How do I ensure my college application sets me apart? What do I need to do to be the strongest college applicant possible?

Question

For students looking for help distinguishing themselves in the college application process, including the Common App, personal statements, supplemental essays, etc.

Answer 1

I interviewed dozens of students for college admissions, and yes, most look an awful lot alike, so yes, it's incredibly important to stand out!

I'm going to assume that your core academic stuff (grades, courses you've taken, extracurriculars, etc.) are already done, so this is a question of how you put your application together.

What really helps an application to stand out is when students have a compelling "Why?": What motivates this student? Why do they do what they do? Why would they be an asset to this school? Can we envision them in our campus community?

For your essay, that means things like:

1). Showing who you are as a person and what makes you tick.

2). Showing your personality and point of view. Be authentic.

3). Show emotional maturity and how you handle hard things.

4). Give a sense of who how you would fit into their campus mosaic and afterwards. How would you be an alum they would be proud to feature in their campus magazine?

Yes, this means digging deep which is hard, so it's a really rewarding process once you get into it, and doing it well really ties your application together in a way that will make it stand out and shine!

Good luck!

Answer 2

It's very important to begin your essay with a "hook" - a turn of phrase, description, metaphor - to grab the readers attention. For example, I had one student who wanted to go to dental school, so we began the essay with "Open your mouth, let me look inside." I had another student who was not a naturalized American citizen, despite being raised on the East Coast from when he was two years old. We began his essay with "Half In- Half Out" to reflect his feeling of not truly belonging to either his native homeland or in the US.

In addition to having an original spin, it's important to pay attention to the question prompt. When presenting your accomplishments and activities try to make it sound personable rather than just a generic resume. Think about the reasons and motivations that made you decide to run for class president, work in a nursing home, take an interest in scuba diving... The admissions committee wants to know what makes you excited, what makes you concerned, what makes you driven - try to be as specific as possible. Approach each essay as if someone were meeting you for the first time. In addition to being well-written and cogent, the essay also has to be convincing and compelling.

Answer 3

The biggest thing you want to do is be specific with your goals and to the point. For example, if you're wanting to go there for Creative Writing and you have previous writing experience, highlight that here. Whether it be workshops in your town or online collaborations you wrote for, show that you're dedicated to learning and your desired craft.

Answer 4

To stand out means to participate, engage and perhaps lead something that you enjoy. The standing out comes in the essay, for sure. Write about something that you wouldn't think is a good story! One of my students wrote about winning a stuffed pink pig at the fair, another wrote about her toybox, another wrote about popsicles. Don't hold back. It's not what they want to read, it is Totally what you want to tell them about you.

Answer 5

A college essay is your personal reflection, the way you see yourself in a mirror everyday. Similarly, your writing style, tone, choice of words by creating connections always help you stand out.

Pour yourself out on that piece of paper by using the following:

1. share your personal experiences and relate them to real life situations
2. write about how you manage to overcome any challenges in life
3. narrate in a simple yet creative and honest way
4. how you think about your own self (positive/negative) person?
5. how you can be a value adding student to your class, college and your peers
6. why particularly you are targeting this field of study (subject, course)?
7. your inspirations and aspirations

Put yourself in your admission officer shoes and think what you would look for in a student who is applying for admission. I would be happy to review your college essay if you want to and help you improve where you can to turn it into a success.

Answer 6

Write in a style that has a unique feel to it. Make sure from sentence one forward that your sentences reflect your thoughts and feelings. It's not only what you write; it's how you write it, not only grammar but movement and tone.

Answer 7

I tell my students to think about a few of their strongest assets as a human being, and then narrate a short story, vignette, or anecdote that adequately reflects those values.

For example, I was working with a student named Heidi who wanted to get into a Nursing College, and she told me that one of her strengths is working with kids. (Heidi's long-term goal, in fact, was to one day become a pediatric nurse practitioner.) We talked about times in Heidi's life where she was able to demonstrate her strength of working with kids and fostering their development. In the end, she was able to recount a time when she was working at a YMCA summer camp in her hometown, and one of the kids had a severe allergic reaction to a bug bite. Heidi then wrote about how she quickly calmed the boy down, sent a coworker to retrieve an EpiPen, administered the shot, and contacted the boy's mother. Overall, recounting this story allowed the Nursing College to see that Heidi is a caring and compassionate individual, especially when it comes to working with youths.

Generally, I think that concrete and specific details such as these will help your application to stand out from the others.

Answer 8

The key is to position yourself as a leader in all elements of your college application materials. Even if you didn't hold an official leadership position in all of your involvement, you want to communicate to your admissions officer that you are a valuable addition to every team you join. You'll want to use any essays and/or open-ended statements to convey this information and to shine as a unique individual. The goal is to help highlight yourself as a standout amongst the many other applicants. I can help you craft an application that conveys this strong story!