What is the point or aim you are trying to convey in a college essay? I’ve heard it’s supposed to be about your life or so experiences you had. If this is true then can I write about my numerous amounts of dreams I have in the future? Also can I write about the mistakes I’ve made and what I learned from them?
The primary aim of these essays is to help admissions personnel distinguish between the thousands of nearly-identical applications they receive. After a hundred apps, all the 3.5-4.0 gpa, captain-of-my-varsity-whatevers start to blur together. The essay is what makes an app. stand out.
That said, some people think this means they should aim to be as “wacky” as possible. Please don’t. I’ve read essays illustrated with cartoons, essays ‘playfully’ ignoring grammar, essays inexplicably written in poetic form, and once an essay offering to fight me, with weapons of my choice, for better consideration. Tiring, pretentious, and off-putting.
What college admissions want to know is what is actually important to you. And no, don’t say “education” if what you really mean by that is “a high-prestige career,” as all too many people do. Give me evidence, not assertions. Tell me how you spend your time when you are not ordered, or assigned, to some task.
Thanks! Could i even go as far as to talk about my dreams for the future?
Absolutely. But if you’re talking about the future, you’re treading a slightly finer line. Assertions like “I want to travel” or “I want to help people” are too vague to convey who you uniquely are. At the same time, you don’t want to sound too much like you’ve already figured out every step of your academic & professional career, down to which classes you’ll take in whst order.
When we see new students, we are hoping to see in them some some openness to new experiences and information that we, as a university, can offer. We want to know that we can really help you achieve your goals, not that we are merely a steppingstone that you have decided is necessary to achieving them. That includes a willingness to change those goals based on your university experiences, which will likely be very different than you imagine them at present. We want to be excited by you as a prospective student, but we want to be what excites you, as well.
Mood-wise, I think the pitch-perfect sweet-spot is the scene in My Fair Lady in which Liza Doolitle talks about opening a flower shop, and then sings “Wouldn’t it be Loverly.” She knows where she wants to get to, is determined to reach it, even if she’s flexible about the details of how she’s going to get there.
Paint a picture with your essay.