4 Things You Can Do as a Freshmen or Sophomore to Help Your College Application Stand Out

We all know that to get into top colleges, students need to start preparing early in high school to stay competitive. That means, participating in extracurriculars and taking a rigorous course load as early as sophomore year. Starting a club or building houses in your free time is more common than you think, so to truly stand out among hundreds of undergraduate applications, you really have to go the extra step in pursuing and participating in opportunities that aren’t run of the mill. Here’s what I suggest for freshman and sophomores to get a leg up in the race:

Q&A: Should I Include a Resume with my College Application...and Other Questions

For one of the schools I’m applying to, the word limit for the personal statement is 3,250 words. I called the school’s admissions office to ask if 3,000 approximate words was correct, to which they confirmed on the basis of it being a “transfer essay”. I’m wondering if lengthier essays for transfers aren’t uncommon, especially for selective schools.

How to Avoid the Common Pitfalls that Annoy Admissions Officers

There are some clichés in personal statements that seem to happen over and over again. While having one or two clichés won’t prevent you from getting into a good college, it is nice to avoid them as don’t add depth to your writing, nor do they particularly work to help your application stand out. There are also a number of common occurrences I’ve seen when reading personal statements that are just annoying and don’t add any value to the application.

To help you out, here’s a short list of clichés and topics/ideas to avoid when writing your personal statement:

Q&A: What Should I Wear to My College Interview and Other Questions

What should I wear to a college interview?

I’m struggling with figuring out what to wear for a college admissions interview I have scheduled for next week. I know that people say not to go too over the top, but my interview is going to be inside at a medical office during the business day. Should I wear a full suit?

Appealing to the Reader's Senses: Writing A College Admissions Essays that Gets Noticed

When you’re writing a narrative or telling a story in your personal statement, using sensory details is one of the most effective ways to captivate the reader which makes your essay more likely to stand out. Sensory details help the reader figuratively see, hear, feel, smell, and taste your words.

Q&A: Am I Considered First Generation…and Other Questions

Am I first generation?

My mom didn’t go to college, but my dad did and graduated with an Associate Degree. Both of my siblings have graduated from college with engineering degrees. Does this mean I’m not first-generation?

How to Effectively Revise Your College Admissions Essay

The revision process is one of the most critical steps in writing effective personal statements and essays. Still, you make ask WHY EXACTLY is revising my essay important? Three main reasons:

To develop better content
To correct formatting and grammatical errors
To become a better writer over time

So, how should you go about revising your essay. Here are some tips:

Personal StatementsJoy TurnerOctober 7, 2018personal statement, writing, revising college admissions essaysComment

How to Interpret the College Admissions Prompt

Before you start writing your college admissions essay, it’s important to understand the essay prompt. As simple as it seems, this can be difficult if you can’t figure out exactly what the prompt is asking. Here are some points to consider after reading the prompt and before you begin writing:

Writing Resources for College Admissions Essays

A couple weeks ago, I put together this quick list of resources about writing personal statements and thought it’d be helpful to share on my blog. Enjoy.

How to Write a Narrative for Your College Admissions Essay

In writing a personal narrative as the primary basis of your college admissions essay or personal statement, your goal should be to construct a coherent story from the facts of a situation or series of events. Ideally, this narrative consists of a beginning, middle, and end.

The beginning of your essay should draw the reader in with an exciting start which introduces the story or narrative you’re telling. Here are some strategies to help you plan the opening:

6 Questions to Ask Yourself AFTER You’ve Written your Personal Statement

It’s important to consider grammar, style, and organization when writing your application essays because bad writing is the absolute first thing any admissions committee member notices when reading admissions essays. Most college applicants, however, don’t have issues with the grammar and so it rarely has a major impact on a candidate’s score.

With this in mind, I tell writers to instead focus on the content, clarity, and composition of their college application essays by examining the following questions

5 Tips Every Applicant Needs to Know to Write a Memorable Personal Statement

In honor of the start of college admissions season, I’m offering some tips I learned during my time as an admissions application reader and writing consultant tailored to help veterans write college application essays that actually stand out.

Check out our archive of articles

Essay Review Services

Contact Us

Be Social