college essay

Essays are an integral part of the college admissions and scholarship application process. A college admissions or scholarship essay should be personal, intriguing, and well-written. It should have a focus and be specific. It should make you stand out from other applicants. Here are some tips to help you achieve these tasks.

Be yourself. Choose a topic that has meaning to you. If you choose a topic that you could care less about, it will show through your writing. Consider writing about an event, a person, or a place that has affected you in some way or that has helped shape who you are today. Don't forget to make the essay your own. If you are funny, don't be afraid to make the essay humorous. If you are passionate, write about that quality and describe what motivates you.

Provide a clear thesis and prove it. The reader should be able to identify the main point of your essay. The thesis should indicate where you are going and what you are trying to communicate from the very beginning. It should be stated in the introduction of the essay and should be supported with specific facts and examples in the sentences that follow.

Be creative. Draw the reader in with an original introduction so he will want to finish your essay. This original introduction could be a question, a quote, a vivid description, etc. Don't forget that admissions officers read thousands of essays so you have to make yours stand out from the crowd. Be original. Take a risk.

Stay on task. Most colleges or scholarship organizations want you to write about specific topics or answer certain questions. Make sure you stay on topic throughout your essay. If the directions have a set limit for the amount of words in the essay, follow the requirements. Don't ramble on for ten pages when all they want is a 500-word paper.

Don't write over your head. If you use too many big words, the person(s) reading your paper will think you are trying too hard to show off your vocabulary and may even toss the essay out, especially if those big words are misused. Stick to words that flow easily throughout the paper and only use big words occasionally.

Proofread. Your essay should have zero grammatical and stylistic mistakes. Proofread the essay several times before you submit it. Make sure there are no misspelled words, punctuation errors, or incomplete sentences. Essays with grammatical or stylistic errors are easily dismissed. When writing your college admissions essay(s), be sure to refer to the correct school. Counselors know that essays are sometimes recycled, but you should be courteous enough to address the correct school.

Ask others for input. Grab parents, teachers, tutors, or older siblings and ask them to read the essay and give you feedback. They may also find grammatical mistakes that you have overlooked.

The Assignment:

Options:

1. If you are already have one to several colleges picked out, pick one of their essay topics to use. At the top of the essay, type the prompt and the criteria they expect for the essay.

2. If you haven’t decided or aren’t going to college, pick one of the options listed below in the grey box. At the top of your essay type the prompt you have selected.

University of Maryland Option:

Essay Topic Choices From UMD

Please choose one (for the real appilcation to Maryland, you have to select two) of the following essay questions to answer. Each essay should be no more than 300 words. Include the questions you choose at the start of each essay.

ESSAYS

1) All first-year students at the University of Maryland read one book together as part of our First Year Book program. This year’s book, Half the Sky: Turning Oppression into Opportunity for Women Worldwide by Nicholas D. Kristof and Sheryl WuDunn chronicles the courageous stories of women who, through education and microfinance strategies, were able to break free from oppressive situations. The authors show us how “social entrepreneurs,” both in the United States and around the world, create constructive social change through their innovative approaches to empower the women of the world.

a. Do you think there are groups of people whose potential contributions have not yet been fully realized or appreciated? What is something you have done, or would like to do in the future, to support one of these causes or groups?

b. Select your own book for the First Year Book program and tell us why you would want to share it with your classmates in the incoming class. Why does this book have personal meaning to you?

2) “Seek the fashion which truly fits and befits you. You will always be in fashion if you are true to yourself, and only if you are true to yourself. You might, of course, rightly wear that style which is emblazoned on the fashion magazines of the day, or you might not.” - Maya Angelou.

There are no boundaries to personal style, whether it is expressed through the clothes you wear, the music you listen to, or the books you read. What does your style say about you?

3) “The whole is greater than the sum of its parts.” - Aristotle

The intellectual, social and cultural differences embraced by the University of Maryland are integral to the fabric of our community. The strength of the University is realized through the contributions of every member of our campus. We understand each individual is a result of his/her personal background and experiences. Describe the parts that add up to the sum of you.

4) According to Henry David Thoreau, “One is not born into the world to do everything, but to do something.” What is your something?

5) Write your own question and respond to it. Please

Essay Criteria Changes: No cover page. Just put the proper heading at the top of the page along with the prompt and the criteria.