Things You Should Avoid In Your College Application Essay

One of the key parts of college admission is college application essay. Writing personal statement is part of your college admission journey. What you need to write is your strengths and unique points. Today, many colleges and universities require a college admission essay as part of the application process and it is pretty stressful for students. However, it’s a great opportunity for students to fully showcase their academic achievements along other personal aspects that can help admission officers see them as interesting, unique individuals.

What you should not mention in your essay

Your personal essay can increase your chance of acceptance. Hence, it is important to consider putting on strategies on how to ace your college admission essay such as by picking meaningful topic, keeping the focus on you, and telling a story through engaging words. Also, here are things you should not mention in your college admission essay because they tend to leave an unfavorable impression:

Grades, test scores, academic achievements

Avoid mention your grades, test scores and academic achievements since the admission officers can see them from your transcripts and other application documents. Focus more on telling a story  and what impact it has to you. Your admission essay should let admission officers learn more about your unique self.

Privilege

Avoid mentioning your privileged lifestyle especially if it has nothing to do with your main topic or story. Focus more on telling a story of how you have faced obstacles in life that has huge impact on you personally. It can be about the obstacles others your age have faced as well. Highlight how you grow and develop yourself in your essay.

Cliches and quotations

Your college admission essay is such a great opportunity to showcase your originality and creativity. Hence, it is best to avoid using any cliches or trite quotations in your essay. It just makes you appear unimaginative. Not to mention there is possibility that you use some sayings relevant to specific cultures which confuse the readers.

Pet

Your pet might be one of the biggest parts of your life. However, it is best not to mention it in your college admission essay especially when the focus should be on you. Even if it has major impact on your unique experience you want to highlight don’t focus on your pet but your own journey on that experience.

Criminal record

You might want to be honest to your college admission but telling criminal record is not it. It is not a good way to impress your college admission officers. Make sure to choose  a topic that presents you in a positive light.

Typo, spelling mistake, grammar errors

Make sure to edit and proofread your essay before submitting it. There is high chance for you to make mistakes on grammar, spelling, etc. Check your essay multiple times yourself. You can also use app to detect any error on the punctuation, grammar, spelling, etc. Or, ask your friend to proofread because another pair of eye can see mistakes you probably missed.