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15 College Admission Essay Mistakes that Guarantee Failure

For every student who is in the active search for themselves and their own path in life, college admission is a significant step. While many people can do without this level of education or choose to drop out for some reason, others stay strong till the very end. But, today, regardless of your plans for the future, being accepted by the college of your dreams is a huge step forward. Do not waste it!

To be a success in an educational establishment where competition is high and places are limited, you need to know what will work for sure. Among many tips to consider while applying, writing college admission essays will, probably, take the most of your effort and that is why it should be well thought over. If you are a beginner at essay writing in general, don’t fret over this, as there is always a ‘Plan B’ – using the professional help of essay writers online with advanced skills. In this overview, we will enlist the most common mistakes made by students in admission essays. Be sure you don’t repeat them!)

 

  • Pretending to be someone else. The reason we have put it as a number one fault in creating an admission paper is that everything starts with your plans, your dreams, and your destiny. That is why the biggest crime you can commit during this life shaping process is trying to act like another version of yourself, neglecting your true talents, wishes, and abilities. 

 

  1. Not bothering to research the university/college. You are writing to a specific college or university, supposedly that you have already chosen a faculty and have a plan. Naturally, if you dream about entering this university, you will and must know much about its most interesting events and promising directions to be in.
  2. Writing in the wrong tone. When students start describing their life goals, dreams, and other personal information, a common mistake is to make this shift from the formal voice to the informal one. Keep in mind, – your essay will be looked through and carefully read by adults in the university administration, not your friends or neighbors. Sure thing, sentences should be built correctly, relying on the always relevant rules of grammar. However, you should mind that the golden middle in styles between formal and informal will be just right: try not to overuse the Passive Voice, academic vocabulary or show that thesaurus is your best friend. 
  3. Not being creative. Boring introductions, like those from the ‘Miss Universe’ show, that we all joke about are an old hat. This is your admission essay, your life depends on it, so come on, be creative! 
  4. Not corresponding to the application form. If you don’t manage to answer the questions stated as compulsory in the form, readers will think that you lack the competence to answer them or just don’t want to show something in your life. Who needs that kind of problem?
  5. Overindulging in what is written in the application form. As another ‘pole’, you shouldn’t be tied to the application form too much, – give yourself the healthy freedom to describe that is really relevant.
  6. Creating an essay the night before. Time can be a sly dude, especially when the admission process isn’t quick, – you always think there is plenty of time to prepare everything. But, in reality, it is not so. Strive to plan the work at these tasks before it’s too late, think about what you will make the center of your essay right now!
  7. Not asking anyone for feedback on the essay. Your perspective on your own piece of writing might often be different from people’s views, and it’s quite normal – in fact, it is impossible to remain objective while evaluating your own essay, so be sure that you turn to people for receiving constructive feedback and do the proofreading afterward.
  8. Trying to cover too many things at once. Obviously, an admission essay should be not too long, including only essential information that might interest readers.
  9. Being too (or not enough) personal. Your admission essay is about no other person in the world but you. Make sure that you mention enough data about your background, past, and present. 
  10. Being too impressive. Evaluating yourself as a good student is okay, but if you tend to overestimate your skills and abilities, do something about it. You can’t be that perfect.)
  11. Failing to describe your plans and dreams deep enough. While mentioning the past, focus on the future that you want to see in your life; tell about the goals you set before you (not necessarily in 5 years), the plans you build, and the profession you run after.
  12. Diving the admission essay from the rest of your application tasks. An admission essay is important, nobody denies it, but it would be much better if you start viewing all application assignments as a unified whole and relate to all tasks with the proper seriousness.
  13. Neglecting to proofread. This might seem like a silly mistake, but in real life students very often run through their grammar and vocabulary in essays at the last moment. To make life simpler, use online automatic mistake finders like Grammarly, GrammerCheck.net, etc.
  14. Not minding your vocabulary. Well, you’re not writing an essay to make a great impression with your scientific language nobody would understand, – better use more widespread and emotionally neutral variants of words in your admission paper. 

Now, having set you up in arms with these and more mistakes you should NOT repeat, all we can say at the end is ‘Break a leg!’ (meaning we wish you good luck in admission)

 

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