University Admission Essays

Don’t brag in your university admission essays. It can cost you your shot of admission. Big time (photo credit: PJ).

In university admission essays, students have a great opportunity to share with college admissions officers why they’re special and what they’re all about. It’s an opportunity that students should really capitalize on and, in these essays, every word counts. Every single word. One word alone can imply that a student is pompous and what do you think college admissions officers think of pompous applicants? Who cares what they think…they’re not going to admit them!

Take this sentence as an example: “Winning the science fair was one of my great accomplishments.” Don’t write sentences like this for a couple of reasons. 1.) Winning a science fair shouldn’t be one of your proudest achievements. Making a scientific discovery certainly can be but, Charlie Sheen, winning isn’t everything. And 2.) Don’t tell college admissions officers your accomplishments. They can read your accomplishments on your activity sheet or in your guidance counselor’s or teachers’ letters of recommendation. Let them hear about your accomplishments from others. Not from you.

Just be mindful that every word in your university admission essays count. A typo or a word that comes across as boastful can really damage your chances for admission. So select the topic of your college essays carefully. Write creatively. Express your intellectual curiosity. But be careful of everything you write. Because every single word reflects on you. That’s why it’s never a good idea to write your university admission essays at the last minute. You just might not catch an egregious mistake if you save it until midnight!