Strategies for Writing Effective College Essay

Most high school students who are applying to college start out by completing The Common Application that is accepted by more than 900 colleges.  It requires one essay, and students can choose from a variety of topics or one of their own creation.  

A recent article in U.S. News & World Report offered essay writing advice from college admissions experts to help students get started on this somewhat intimidating task.  “Students should narrow their focus and write about a specific experience, hobby or quirk that reveals something personal, like how they think, what they value, or what their strengths are,” according to an admissions expert. 

 

“Many memorable essays focus on ordinary topics, including fly-fishing, a student’s commute to and from school, and a family’s dinner conversations,” added another counselor. Additional writing tips emphasize the importance of being concise, coherent, congenial, honest, and accurate.

 

Unlike SAT scores and high school transcripts, the essay offers students a chance to showcase their personality and share with admissions officers anything they would particularly like them to know.

Students Get a Second Chance at “Early Decision”

Students who are anxiously waiting to hear, within the next few weeks, from their Early Decision college, should have a back-up plan.  If they end up being turned down or waitlisted, all hope is not lost. They still have another option, which could bring them exciting news and get them off the college application merry-go-round, early in the new year. 

Many colleges offer Early Decision II, with a January application deadline and notification in February – close to two months prior to the typical April 1^st college response date. The main advantage of applying early decision is that colleges usually accept a much higher percentage of applicants. Because early decision is binding, colleges know that any student they accept will definitely attend – increasing their “yield” (percentage of accepted students who enroll). For example, the latest early decision acceptance rates, according to U.S. News and World Report, are 87% at American University, 79% at The College of New Jersey, and 65% at University of Miami. The overall acceptance rate at these same schools is, respectively, 64%, 62%, and 28%.

 

The main downfall of applying early decision is the fact that it is binding, preventing students from comparing different financial aid packages that they might receive from different colleges.

Strategies to Get Accepted to Colleges of Choice

The best way to get “Your Accepted” letters is to present yourself as an ideal candidate for each college to which you apply.  If you’re a legacy, let them know.  Many colleges, including all eight Ivy League institutions, favor applicants whose parents are alumni.  If you are the first in your family to seek a college education, let them know.  Most colleges favor students whose parents are not college educated.  

 

If your family can afford to pay the full sticker price and not seek financial aid, let them know.  Some colleges are “need blind,” and admit students regardless of whether or not they are applying for financial aid.  Other colleges are “need-aware” or “need-sensitive,” and may consider financial need when deciding whether or not to admit an applicant.  This category includes Bryn Mawr, Clemson, Northeastern and Tufts.  

 

Aside from the factors outside of your control, there are several things that you can do to help your applications stand out.  The first is to develop leadership skills, and then emphasize these skills on college applications. Graduates of elite universities often talk about having started a club during their high school years, having initiated a community event, or having launched a non-profit in some area of passion. They believe these leadership experiences helped to secure their acceptances to the nation’s top colleges and universities.

Five Key Strategies to Save Thousands on College

When talking about college debt, the statistics are never encouraging. In fact, the story gets sadder each year.  Statistics for 2022, according to Forbes, indicate that 45 million Americans have student loans that collectively total $1.7 trillion in education debt. The key to avoid being part of this grim statistic is to consider some highly effective strategies.

1) When choosing potential colleges, students should not necessarily reach for the stars – unless it’s to a college with an impressive endowment. When students apply to colleges a tier below the level where they would likely get accepted, the scholarship money is almost always much greater.  Students planning to major in business, for example, often identify NYU’s Stern School of Business where the cost hovers around $75,000 a year. These same students could reasonably expect to be welcomed at St. John’s University in New York, Drexel and St. Joseph’s University in Philadelphia, and a host of other institutions with impressive business schools, substantially lower costs of attendance, and generous merit money (to attract strong students) which does not get paid back.