Essay Types - The Admissions Essay
By Peter J. Francis, HGPublishing Editor
The purpose of the admissions essay, from your point of view, is to persuade the admissions officers to offer you a place in the school of your choice. The purpose of the admissions essay, from the admissions officer's point of view, is to see which candidates are most likely to succeed and to enhance the school's reputation.
I'm going to admit right up front that I'm not an admissions essay expert. I'm a writing expert. For a long time, I refused to edit admissions essays because I didn't think I could offer services comparable to real admissions experts. However, some clients persuaded me to review their admissions essays and were accepted into the programs of their choice. (See my testimonials page.) After editing admissions essays repeatedly, I realized, that like academic essays, most of you know what you want to say, but just need someone to review the grammar, or do a little editing to make it fit into the word limits. That's why, unlike some editing services, my price is the same for editing an admissions essay as for any other essay. It's your content. I'm just polishing it.
American universities seem to make an awful big deal over admissions essays. Believe it or not, here in Canada, they don't usually require them! Admission is based almost entirely on your high school or other grades. We don't even write the SAT! (I wrote the SAT because I went to high school in the US, but I only heard of one university in Canada that required it.) Canadian schools do, on the other hand, require an English proficiency test, which might serve the equivalent function: to see who knows how to put a few good words together and who doesn't.
Nonetheless, if you don't feel confident in your admissions essay content, then you might want to use an expert to help you write it.
Brainstorming
Beginning an admissions essay is like any other essay: brainstorming. You can use the same bubble format shown on the Getting Started page. Without a prompt, you need to be thinking about things that make you unique. I've read essays where people talk about how they will be the first person in their family to go to college; others talk about hardships growing up. Some people talk about how grateful they are to have a wonderful life and that they want to be able to contribute to the community. You know graduating from college is not going to be easy and you want to show the admissions officer that you have the guts to keep trying, even when the going gets tough.
If you've overcome any obstacles in life, they are great things to write about. If you are inspired by anyone who has done so, it is also good. Leadership is another important characteristic that admissions officers are looking for. Have you ever been involved in any kind of organization? Student government is one way, but even getting group of people together to do some community work, or participating in some activites is a positive thing.
Responding to Prompts
Often an admissions essay will give you a prompt and ask you to write 500 words or so on it. One prompt that I see often is "How will you contribute to the diversity of XXX U?" I think this question partly helps the admissions office ensure that they are admitting students of all racial backgrounds without putting a box for "race" on the application form. It also helps weed out the overt racists from the pool of applicants. If you're not white, then you simply have to talk about how you have goals and how you see yourself functioning in a multicultural society. If you are white, then you need to say a little more than "some of my best friends are black."
Allen Grove, writing in his admissions blog on About.com reminds us that diversity isn't just about race. His five tips for writing about diversity can help you to write an essay that shows you bring a diverse perspective and diverse beliefs to a college campus, not just a different skin color. It's important to avoid stereotypes. Although many white students like to avoid the diversity essay, if they can, tackling the thorny issue of diversity shows a courage that not many people have today.
Conclusion
The conclusion of your admissions essay should state a vision of an affirmative outcome. "I look forward to joining the student body of XXX college next fall."
What is the admissions officer looking for?
Like I said before, can you communicate well in English? Are you a thoughtful person who has a broad perspective on life in the 21st century? Are you going to be contributing to campus life both socially and academically?
