Is Every College Essay Read? How Many Admissions Officers Read Them?

Is Every College Essay Read? How Many Admissions Officers Read Them? Some colleges weigh essays higher than other parts of the application. However, the essay is not the most important part of your application when you are applying for college. Your overall Grade Point Average , college preparation, test results, and the strength of the high school curriculum all outweigh the essay . You may do pre-writing for several different answers to a topic and then pick the best one to write the actual essay. You might want to plan to do one pre-writing essay, wait a few days, and then do another pre-writing exercise. As mentioned in step 2, writing a college essay takes time, but with enough pre-planning the actual essay writing will be easier. The importance of college essays has increased in the past few years. Twenty-six percent of college admission offices consider the college entrance exam is of “considerable importance” in the admission process . For example, at The University of Tampa, the question, “How do you feel about the month of February? ” rarely results in a boring application essay and can go in numerous directions. However, teacher recommendations and extracurricular activities rank below the college essay . Therefore, it is extremely important to submit a well-written college entrance essay. What questions do you have about writing college admissions essays? If you’re already in college, do you have any advice for current high schoolers? Share your thoughts in the comments section below, or post about it in the College Info Geek Community. The ten-hour Essay Package also includes tailored support for supplemental essays and the Common Application, critical opportunities for students to showcase their backgrounds, interests, and passions. The teacher told Tiso that someone she knew had been talking to an admissions counselor at the University of Delaware, who was praising one of the best college essays they'd read. Hamilton has a long tradition of emphasizing writing and speaking as cornerstone values, and students come here to find their voice. We seek students who embody that aspiration and demonstrate that potential in their application essays. You need to end your application essay just as strongly as you began, so the committee remembers you when it comes time to make their final decision. When there are only a few spots left in the class, you want to be the one they choose. This should be the first busy month for essay writing. The summer is the best time to get essay drafts done, and most students have this entire month off from school. If you can decide on which schools you’ll be applying to early, it’ll be easier to know how much work you have to finish before the Nov. 1st deadlines. In fact, many schools have cool, offbeat essay questions that really provide you with the opportunity to present the admissions committee with new insight as to who you are. Go out on a limb and take a stab at the question that helps you paint a unique and compelling self-portrait. And if your dream school presents you with some of the old standards, remember to approach the subject from the most unique angle you can. The only thing holding applicants back from REALLY putting the pedal to the metal is the fact that many schools don’t release their updated essay prompts until August. While Stanford is the exception to the rule â€" many top colleges will just require one or two longer essays â€" it doesn’t diminish the effort needed to effectively apply to these schools. As a result, it’s imperative that rising juniors get a head start on their college essay brainstorming, writing, and editing. If your essay is forgettable, well, you might be too. Some college and university applications provide essay questions that influence some pretty good answers. You definitely want to prioritize the remainder of your applications here. Your top priority schools should be worked on first so that you have more time to work on/perfect them. If you have a long college list, you have a lot more work to do and you can easily fall victim to overconfidence. Procrastination + the unfounded belief that you’ll definitely get into Penn for Early Decision is a recipe for disaster. If you’re applying to all the Ivies, the two weeks in December after early results come out is not enough time to effectively work on your regular decision application essays.