Aside from your grades, test scores, and letters of recommendation, many universities will require you to submit an essay to really figure out what it is that sets you apart from other talented candidates, and whether you’re really worthy to be enrolled.
An essay has now become more important than ever. The issue is writing one for a university admission can be quite troublesome, especially if English is your second language.
Your essay is an excellent opportunity to really introduce yourself as a potential candidate and personalize your university application beyond your academic credentials. The question is, how to actually write a good one? Here are some tips you should keep in mind when writing your essay from Maryam Qonita, a guest speaker on Shape Your Life’s Study Abroad Summit 2022 and MA in General Psycholgy at New York University.
Hook, line, and sinker!
According to Maryam Qonita, it’s excellent to brainstorm at least 10 unique opening sentences to hook and pique the interest of your reader. Your opener doesn’t necessarily have to be about your background or an epic life story. Try using a famous quote that you think resonates with your personal ambitions, or recent volunteer/work experience to start off your essay.
Stay on topic!
“What was the question again…?” It doesn’t matter how sad your background story is, or how inspirational your volunteering experience was if you forget to answer the questions or topic instructions of the admission essay. Also, essays are not one size fit all, they don’t always fit into the mold of another university admission. Remember to avoid reusing an answer to a similar question from another admission since your final draft can often times sound generic and confusing.
Honesty is the best policy
When mentioning your previous experience or life event, a little bit of vulnerability and honesty of how it really went is always appreciated. Of course, this means including any challenges or failures you’ve faced. Unfortunately, actually writing every piece of sentence that comes from within your own feelings can be quite difficult to do. Maryam Qonita suggests recording your first draft out loud first as if you’re recalling the experience to a friend. By writing while listening back to the recording, you’ll also avoid excessively using fancy language and terms.
Others’ Opinions Actually Matter
Once you’re done with your final draft and spell-checking it, ask a teacher, college student or counselor for their input. Maryam Qonita shared that other people may notice an idea that you’ve written actually sounds awkward, an experience that was overwritten and ends up too generic, or come up with an idea that you didn’t explore enough.
Preparations by Reading
Maryam Qonita also shared that reading books can help with not only writing your admission essays, but also organize your future study plans and goals. The books she recommends are:
Graduate Admissions Essays by Donald Asher can help you with the structure of your essays.
Getting What You Came For by Robert Peters will give you insights on one how to maximize your efforts and further achieve your goals.
Get to the Point by Joel Schwatzberg
Applying to your ideal and dream university can be a tough journey filled with many different challenges.
Even though writing an amazing essay may not guarantee you a spot, it can definitely leave a good impression for the admission office and increase your chances of being accepted.
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