College Admission Essay

[WeRblam]

I need some direction to help my son (currently a junior) apply for college. He is a true Dis'er and even wants to go to college in FL. Unfortunately, his GPA is not very high and he is working very hard to get that up. That being said, he needs an outstanding essay and I am trying to help him. Any ideas? THanks all!

 

[I Heart Disney Too]

Hmmm, that's a tough one. Creativity would help. Each college is a bit different in what catches their eye, but I know of some that look more closely at the essay than at the GPA. Good luck!

 

[Jcricket Fan]

I was just at the library this morning and saw some books specific to writing admission letters/essays. Sorry I don't remember the titles of the books they were with the new books so I just flipped through them.

Perhaps you can check your library to see what they have. The books had some great examples of what works best and what colleges want to see.

Best wishes.

Colleen

 

[The Mystery Machine]

At Borders and the Library they have a ton of books on that subject...

My dd who is a Sophmore in HS, is doing her English project which is compare 2 colleges.
We have been looking at books all over.

If you want internet help there is the "official" collegeboard site....
http://www.collegeboard.com/student/apply/essay-skills/111.html

Then there is the scary "College Discussion" board, "College Confidential". We always say take it with a grain of salt but there is ALOT of info there to help you.
http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/forumdisplay.php?f=4

 

[Breezy_Carol]

I have 2 kids in college right now. Often the college gives them a choice of several questions to chose which they want to write. And his English teacher senior year can probably help too.

Good luck.

 

[Jennifer S]

I used to be an Admissions counselor and my job was to read the essays. I would say make himself stand out. A great essay won't get him admitted if his grades aren't good so be prepared. It will help if he is borderline.

All colleges are different on criteria. The one I worked for put a lot of weight in grades first (rank was important), SAT second, activities third and essay was last.

Make it neat or type it too. Longer doesn't always mean better either.

Best of luck.

 

[momrek06]

When my younger DS was applying to colleges (2003 for admissions in Fall 2004) we hired a college planner to work with him and the first literally 3 months all they did was work on his essay. It was a personal essay. He applied to many colleges, Holy Cross, Catholic U, Providence College, Boston College, Fordham and as I recall (as he is a Junior now) they asked for an essay about yourself. What your goals are and have been to date, what achievements you have attained that your are proud of most, fitting in all and any volunteer community work that you did as well as your family life. My DS found it grueling yet rewarding doing the essay.

My oldest DS (applied in 1999 for admissions for Fall 2000), the one essay I remember him being asked to answer was..."WHAT ARE YOUR WORDS TO LIVE BY"...and explain!!! That was the college he ultimately went to, graduated from and is a Master's student there now.

 

[NewJersey]

Be careful before writing one...some colleges have topics to choose from and some are open (you pick). I did mine on the story of Lance Armstrong and how it personally related to my life, and what I learned from it. It won me a national scholarship (and I used it for a few of my college applications).

Good luck!