Writing Winning Essays for College Applications

Put Your Best Words Forward!

Applying for admission to a college or university?

As a high school senior or an adult returning to school, you will find that applying for admission to universities and colleges requires plenty of planning and preparation. Hopefully, you have already contacted the admissions offices and selected a few appropriate options.

By the time you sit down to complete the actual admissions application, you have likely done a significant amount of research and study of prospective colleges and universities. In all likelihood, you have met with your educational guidance counselor and targeted certain colleges and universities that offer academic programs in your fields of interest and that seem to be within your grasp of scholastic eligibility.

Perhaps you have visited college and university campuses and consulted admissions staff members. Maybe you have even gathered information of scholarships, financial aid and other special programs.

Choose Your Target Schools.

Admissions fees can be costly, and the applications do take time to complete. In addition, applicants usually have to pay for high school transcript requests and the sending of college entrance test scores to admissions offices at their target schools.

For these reasons, it is important to pare down your application list to a few select institutions. Plenty of applicants choose a handful of colleges, including at least these three options: a long-shot school, a fair bet, and a safety school.

If you choose to apply for early decision admission, you may save some cash. This is an excellent strategy for those with a single favorite school. If your application is not accepted, you will likely have time to apply to other schools after notification.

Get Organized First.

Sort through the admissions application packets from your desired schools. You may discover similar essay requirements. If so, you can streamline your admissions homework considerably! Check word counts and specific instructions, as you will likely have to adapt your essays for each school.