Undergraduate Admission Essay

Undergraduate Admission Essay Instead, look at times you’ve struggled or, even better, failed. And remember those exhausted admissions officers sitting around a table in the winter. Jolt them out of their sugar coma and give them something to be excited about. In school, you were probably encouraged to write papers that took a side. That’s fine in academic work when you’re being asked to argue in support of a position, but in a personal essay, you want to express more nuanced thinking and explore your own clashing emotions. The purpose of the prompt is to help you reflect on something that matters to you. Your application will be full of information that illuminates dimensions of you and your abilities, but only the essay gives you a vehicle to speak, in your own voice, about something personally significant. Choose something you care about and it will flow more naturally. Remember, you are the one best equipped to judge how accurately you are representing yourself. For tips on putting this advice to good use, see our handout on getting feedback. It’s probably much more personal than any of the papers you have written for class because it’s about you, not World War II or planaria. You may want to start by just getting somethingâ€"anythingâ€"on paper. Think about the questions we asked above and the prompt for the essay, and then write for 15 or 30 minutes without stopping. So for the same reason you should read your work out loud or backwards, you have to get another pair of eyes and ears working on it, as well. A fresh perspective can make all the difference and keep you from settling for something terrible. A good friend, parent, or better yet, a teacher can read what you’ve written and give you a reality check. Encourage them to be constructiveâ€"it’s okay if they tell you what you’ve come up with is no good, as long as they can offer some feedback to help make it better. Ask them to judge whether the writing really sounds like you are talking. ACT or SAT test scores are not required for the Fall 2021 admissions application. Applicants may choose to submit either the ACT or SAT as part of their admissions application. What do you want your audience to know after reading your essay? Don’t worry about grammar, punctuation, organization, or anything else. For help getting started, see our handout on brainstorming. The priority deadline offers students the opportunity to receive their admission decision up to one month earlier. All completed applications received by November 1 will receive an admission decision by February 1, which may include a deferred decision to March 1 . Focus on singular moments or activitiesâ€"pick the ones that stand out. It’s no jokeâ€"you’d be right to think that after working their way through a big pile of essays, the people reading yours could use a good laugh. You know next to nothing about who will read it, let alone their senses of humor. You don’t want a college to think you are too focused on education and that you can’t have fun. But they also need to know you will be taking your education seriously. Essays that state, “No one could possibly be better qualified for your program than me,” or some variation of that, risk a backlash from Admissions Directors. Well, I’ll be the judge of that.” Instead, illustrate why you are so well qualified and let readers come to that conclusion themselves. Seek professional helpâ€"the problem with spending so much time on what can be a relatively short essay is that you look at it so much it starts to lose its meaning for you. Once you commit the time and emotional energy to get your butt in the chair to write, you face a daunting task â€" figuring out what to write about. With so much freedom, this is a challenge for most students. Get several people to read it and write their comments down. It is worthwhile to seek out someone in the field, perhaps a professor who has read such essays before. The key is to get more than one point of view, and then compare these with your own. And don’t let them get away with saying your essay is just “good,” either. Don’t leave them alone until they’ve told you at least one thing you can improve, or at least specific aspects they liked. Try very hard not to dump your entire life story or all your finer points into the essay. One simple joke at the start or end of your essay is more than enough. Connecticut College admits students of any race, color, national and ethnic origin to all the rights, privileges, programs, and activities generally accorded or made available to all students at the college. Choose the prompt that comes closest to something you’d like to write about.