I need BASIC TIPS for writing college essays please!

College Essays
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<p>I'm a really bad writer and I wanna be prepared and have some idea of how to approach my college essays whe I apply to colleges this fall (I'm a junior). It would be great if anyone could give me any basic pointers and what to do and what to avoid, general strategies, etc. Anything that anyone wants to tell me about regarding college essays in general, I'd love to hear it. Also, is it a good idea to write about coming to America or something like that (since I'm an immigrant) or not? Anything tips, anything at all about writing these types of essays, please post whatever you have to say.</p>

<p>Thanks to everyone who will post (hopefully) in advance</p>

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<p>[Essays</a>, Admission Information, Undergraduate Admission, U.Va.](<a href=“http://www.virginia.edu/undergradadmission/writingtheessay.html]Essays”>http://www.virginia.edu/undergradadmission/writingtheessay.html)</p>

<p>Run a search of the College Confidential web site.</p>

<p>Write about whatever topic allows for the most personal, detailed, honest and revealing essay.</p>

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<p>If you’ll use the topic of coming to America to show how it has changed you, how it made you more mature or what impact it has had on you in general, then yes, it is a good topic to write about. (Mine is similar :slight_smile: )</p>

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<p>Mine is similar</p>

<p>I titled it “Life as a Mexican Immigrant”</p>

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<p>[Essays</a>, Admission Information, Undergraduate Admission, U.Va.](<a href=“http://www.virginia.edu/undergradadmission/writingtheessay.html]Essays”>http://www.virginia.edu/undergradadmission/writingtheessay.html)
most helpful website when i wrote my college essay</p>

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<p>what you have to think about when writing an essay about your journey etc to the us is whether or not it really is original enough… im sure it is possible to write a great essay on that topic, but i read somewhere that admissions officers see hundreds of those and they dont really stick out…!</p>

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<p>An essay that is personal, detailed, honest and revealing will stick out regardless of the topic.</p>

<p>Aim for an essay so personal, detailed, honest and revealing that no one else on earth could have written it.</p>

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<p>^^ definitely true :slight_smile: so as long as you can do that youll be great, it will take time but itll be worth it :)</p>

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<p>Bump. Thanks guys, this is really helpful.</p>

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<p>Make sure you concentrate on yourself the entire time. A problem with a lot of people who write about their role models is that they end up concentrating on their role models in the essay and the adcom learns nothing about the applicant (this is assuming you pick the role model topic). Also, don’t use too many $10 words.</p>

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<p>I might seem stupid for asking this, but which words are considered $10 words? And thanks for that, btw.</p>

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<p>Use words that would occur in your normal polite speech.</p>

<p>“$10 words”: for example: pleonasm, gadarene, girandole. Avoid such words.</p>

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<p>Thanks ADad. Haha I don’t even know what any of those words mean. I generally don’t try to do that anyway, but thanks for the tip.</p>

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<p>Don’t focus solely on your being an immigrant because many people have similar stories. You have to focus on something that makes you different. You should focus on one experience that has had an impact on your personality or ideology.</p>

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<p>Thanks to everyone so far. It’s been a while, so bump.</p>