How to Writing the Perfect University Application Essay:
1. Do your research.
In the world of university applications, there are few things more important than research. It’s probably the most important thing you can do to ensure that your application essay is written well, so do it! Research the school and topic you’re writing about—you don’t want to write an essay on “comparative literature” when your dream school has a major in American Studies and English Literature (unless they have a specific program that allows for this). You also need to make sure that your research reflects who you are as a person. Do they ask questions based on what they know about their applicants? Did they ask questions based on different prompts from previous years? If so, be careful not to use any old information.
2. Pick a topic and speak on it, not around it.
Your university application essay is your first impression for admissions. It’s also the one piece of writing that will be read in full by your future professors, so make sure it’s polished and well-written.
To write a strong essay, you must first pick a topic that interests you. Avoid topics like “Why I want to go to this university” or “What my strengths are.” These types of essays have been written thousands of times before and don’t provide any insight into who you are as an individual or what makes you special.
Instead, think of something unique about yourself that hasn’t been covered in other applications. Maybe it’s something about your background, like having moved around a lot since childhood or being bilingual; maybe it’s something about your hobbies or interests outside school (like playing basketball every night); whatever it is, make sure there isn’t another applicant with any significant overlap between backgrounds/interests/goals, etc…
3. Avoid cliche.
It’s easy to fall into the trap of using cliches in your essay, but it can be done. The best way to avoid this is by showing instead of telling. Instead of saying “My dad taught me how to play guitar,” you could write: “I had always wanted to learn how to play the guitar, so when my father showed me how he played one day after dinner, I was excited.”
This example shows how specific examples to help make your writing more interesting and gives you a chance to show off your personality and wit.
4. Be honest.
- Be honest.
If you don’t want to answer a question, then don’t answer it! Don’t try to make up a story or exaggerate the truth. Just be yourself and write about what you think.
- Be authentic – that is, write in your voice and style; be yourself! Don’t try to impress the readers by writing like someone else (unless of course you are asked not to!) but just let your words flow naturally on paper as if you were talking directly to them face-to-face over coffee or tea 🙂
5. Be authentic.
The best way to stand out as a writer is to be authentic. It’s easy to try and impress the admissions committee, but if you’re trying too hard, it’ll show in your essay. If you put yourself out there and show them who you are, they’ll see how unique your story is and that will help you get into the school of your choice. Don’t try to be someone else or write an essay that’s not true to yourself!
6. Write the best university application essay you possibly can. Ask for feedback, then keep writing until you feel 100% satisfied with the result.
Great essays can be written by anyone, but if you want to write one that will get you accepted into your dream university, then it’s important to learn how to write the best essay possible. You don’t have to be a naturally gifted writer with a penchant for poetry or fiction writing. The truth is that most great essays are written by people who simply know what they want to say and how they want their essay reader (i.e., university admissions officer) to experience reading each sentence as they read through each paragraph and your entire essay.
To do this well requires practice, feedback, and revision after revision until you feel 100% satisfied with your work–and then more revisions!
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7. Don’t be afraid to talk about something personal, but don’t write a diary entry. Bring in details that reveal something about your personality and character.
- Don’t be afraid to talk about something personal, but don’t write a diary entry.
As you think about what to write in your essay, keep in mind that it’s not an outlet for your “diary” or thoughts on the world. It should be more like an introduction to who you are as a person and how that relates to the school. Make sure you’re bringing in details and stories that reveal something about your personality and character.
- Give examples of how you’ve taken initiative in school, work, or community activities.
This is another way to show how well-rounded your experiences have been over the years. The best college essays will show initiative—whether it’s through leadership roles at work or being involved with volunteering programs like Habitat for Humanity or local charities such as UNICEF or Greenpeace—but also talk about any obstacles they faced along the way (elderly couples get little help moving furniture) so that admissions officers could see just how driven these students were despite lacking resources at home!
8. Know who’s reading your university application essay and tailor it to them; if you’re applying to ten different schools, you shouldn’t use the same essay for all of them!
One of the most important things you can do when working on your essay is to know who’s reading it and tailor it to them. If you’re applying to ten different schools, don’t use the same essay for all of them!
When writing an application essay, make sure that it’s specific and tailored to the school in question. Include details about what makes this particular university so perfect for you—and talk about what they have that no other school has. Remember: You’re trying to show them how awesome a student they would be getting by accepting you, so use their language and talk about how great it would be if they did accept you!
9. When in doubt, throw out! If you’re going back and forth about including a story or anecdote about something embarrassing or awkward (such as an unhealthy obsession with newspapers), leave it out. It’s better to have an essay that isn’t quite the length the admissions committee is expecting than it is to have an essay that doesn’t communicate who you are well because there wasn’t enough space to do so!
On the other hand, if you’re considering including a story that everyone can relate to (such as a “favorite place” or “something that changed my life”), make sure it’s something that truly resonates with you and is worth being included in your essay. It should be something that shows off who you are as an individual—not just some random tale about how once upon a time this happened and now I know how much everything sucks!
So before adding anything to your essay, ask yourself: Does this add value? Is this interesting? Is this going to help me stand out from other applicants? If the answer isn’t “yes” or “maybe” then it doesn’t need to go in!
10. Proofread before submitting your university application essay. Then proofread again!
Once you are done writing and proofreading your essay multiple times, it’s time to submit it. Before you do so, make sure that it is free of typos, grammar errors, and factual errors. You also have to be careful about the way you have used words in your essay. If there are any awkward sentences in your composition, remove them as they will only make the reader lose interest in reading what else you have written. A reader may think that if an author makes so many mistakes while writing his/her essay then what he/she has to say must not be very important either!
To sum up:
- Proofread before submitting
- Look for spelling errors (e.g., “your” instead of “you’re”), grammatical errors (e.g., wrong subject-verb agreement), and factual mistakes (e.g., numbers that don’t add up). Also, check for awkward sentences or ones that don’t make sense at all!
- Ask someone else to proofread your essay for additional feedback on how well it communicates its message!
- You can get some help from Grammarly
11. An excellent university application essay can guide you through the process of getting accepted into your dream college or university!
A well-written college application essay can help you stand out from the crowd. If you’re applying to multiple colleges and universities, your application essays must be specific to each school or program and show why you would be a good fit at each one.
It’s also important not to get too long with your essay: Most applications state that they’re looking for an essay between 500 and 1,000 words (this varies by school). If yours is much shorter than 500 words, it might leave the admissions officer wondering what else is there. And if it’s too long, they may start to lose interest halfway through and decide not to finish reading it all.
This article will give you tips on how to write an excellent university application essay so that yours stands out above other applicants’ submissions!
