The Best College Essay Length

The Best College Essay Length For less competitive schools, there might not even be any supplemental essays to write. Students have no clue what to write that will wow admissions staff and faculty members from hundreds of other essays they will 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. A great and strong college essay arouses the readers’ interest while presenting the writer’s personality. This is your opportunity to showcase your personality. What makes you who you are â€" was it a struggle in the past? 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. As mentioned in step 2, writing a college essay takes time, but with enough pre-planning the actual essay writing will be easier. Getting started can be the hardest part of writing. There is information to share and college admissions officers like to read a good essay. However, once you get started, writing becomes easier. Follow these simple tips to get a strong start on your essay. These 650 words or less â€" your personal statement to colleges â€" will be one of the most important pieces of writing you’ve done in your life up until this point. People often ask me about the value of the application essay. ” I assure you, at my university and in admissions offices across the country, we do. 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. Every college applicant will have varying essay workloads, depending on their college list. Students with high aspirations for top colleges should be prepared to write A LOT of essays. Schools like Stanford require answers to 6 short answer questions , an extracurricular essay , and 3 short essay questions . Although they are all quite short, that’s 10 questions to answer in a thoughtful, efficient manner. If you’re serious about getting into a school like Stanford, those essays will also have to be quite excellent. 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. 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. Your desire to attend the school to which you are applying? There's no formula, no trick, no strategy, says Harry Bauld, a former Ivy League admissions officer. But with acceptance rates at all-time lows, just being yourself in an essay means understanding your readers and the unique form in which you are writing. I truly love helping high school seniors find the perfect topic for their college essays and then guiding them through the process of writing it with honesty, voice, and style. Writing your college essay can be a daunting task. Do not write a textbook explanation of your disability. Disclosing your disability may be important, but explaining every aspect of it and how it affects your life might be more than what the college admissions expect from you. You could describe a situation from your unique point of view , mention it in passing, or tell a specific story about a situation in which your disability affected the outcome. Your goal in a college application is to stand out. Use your uniqueness to your advantage, not as a hindrance. Remember, your disability is part of who you are but not all of who you are. Do not fall into the trap of describing your disability in great detail. The essay is the component of the college application that allows for some freedom. There is no need to write a formulaic essay with an introduction, three-point body and conclusion.