11 Tips To Writing Your College Admissions Essay In One Day

11 Tips To Writing Your College Admissions Essay In One Day Many students and parents begin the college prep process by comparing the ACT and SAT tests. The SAT and ACT generally cover the same topics. Both ACT and SAT scores are used for college admissions decisions and awarding merit-based scholarships. Different students tend to do better on one test over the other. Your high school grades will be very important for your college application, particularly your junior year grades since these give colleges the best idea of what kind of student you are now. Things like this can happen in high school too, but it's more prevalent in middle school, which makes it harder for colleges to compare grades of students who went to different middle schools. The SAT essay is generally considered one of the least important aspects of a student’s college application, so an average essay score isn’t necessarily an automatic indication that you need to retake the test. The foremost focus should be on your composite score. The essay should be in the student’s voice and parent’s are not always the best advisors for this part of the application. The college is learning about you from what you write. Not what anyone else writes including your parent. But, if they start writing the essay know that the college may very well determine that the work was not yours. There is nothing theoretically wrong with that person being a parent if they are skilled and sensitive to helping while allowing the student’s own voice to remain dominant. Many times however, when a parent tries to help, they do more harm than good. It is very easy to spot an essay that has been overly edited by a parent and that is not good for the students chances of admission. However, they should not write or re-write the essay. Essay’s should always been seen by someone else to look for grammatical and spelling errors. Most colleges do not prefer one test over the other. Neither the SAT or ACT is harder than the other. But the main idea behind any essay is that it should reveal something of the writer’s (in this case, the student’s) character and parents can easily hinder that process if they edit too much. You absolutely should have a second and even third set of eyes help you edit and proofread your essay. Many students do need help selecting a topic and organizing the essay. They should seek guidance from their counselors or teachers for this. And then they are pleasantly surprised when admissions officers write acceptance letters with personal notes about their child’s fabulous essays. Editing is a part of the writing process, like development and revision, where another person can be helpful. Be sure to pick readers who have strong skills in grammar and usage. If your parents fit the bill, there’s no reason they shouldn’t help you polish your essay, but students often find it easier to work with a teacher, counselor or other adult. Parents can become emotionally involved and/or try to influence the content of the essay, which is something you DON’T want. No matter who helps to edit and proof your work, it’s essential that your writing remain your own. Parents can help their child brainstorm topics, encourage them to write multiple drafts, and help him or her meet deadlines. Some parents should not even read their kid’s essays as they want to change too many elements that make the essays lose their unique adolescent voice. I know this is the touchiest of topics, but I always beg parents to believe in their child. Is your parent going to write your essays that are assigned by professors while you are in college? The college cares how you write not how your parent writes unless they are also applying to the same college as you.