you will need to write a few different essays anyway, as many colleges have supplements where they ask you specific questions or for an additional writing sample.

When you are done with the essay, put it down for a couple of days and then reread it with fresh eyes. Also, be sure to have someone else read it. Do they get a good sense of what you are like as a person? If one of your friends read it, would they say, “Yeah, that’s you.” While it is important to have others help you edit the essay and give you suggestions, ultimately, it is your essay and needs to be in your voice. Accept constructive criticism, but don’t let others rewrite your essay. This fall is going to be a very stressful time. Get started on your essay now. When September and October roll around, you will be glad you did.