University Of California, Berkeley

University Of California, Berkeley Some campuses have a pool of reviewers, while others are more specific. For a small college, there is a chance that you essay will only be read by a couple of individuals, but for a larger school it can make its way through several hands before being put down. To avoid writing your essay on a topic that might earn you a rejection letter, check out the five topics you should never write about in your college essay below. Your encouragement, ideas and overall support can go a long way in helping your students write their essays. Sklarow's members also, of course, help students with essays. But he noted that his members adhere to his association's ethics guidelines as well as NACAC guidelines -- and that members talk about ethics all the time. Personally, he said he would offer this guidance to members on how to avoid problems. Emily guided me through the revision process of my writing and helped clarify my drafts for a supplemental college essay. She provided thoughtful feedback and kept prompt communication to meet my deadline. This is a tough question to answer as there is no way to know for sure. At a smaller school, it is more likely that the admissions officers will have the time to look at each essay, whereas at huge universities it would seem less likely. In terms of how many officers read each essay, that also varies from school to school. Some read regionally which means that one officer reads all the applications from all the high schools in a certain geographic region. Emphasize to students the importance of writing an informed essay. For example, they should not write about a fantasy meeting with a famous artist and get the titles of the artist’s paintings wrong. The Common App asks students to submit one long essay, no more than 650 words. Some Common App schools will require additional supplemental writing. While there is no magic topic that will automatically ensure admission at the college of your dreams, there are experiences everyone has that you can use to find your strongest possible application essays. So even though there's no word limit, they'd like somewhere in the 4-10 pages range. High school students are not usually writing papers that are longer than 10 pages anyways, so that isn't very limiting. Often they are read in committee where several officers might look at one essay. If you want to know how you will be assessed at any given school, you should feel free to ask the admissions office. I highly recommend Emily if you need assistance for your college essay. We’ve helped with over 100,000 college essays â€" so we’ve seen it all and we know what works. Grades alone won’t get you accepted to your dream school. The college essay is an important piece â€" making up about a quarter of your college application. YouTube Tutorials Master each step of the admissions essay writing process and learn what it takes to craft a memorable submission one video at at time. At any point in time during your college education, you’ll probably have one or more papers to write for your classes. Colleges would be irresponsible to offer you a place in their program if you do not have the basic skills needed to succeed. Just remember that brevity is a mark of good writing. As much as you might be convinced that you can't possibly unleash your full essay potential without a few extra paragraphs, the truth is that you need fewer words than you think you do. Good writers do a lot of editing and rewriting to say more with fewer words. Instructors can be rather difficult to please and their reputation is well-known on campus, striking fear into the hearts of students who are committed to getting good grades. Do you seem like someone who will fit in at the school? If you’re a renegade, then you probably won’t be happy at a more conservative campus. If you spend your essay writing about how much you love city life, you might not enjoy the slower pace of a college town. Especially if you are applying to a college that is far away from your home, the admissions officers want to see that you will be happy in both the academic environment and the location of the school. While essays don’t weigh as much as grades or course selection, if you are applying test-optional or to a smaller school, more attention will be given to this section of the application. You can be certain that you did not spend all that time crafting the perfect essay in vain. How much weight a college puts on that portion of the application may differ. Just how many readers digest your words can vary as well. Still, don’t waste the opportunity to put another dimension on your application file.