Step By Step Through The College Application

Careers and Colleges, Sept, 2000 by Jennifer Nichols

* Watch the humor. Go with a funny essay only if you've already proven you have comic writing ability--and even then, think twice. "You don't know the personality type of the admission officer," says V. K. Mimani, senior partner at myEssay.com, an Internet-based essay counseling service, "so your senses of humor may not click."

* Keep to the specified length. If no maximum is given, stick to about 500 words. The friendly admission officer reading 50 essays a day will thank you.

* Remember: You don't have to be Tolstoy. Admission officers hope to learn more about you by reading your essay. They are not expecting you to produce the greatest work of literature ever.

STEP 3

One of the best ways to pinpoint problems in your essay is to have someone else read it. But don't let your editor do the writing! "An editor might say, 'I think you should come up with more details,'" says Kreisberg, "and then it's your job to come up with them and write them."

EDIT AND CHECK

Don't rely solely on your computer to proofread your essay. Spell checks are notorious for nor picking up repeated words or words that are spelled differently, but sound alike. (Here what were saying?) And don't expect an admission rep to overlook grammatical goofs. Seattle University's McKeon remembers showing an error-filled essay to a colleague. "He said it would have been criminal to admit the student."

Your hard work will be appreciated by the people who matter--the admission staff. "Each year, I will read one or two essays that move me to the point where I write the person an individual letter," says McKeon. Your essay may get you something just as important--a letter welcoming you to your dream school.

5 Essay Don'ts

(1) SAYING "I'VE ALWAYS WANTED TO GO TO CORNELL" IN THE ESSAY YOU'RE SENDING TO GRINELL. Make sure you use your computer's Find/Replace command to remove all traces of previous schools before you send it.

(2) INTERCHANGING IT'S AND ITS. If you can replace the its with the words "it is," the word is a contraction and calls for an apostrophe. If not, it's a possessive-leave it alone. (And while you're at it, bone up on the differences between there and their, and to and too.)

(3) OVERUTILIZING PRETENTIOUS LANGUAGE TO DELINEATE THE SUBJECT MATTER. In other words, don't use to many big words.

(4) USING TNESES AND PRONOUNS THAT DON'T AGREE. "Each has their way" is not correct. "Each has his or her way" is.

(5) STARTING SUCCESSIVE SENTENCES WITH THE SAME WORD. That is careless. That is sloppy. That is why you shouldn't do it.