College 101

College 101 The number of readers depends on the college’s review process. It will be anywhere from one reader to four readers. Most colleges hire readers during the application season. How many people read each essay varies by institution with two being somewhat standard. Warn students not to write about high-minded topics or exotic locales simply to impress the reader. If a student is still very much struggling through the challenges they describe, the admissions reader may wonder if the student is ready for college. The part of your application you’re likely to spend the most time on. But of course I’d say that; I’m the College Essay Guy. The personal statement is likely to be words long and many of the colleges you’re applying to will require it. Whether you're a terse writer or a loquacious one, we can advise you on college essay length. In this guide, we'll cover what the standard college essay length is, how much word limits matter, and what to do if you aren't sure how long a specific essay should be. In the same way, you should end your college essay with something that not only summarizes the most important aspects of you but that is also memorable. Memorable endings are poignant, making the reader feel an emotion. Or, they capture a several-line conclusion in one pithy, well-worded phrase or sentence. Yes it would save time, and can save time, but only under certain circumstances. See, many colleges will ask for similar questions or essay prompts to include with your application. If you’ve already written an essay that happens to fit with another college’s similar prompt, then it should take you no time at all to spruce it up and submit it. Or, maybe they end with a simple, clean truth written from the heart. Do not be just another of thousands of applicants that do not make an impression. If you are reading a newspaper article, the writer fades behind the facts and you know nothing about the writer except that s/he can collect, organize, and present the facts that you need to now. While building a community at school rebuilt my confidence, I still found I enjoyed being alone at times. While driving in my car, I’d let my mind wander to movies like Big Hero Six and contemplate if a zero-friction bike really was possible. I’d create ideas like an AI highway system that tells drivers exactly when to switch lanes based on timing and calculus to prevent braking from nearby cars. It is imperative, then, that the introduction to the college essay capture the reader’s attention and make the reader want to read more. While I won’t say you should never write about these topics, if you do decide to write about one of these topics, the degree of difficulty goes way up. Admissions officers tell us they read every essay. The number of reviewers reading the essays vary from school to school. Yes, every college essay is read if the college has asked for it . Essentially you have to be one of the best “soccer” essays or “mission trip” essays among the hundreds the admission officer has likely read. So it makes it much more difficult to stand out. If you’re writing a “Why I want to be an engineer” essay, for example, what 3-5 common “engineering” values might other students have mentioned in connection with engineering? You want the admissions reader to say, “Ah, this is a real person writing to me. The college essay has to grab the attention of an admission’s reader. If you really can't find any length guidelines anywhere on the admissions website and you're at a loss, I advise calling the admissions office. They may not be able to give you an exact number (in fact, they probably won't), but they will probably at least be able to tell you how long most of the essays they see are. (And keep you from writing a panicked, 20-page dissertation about your relationship with your dog). 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.