How do I edit my college admissions essays so that I can best increase my chances of admission to my dream university?

Answer 1

Follow these guidelines:

1. Think about what you can do for the college or university, not what they can do for you. Cut out sentences like ‘I would love to be part of this department,’ or ‘I feel I could gain x by studying here’ and focus more on how you could help professors, students, even entire departments with what you can offer.
2. Most (good) schools want to see something unique, every essay every time. This is something I learned on my own: professors do not want to read your analysis of a book, film or poem coming to the same conclusions present in CliffNotes or that were already discussed in class. Find something NEW. If you happen to stumble upon something someone’s already thought of in a discussion section or just by brainstorming, then fine, but present it in your words, in your way.
3. Don’t try to be fancy. Use of big words, words which rarely see any use and/or VERY formal sentence structure is more annoying than helpful. Write like you talk; you’ll be surprised that even the toughest schools want to see something that shows a unique perspective but is ALSO easy and fun to read.
4. Have fun. Vulnerability is hard. “Get comfortable being uncomfortable,” as they say. They’d rather have an essay where someone puts themselves out there, metaphorically naked on stage, than someone who comes across as reserved, passive, and uncaring.

Answer 2

The first step in writing is always to consider your audience. When addressing a collegiate forum, (such as college admissions counselors), begin by identifying which appeals would be most effective. The answer, of course, would be a balanced message using at least two literary appeals. The most important element of prewriting is researching specific colleges to identify values, passions and emphasized programs. Most of the time students skip this step, only to write an essay that informationally accurate, but lacking in depth, effectiveness, purpose, and worse - connectivity. As a Life Coach and former educator, I've assisted thousands of students create effective applications with polished essays, which resulted in reception of acceptance letters from Ivy League, medical and state colleges. Additionally, my clients have the option of reviewing exemplified College Board student profiles (include GPAs, SAT/ACT scores, background interests, submitted essays and colleges to which they applied & were accepted).